Toronto Aqualina at Bayside | 47.85m | 13s | Tridel | Arquitectonica

[WislaHD]

I think in terms of neighbourhood amenities, you need to be looking at the timeline for project completion at Pinnacle One Yonge and related buildings, as that whole block will come complete with PATH connections, community centre, shopping and groceries, and other amenities.

 

[evandyk]

I guess I can eliminate most of the pedestrian hostility by walking along the water to Sugar Beach, through Daniels' terrace and then straight up to St. Lawrence Market.

... as you can probably tell, I'm trying to convince myself to move here. My reluctant King West bones and my Waterfront heart are pulling me in different directions.

I think I responded to you about this on twitter already

We live on King and do go down to the waterfront a lot to walk and use the playground/splash pads. But I'm not sure I'd want to live down there right now, due to the lack of transit access. It would probably be quite glorious in the summer when you are happy to walk/bike anywhere, but a lot tougher in the winter.

And it's kind of a small thing, but the walk from the waterfront up to St. Lawrence is pretty grim, thanks to the combination of construction and the Gardiner and railway underpasses. It can take almost five minutes to walk from the south side of Lake Shore to the north side of the Gardiner, depending on the lights.

 

[DSC]

I think I responded to you about this on twitter already

We live on King and do go down to the waterfront a lot to walk and use the playground/splash pads. But I'm not sure I'd want to live down there right now, due to the lack of transit access. It would probably be quite glorious in the summer when you are happy to walk/bike anywhere, but a lot tougher in the winter.

And it's kind of a small thing, but the walk from the waterfront up to St. Lawrence is pretty grim, thanks to the combination of construction and the Gardiner and railway underpasses. It can take almost five minutes to walk from the south side of Lake Shore to the north side of the Gardiner, depending on the lights.

We live on Front Street fairly close to you (and have lived here for 20 years). I agree that the walk from QQE to Front (and vice versa) could be better but it has actually improved since the Lower Sherbourne 'promenade plan" was completed a few years ago (trees, planting, wider sidewalks, buried hydro).and even Lower Jarvis is slightly better. Though QQE will most certainly improve in the next few years the LRT is probably a decade away from completion and the walk underneath the Gardiner and the rail berm is NEVER going to be 'beautiful". In fact Metrolinx will be widening their bridges to accommodate extra rail tracks and even if they 'beautify' the walkways as part of this, they will still be there (but longer!). Like everything, it's a balancing act. For me I prefer the convenience of Front Street (stores, food, restaurants, transit) over the lake views on QQE. but others may prioritise other things.

 

[evandyk]

We live on Front Street fairly close to you (and have lived here for 20 years). I agree that the walk from QQE to Front (and vice versa) could be better but it has actually improved since the Lower Sherbourne 'promenade plan" was completed a few years ago (trees, planting, wider sidewalks, buried hydro).and even Lower Jarvis is slightly better. Though QQE will most certainly improve in the next few years the LRT is probably a decade away from completion and the walk underneath the Gardiner and the rail berm is NEVER going to be 'beautiful". In fact Metrolinx will be widening their bridges to accommodate extra rail tracks and even if they 'beautify' the walkways as part of this, they will still be there (but longer!). Like everything, it's a balancing act. For me I prefer the convenience of Front Street (stores, food, restaurants, transit) over the lake views on QQE. but others may prioritise other things.

Some of us have the convenience *and* the lake views, at least until Time and Space is built

We moved to St. Lawrence recently from the Annex, and definitely miss the liveliness of the retail strip there. But St. Lawrence is an amazing place to live when you have a baby, thanks to the plethora of great parks, playgrounds, splash pads, bike paths, etc.

 

[tripwire]

I usually take (Lower) Jarvis to go between the waterfront and north-of-Gardiner and it's definitely not the greatest. Sherbourne might be a nicer option if it's closer. I don't see much they can do to prettify the Lower Jarvis/Gardiner/Lake Shore section aside from taking Gardiner down and revamping the whole intersection.

 

[evandyk]

I usually take (Lower) Jarvis to go between the waterfront and north-of-Gardiner and it's definitely not the greatest. Sherbourne might be a nicer option if it's closer. I don't see much they can do to prettify the Lower Jarvis/Gardiner/Lake Shore section aside from taking Gardiner down and revamping the whole intersection.

Sherbourne and Parliament are both more pleasant than Jarvis, which I attribute mostly to the fact that Jarvis has way more traffic due to the Gardiner ramps.

 

[marcus_a_j]

The Lake Shore Blvd East Public Realm improvements will improve the various intersections along LSE. The EB Gardiner off-ramp to Jarvis will also be moved to land at Yonge in a few years. Personally I find the walk between QQE to The Esplanade to be OK. Sure, it's not great, but Sherbourne is fine with less vehicles associated with Gardiner on/off ramps. And the walk under the rail corridor via Sherbourne is not so bad with the cycle track separating the sidewalk from vehicle lanes. It's also relatively clean and lit. To me the walk would not be a deal breaker. But to each their own, I suppose.

While SLM is preferable for produce, Loblaw's at Jarvis and QQE is a decent alternative.

 

[TheSix]

The Lake Shore Blvd East Public Realm improvements will improve the various intersections along LSE. The EB Gardiner off-ramp to Jarvis will also be moved to land at Yonge in a few years. Personally I find the walk between QQE to The Esplanade to be OK. Sure, it's not great, but Sherbourne is fine with less vehicles associated with Gardiner on/off ramps. And the walk under the rail corridor via Sherbourne is not so bad with the cycle track separating the sidewalk from vehicle lanes. It's also relatively clean and lit. To me the walk would not be a deal breaker. But to each their own, I suppose.

While SLM is preferable for produce, Loblaw's at Jarvis and QQE is a decent alternative.

Great points! No Frills at front and Princess isn't a far walk either. However, I do hope they bring back plans for a speciality grocer in the Bayside hood. I assume it's just a matter of time once more people move to the area.

 

[tripwire]

I was hoping that T&T (formerly at Cherry St) would move to one of the big open retail spaces in the Aqua* buildings; but I hear it might reopen in Kensington area instead.

 

[DSC]

Scotia Bank is going into the retail on the north (QQE) end. Signage going up today.

 

[Jeff Morgan]

Walked by yesterday and was able to grab a photo.

 

[GenerationLee]

Well, that last photo looks brutal. Especially because it's such a generic image in terms of tenant (even though for the area, it's useful as the nearest branch is about ten mins N or W), and well, the substandard architecture which is brimming with one dimensionality and blandness.
It's obviously better than a For lease sign for a year, especially considering this health crisis going on...geh

 

[condovo]

Neighbourhoods need services like banks. I don't see what's the tragedy here.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

And bank machines are a handy to have around on that long walk from Union Station to Cherry Beach and back again in the mid summer. Especially when one runs into a phat sausage vendor along the way as well...

 

[WeirdFishes]

Walked by yesterday and was able to grab a photo.

View attachment 305153

The refreshed Scotia branding is lovely. Thankfully this isn't an ugly CIBC branch....