Toronto Aquavista at Bayside | 46.94m | 13s | Tridel | Arquitectonica

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Being that it's dark gray brick, I wish they had gone for ironspot so that it might have a sheen and look somewhere between purple and blue in the right light. Failing that, they could have chosen a cheerier colour of brick, but it seems the 2000s were Toronto's gray period (which isn't over quite yet I suppose, and as I mentioned, can always be excused when they pony up for ironsport).

That said, the entire upper section inside the U is a big wave. Atop the podium, inside the U and protected from north winds is the amenities terrace with pool, all with a great view of the lake and benefiting from its southern exposure. On the east and west walls around the outside, the walls of each unit are angled at 45° to allow people inside those suites to also look towards the lake. Those are both good design moves. If they'd just made a better choice in the masonry department, it would be easier to recognize the good things that are going on here.

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The East Bayfront started off with so much promise when Sugar Beach, Sherbourne Common and Great Gulf's Monde went up. But when I see misses like this one, the dead zone that is the Pier 27 community, the ugly Daniels towers that are rising, and the sterility of the podium of Menkes' upcoming Sugar Wharf, I think in the end, it might be an undistinguished part of the downtown core. The quality of the public realm seems to be declining too, with cheaper pavements and plantings.
 
So much negativity. I don't get it. On the "poor/good/great/spectacular" scale I would put this building at "great" - it's quality materials and interesting architecture. Not every building can be a showstopper, and that can't be the standard against which every building is measured. And you say the quality of the public realm is declining while linking to a brand new park that is probably one of the City's nicest small parks (or will be once the flora has grown in and the public art piece is added).

Once complete, the East Bayfront:
  1. Will be one of the (if not THE) most park-dense areas in the City.
  2. Will have interesting, though largely unspectacular, architecture (there'll be some duds, like the Daniels Towers, but the area will still have mostly interesting architecture, including a few showstoppers such as Aqualuna, the Arbour, and Tower 2 at One Yonge, while the bulk of the remainder is good/great architecture by most standards - while we're used to it by now, people still stop and take pictures of the skybridges at Pier 27 all the time).
  3. Will be a grand boulevard (it's identified by the City as a priority in city planning, along with University Ave and others - while we'll see what comes of it, the fact the street is so wide does lend itself to better views).
  4. Will have a great mix of residential, retail, and commercial uses (Daniels City of the Arts is actually a really interesting place that brings people and energy to the area that is quite different from a normal commercial office building, plus a brewery is coming to the laneway - not to mention educational uses such as George Brown College, entrepreneurial uses from MaRS, big-tech/business uses via Waterfront Innovation Centre and potentially Google, an LCBO flagship store, etc.).
  5. Will have a huge pedestrian boulevard (particularly once the Redpath refinery leaves), all along the waterfront.
I hope I don't sound like a homer here. Certainly, with unlimited funds and control, I would have done some, probably many, things differently. But unlimited funds and control is never the case outside of places like Dubai. And I'll be the first to say the East Bayfront area is mostly a deadzone right now. But it's a work in progress, and I think the pieces are coming together to create a great place by almost all measurements.
 
innsertnamehere said:
Any word on any retail tenants here? Both buildings are still completely empty..
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I wonder if there's a reluctance to open there until it's perceived that the area has reached a threshold population, which would be different numbers for different businesses… but higher than current for any business to feel safe to open yet. So far, only the office buildings in the area with a captive daytime population have attracted retail tenants.

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interchange42 said:
I wonder if there's a reluctance to open there until it's perceived that the area has reached a threshold population, which would be different numbers for different businesses… but higher than current for any business to feel safe to open yet. So far, only the office buildings in the area with a captive daytime population have attracted retail tenants.

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Canary District retail was empty for a long time, I think over a year. I had heard that the buildings were offering some sort of lease incentive wherein their rent for X amount of time would be based on profit, and not a flat rate, just because of the newness of the developments. Have to wonder if, in a building city like this, there would be need for a company that does pop-ups for new buildings that carries all the emergent needs of new occupants (cleaning supplies, toilet paper, light bulbs, garbage bags, tool rental).
 
It's called Percentage Rents & it's based on sales. It's quite common in retail real estate, especially with struggling retailers.

jsmith77 said:
Canary District retail was empty for a long time, I think over a year. I had heard that the buildings were offering some sort of lease incentive wherein their rent for X amount of time would be based on profit, and not a flat rate, just because of the newness of the developments. Have to wonder if, in a building city like this, there would be need for a company that does pop-ups for new buildings that carries all the emergent needs of new occupants (cleaning supplies, toilet paper, light bulbs, garbage bags, tool rental).
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I look forward to seeing what businesses go in there, I have to imagine some sort of restaurant/cafe/Starbucks. Is this going to be one of the more residential stretches of the downtown waterfront? Just thinking how that might effect how the Promenade is animated in the future.
 
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