Toronto Bloor Street Revitalization | ?m | ?s | Bloor-Yorkville BIA | architectsAlliance

Lol, yup exactly. That's why you can't and shouldn't always ask the opinion of business owners for their approval fir things that are happening on public space.
 
Toronto has a very similar facade grant program, properties located within BIAs are eligible for Facade Grants, its basically a cost share program where the city gives up to 10,000 (or 12,500 for corner properties) to match owners investments. There are rules about what can be done to ensure a higher level of quality however it is up to the property owner to take advantage of the program, I know Downtown Yonge actively canvases properties it would like to see upgraded however it is ultimately up to the property owner to take advantage of the opportunity.
 
On the other hand the facade grant program is something building owners (we need to make a distinction between building owners and commercial business owners, sometimes they are the same but most often not and each has specific and sometimes conflicting agendas) are very interested in. Infact too interested in. The program was only offered in my area for a short period a few years ago and they were swamped with applications. On the positive side the results show that owners are interested in enhancing their buildings and investing in the neighbourhood, and the resulting "upgrades" signal this intention and are uplifting to the area. On the negative side, I suspect from the perspective of many people on this forum, the results are less than sympathetic to the aesthetics and honest to the character of the buildings in question (example: stucco covering century old brick buildings)
 
Instead of a facade improvement program it should be a facade restoration program with clear guidelines and demand on the restoration of hertiage features where appropriate. Like TOfan said, there are some who would rather see their structure falls into disrepair (e.g. Gould Street) than take advantage of these grants.

AoD
 
Last edited:
Looks pretty good...
20100807a038.jpg
 
Tewder said:
You'd think they would hump it to get it done for in time for the festival.
Click to expand...

Hopefully, Toronto won't think it's all done once this tiny stretch is finished. We still have tons of streets downtown that need a similar makeover. Bay? Yonge? Queen? King? Spadina? Bathurst? Basically all of them.
 
Tewder said:
You'd think they would hump it to get it done for in time for the festival.
Click to expand...

I agree. Especially considering that this is the last year the festival will still have a footprint on Bloor. This would have been a perfect opportunity to show off the street to the stars/critics/filmmakers in attendance before they all move downtown to the Ritz next year. Lost opportunity.
 
TIFF fills all of the downtown and uptown hotels, and that will not change next year. Festival goers will still see films in the Yorkville area as well, as the number of cinemas close to the Lightbox are not sufficient to house the whole festival.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top