Toronto Forma | 308m | 84s | Great Gulf | Gehry Partners

So, fire the entire planning department because you assume that they all oppose a tall building proposal that you love? Do you know that for certain? If the OMB rejects this, will you want them fired as well?
 
argus said:
So, fire the entire planning department because you assume that they all oppose a tall building proposal that you love? Do you know that for certain? If the OMB rejects this, will you want them fired as well?
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Welcome to the UT demographic. People see a few marketing renderings they like, and they fall in love and want it at any cost.
 
Wrenkin said:
Why? Their job is to follow the rules. If you don't like the rules, then ask council to make new ones.
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Rules, now that is laughable. The entire ED has changed considerably from the original low-rise character the city had wanted to maintain. Those rules do not apply here anymore. The area has over a dozen towers under construction and another dozen or so waiting in the wings. So rather than embrace the change, accept and make it work, the city chooses to be delusional and use this project as a scapegoat for what has happened in the area (and on subconscious level what has historically happened in the city).
Why not shift focus to developing the area with great architecture, with buildings that meet the street properly with engaging podiums. What we are getting is far from that. Cinema and Tiff are two examples of massive oppressive podiums. Where is the vision here. Its politicking and nimbyism at is greatest.
Toronto is broken my friends. One only needs to look at the recent hiring of Jennifer Keesmaat to see how completely misguided and backwards the city truly is. The fourth largest city in North America hires a city planner from Peterborough??? No disrespect to Keesmaat, but come on the next logical step for her would be a city like Kitchener or Waterloo, you know to actually work in a city that has some development. This is an utter embarrassment but will ensure the nimbys can keep the city in the dark ages.
 
urbandreamer said:
I asked the developer a question and they answered: awesome :)

(To be honest, the more I cruise around in SketchUp & Google Earth recreating my NimbyTect vision for the Entertainment District, the more I want this proposal to proceed!)
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Great answers from the developer - I wish others were as responsive.

I can't believe there is a holy desire to save some derelict buildings in place of this outstanding proposal.
I
I'm beginning to think this is more a political process than a planning process. Does Mirvish have any enemies at city hall?

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^^^ Though I support M+G, the existing buildings aren't derelict, and the block you've highlighted isn't the one where these towers are proposed to be (except for the building on the very left).
 
Does the OMB have the ability to reverse heritage designation? Can we fire Keesmaat and get someone with vision? There are plenty of heritage buildings Toronto needs to save, but these just shouldn't be on that list.
 
SP!RE said:
Welcome to the UT demographic. People see a few marketing renderings they like, and they fall in love and want it at any cost.
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Seriously. Keesmaat is worse than Ford? The City has zero vision? Hell one poster here couldn't even find the buildings proposed to be demolished. It's no wonder a bunch of shiny pictures have them totally blinded to anything other than seeing this project built.

And before anyone accuses me of being a NIMBY, anti-development or anything else, I would like to see this development go ahead, both in it's current form and one which does a better job of respecting the warehouses on site. I'm just sick of the unbearable hyperbole on this site. Just because you (hyperbolic posters that is) think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread doesn't mean it is.
 
Yep Toronto lacks vision. Take a look around the system is not working. The city is besieged by the development of mostly mediocre crap everywhere. The DRP and City Planners have failed to have a cohesive vision and accept that Toronto is changing and work to adapt the rules to ensure development gives back more to the city than it takes. Its all about politics and career city counselors who are more interested in their careers (appeasing nimbys) than the greater good of Toronto.
Hell the city cannot commit 100 percent to any project. Look at the farce that is St. Lawrence Market North, Lack of funding for the L Tower podium, the watered down so called "iconic" 10 York that got cheaper and less spectacular after the DRP got its hand on the design. The list goes on and on....

Mirvish loves Toronto and wants to do something spectacular here. I trust him more than any other developer in the city to see his vision through. His name and legacy are attached to this and he and family have done so much for Toronto. Its a slap in the face to him and what his family have done for this city.
Dozens of pages lamenting these warehouses and hardly a peep about the Concourse Building. That is a travesty, a disneyfied facadectomy that doesn't even stay true to the original floor count. That my friends is our city hard at work preserving "heritage". Give me a break, the hypocrisy is sickening.
 
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Do the shenanigans at City Hall today affect the Preservation Board meeting that was to have taken place?
 
DtTO said:
Does the OMB have the ability to reverse heritage designation? Can we fire Keesmaat and get someone with vision? There are plenty of heritage buildings Toronto needs to save, but these just shouldn't be on that list.
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In all fairness, Keesmaat is new in her position and Mirvish was, unfortunately her first high profile project. The problem is that she should have never been hired in the first place. She is woefully unqualified to be heading up the planning dept. in Toronto. She knows nothing about dealing with large developments or a large city. It like New York City hiring their city planner from Hoboken New Jersey . Hiring her for this position just confirms how out to lunch the city really is when it comes to planning.
 
skyrise said:
Rules, now that is laughable. The entire ED has changed considerably from the original low-rise character the city had wanted to maintain. Those rules do not apply here anymore. The area has over a dozen towers under construction and another dozen or so waiting in the wings. So rather than embrace the change, accept and make it work, the city chooses to be delusional and use this project as a scapegoat for what has happened in the area (and on subconscious level what has historically happened in the city).
Why not shift focus to developing the area with great architecture, with buildings that meet the street properly with engaging podiums. What we are getting is far from that. Cinema and Tiff are two examples of massive oppressive podiums. Where is the vision here. Its politicking and nimbyism at is greatest.
...
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Sorry, I'm not sure I understand. There are already tall buildings so in your opinion that justifies unaccountable bureaucrats tearing up the binding rulebook created by our elected officials? That is what you mean by "do not apply here anymore"? Again, I'm not sure what you mean by "the city chooses". Bureaucrats are not supposed to choose anything, they're supposed to operate within the parameters set for them by our democratically elected officials. If you don't like that then vote for other people. Keesmaat is obviously a little different because she's in a leadership position, but I though she had worked elsewhere, not just Peterborough.
 
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