stjames2queenwest
Senior Member
Jokes aside I can't see this not happening, everyone wants it, it's been approved, I imagine a lot of international buyers will want in on this. I just wish it would happen faster.
Toronto Forma | 308m | 84s | Great Gulf | Gehry Partners
- Thread starter golodhendil
- Start date
Automation Gallery
Superstar
I agree, this will sell out fast,
lot of people on this forum would rather see this not happen and have those sacred warehouses preserved
buildup
Senior Member
Or a cream painting brick plaque recognizing the historic underwear manufucaturer that used to be there that folks were so tied up in knot over.
Big Daddy
Senior Member
Thank God preserving that old warehouse only cost us one 80 storey Gehry tower and an potentially world class art gallery. whew!
buildup
Senior Member
True, that was a close call. We need lead time on major cultural initiatives - particularly art galleries - if we're going to crush them reliably.
One idea is diversion by luring cities like New York or LA into offering gallery space so we wouldn't have to battle Mirvish by ourselves?
Or better yet, pass a bylaw that towers must be pure residential - pristine concepts.
ok, I'll stop now...
But seriously, this city is infested with culture!
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You guys are a tad over the top. You do realize the Aga Khan Museum moved to Toronto because London wouldn't let them do what they wanted right? We are not the only ones.
Forgotten
Active Member
I truly wonder if the chief planner had her hand in that one or not.
someMidTowner
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Jennifer Keesmaat became Chief Planner in 2012. What in the world are you talking about?
wolfewood
Active Member
The diabolical woman must've made a time machine! /s
Honestly, for all the whining about lost art galleries I still don't see where the wild-eyed confidence in people like Sam Mizrahi or David Mirvish is. I mean, Mizrahi's built a couple midrise condos and Mirvish had a role in One King West (that turned into quite the shitshow thanks to Stinson but still) but neither have ever worked at the level of the buildings proposed on King or Bloor. Mirvish's current vision seems slightly more realistic but it's pretty unrealistic considering the market he's operating in (where the Entertainment District is flooded with mid-market condos and the city-wide luxury market still recovering from the sudden infusion of the four hotel/condo buildings) and I just don't see this happening at the level everyone seems to blindly believe it will. You can say, "It's his legacy" and that he'll blow a ton of money on this for that legacy but surely that also makes one question his business sense here? I think a lot of people are starstruck by the Gehry name and the idea of progress and are prepared to jump into some risky ventures for the dream of better.
mrxbombastic
Active Member
Where is this notion we are losing an art gallery coming from? Mirvish's works will be on display in a gallery to be built ontop of one of the heritage buildings to the west of the POW theater. Under the three tower proposal the gallery was to be houses inside the tower podiums, now it just moved two doors down the street.
junctionist
Senior Member
Some are strangely bitter about a project set to deliver iconic architecture, the tallest skyscraper in the nation and a new art gallery--all while keeping heritage features and a prominent theatre intact.
stjames2queenwest
Senior Member
I think it will happen. A project like this is going to get a lot of international publicity. Toronto is north america's boom city, everything is filmed here, and its a project like this that's going to attract big names, celebrities, producers, investors etc. May sound silly to some but I work in the area and see Holly wood actors/ film production crews etc all the time, and they often talk about how they are looking for property since they are here so often and are tired of renting out of places like the Soho where they cannot decorate. This is exactly the kind of place people like that would want to buy. Not Pinnacle on Adelaide.
Big Daddy
Senior Member
I'm not bitter, but I am deeply disappointed that the city couldn't see past the "historical" hoopla of old warehouses to see the grandeur of a once in a lifetime development. Yes, we will get an art gallery but it will be a fraction of the the world class gallery originally proposed - a "seven eleven" of contemporary / abstract art. It could have been something, now it will be a store front.
I am sure that what will be built will be exceptional, and I am eagerly awaiting it - but we must be honest, we did force Mirvish and Gehry to agree to a compromise that called for the scaling down of the project by losing one magnificent tower and one world class art gallery so we could save one or two old warehouses that no one even knows the historical importance of.
There are a lot of buildings in this city that must be preserved and genuinely deserve the protection of the "heritage" designation - but if we water it down to include any building simply because it is old, we put the whole concept in jeopardy and it will ultimately lose the support it needs.
88drums
Active Member
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the third tower scrapped primarily to save the POW Theatre?
Also, doesn't it seem a bit bold to call our new contemporary art gallery a 7/11 when we know next to nothing about it, and the former iteration a world-class art gallery when we knew next to nothing about that?
Tewder
Senior Member
... so let me understand what you're saying: on the one hand Mirvish is a visionary genius who will put Toronto on the map, on the other hand he cannot decide for himself how best to develop his property? Look, if Mirvish wanted to retain an art gallery at the original conceptual size he would have. He and Gehry are the ones opting to pare it back to 'roof top' size, and to think they don't have their own reasons for doing so is silly. Ditto the Princess of Wales and the third tower! If they truly wanted the original preliminary design concept they would have wrangled further, or they are just about the most tame and docile developers this city has ever seen!
Characterizing the issues here as 'historic hoopla' really misses the point. This isn't about History at all, it's about the rich fabric of the existing urban realm here, and the deliberate design decision to take advantage of this asset, layering it further for density, creating a dialogue between old and new, and leaving the legacy of an even more interesting streetscape along King. I'm not suggesting that a clean-slate approach isn't ever the right way to go (sorry Stollery), only that it may come down to a choice between good options... and this is Mirvish's choice here. This, along with saving an amazing performing arts centre while still adding other cultural facilities is win/win in anybody's book.
...and let's not forget the new public space they will be creating: This alone underscores the Mirvish/Gehry priority of respecting while enhancing the public realm, preserving the layers of history and heritage already established here by his family. A clear-cut/bulldozed approach may have its merits too - differing ones - but obviously doesn't offer the advantages he has come to favour... and I'm pretty sure Mirvish knows best what's best for Mirvish.