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

I don't really care what the final height is either, honestly, 150m or 400m, at street level it doesn't matter that much, both are very tall and go way up. If having two even taller towers allows more or the existing buildings to be preserved, that's fine by me. Anyways, I think it should be possible to build all 3 towers and still leave at least two buildings, the ones on either side of the Prince of Wales, intact. That would leave around 28,000 sf for one tower (at the theatre), and around 15-20,000 sf on either side of Duncan. Considering most condo towers have floor plates around 9,000 sf, that should be workable.

The building just East of the Prince of Wales is imo the most valuable by a good margin. The other warehouses are not that unique, the other thing about the other warehouses is their main floor is above ground level, so in many cases, you just have a blank wall at eye level, because your eye is at about the height of the basement's ceiling/main floor's floor. This is less of an issue for lofts on a less important street like Camden or Richmond, but if this project brings something nice at ground level, that's a plus. The building next to John street could also be used as a step back for the West tower, and maybe modify the basement and main floor so that it meets John and King better.
 
buildup said:
I'd go further and say this is as exciting as any project, anywhere in the world, in the last 10 years.
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From what we have seen and read so far, I am inclined to agree with that assessment.

I paid attention during Nuit Blanche tonight as I walked by all of the buildings between the Royal Alex and the Lightbox, and other than the facade of 284 King West (where Dunn's Famous is), I don't care about the other buildings. So save 284. Salvage good materials from the insides of the others, and any particular flourishes on the exteriors that strike a chord.

In regards to the so-called friendliness of the sidewalks here, that has much more to do with the fact that people are walking back and forth because they have to: they're going past these buildings to get to the serious traffic generators beyond them. There's nothing inherently brilliant about how any of the buildings in that section meet the street. I cannot image for a moment that what we will lose here will be of more significance than what's in this Gehry plan.

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interchange42 said:
From what we have seen and read so far, I am inclined to agree with that assessment.

I paid attention during Nuit Blanche tonight as I walked by all of the buildings between the Royal Alex and the Lightbox, and other than the facade of 284 King West (where Dunn's Famous is), I don't care about the other buildings. So save 284. Salvage good materials from the insides of the others, and any particular flourishes on the exteriors that strike a chord.

In regards to the so-called friendliness of the sidewalks here, that has much more to do with the fact that people are walking back and forth because they have to: they're going past these buildings to get to the serious traffic generators beyond them. There's nothing inherently brilliant about how any of the buildings in that section meet the street. I cannot image for a moment that what we will lose here will be of more significance than what's in this Gehry plan.

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I walked a similar path late tonight (early this morning), from the Lightbox (watched "Cent une tueries de zombies") then over to take in the installations along King W. I typed 284 King W. into my iPhone after looking at it, it's a sensational building and must survive, at least as a facade, but I have to say I was sympathetic to all of the buildings except just one which was very disposable. Keep in mind too if all that white paint was removed perhaps the brickwork would make this block even more of a "keeper". So I'm still concerned about the whole block, even the building at the N/E corner of Ed Mirvish Way & King W. Still sad to see Princess of Wales go, it's a mighty fine venue with a terrific street presence. Also, once Princess of Wales Theatre is gone we'll only have one venue left downtown that can handle large scale productions, The Ed Mirvish Theatre.
 
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dt_toronto_geek said:
I walked a similar path late tonight (early this morning), from the Lightbox (watched "Cent une tueries de zombies") then over to take in the installations along King W. I typed 284 King W. into my iPhone after looking at it, it's a sensational building and must survive, at least as a facade, but I have to say I was sympathetic to all of the buildings except just one which was very disposable. Keep in mind too if all that white paint was removed perhaps the brickwork would make this block even more of a "keeper". So I'm still concerned about the whole block, even the building at the N/E corner of Ed Mirvish Way & King W. Still sad to see Princess of Wales go, it's a mighty fine venue with a terrific street presence. Also, once Princess of Wales Theatre is gone we'll only have one venue left downtown that can handle large scale productions, The Ed Mirvish Theatre.
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There is a dangerous trend in Toronto that the condo will save the city. What's ailing can-stage? Put up a condo! North Toronto Collegiate is falling apart - CONDO! The Sony Centre faces the recking ball - put up a condo. For the most part I actually think all of the above examples have worked fairly succesfully - but the condo market is like a drug that our public institutions are becoming increasingly hooked on.

This is not to say that the L Tower wasn't helpful in securing the near-term future of the Sony Centre - but what happens in twenty years when the Sony Centre faces another budgetary short-fall and we've already sold off the air rights? (It's sorta like the great english estates selling off their agricultural land in order to save the main house - fine for the short-term but how do you weather the next storm?)

Toronto - which once used to call itself Broadway North (because of course we can only measure our inferiority complexes vis-a-vis New York) doesnt' seem so very Broadway when we're tearing down a ten year-old purpose built theatre simply because The Dauphin Mirvish purhcased one across town (in order to run his competition out of the city).

I'm open to the merits of this proposal and certainly the cultural element sounds intriguing but condo's aren't a panacea to the city's woes.
 
I couldn't be more happy today, this project is so amazing and I've just read that Nordstrom is going to have their Canadian headquarter in Toronto. It's amazing, I really hope that they could build the three of them :D
 
Does this give the city enough taxes for a downtown relief line or only enough for the meetings about it? It feels like a waste to sit these megaprojects on hundred year old infrastructure. It's not keeping pace and imo will harm the community. This neighbourhood doesn't even have a public library anymore.
 
From BroadwayWorld.com: David Mirvish Writes Letter Addressing New Toronto Complex and Loss of the Princess of Wales Theatre

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Our vision is a project that will encompass three distinct and remarkable residential towers that will be unlike anything that has been built in Toronto. They will be grounded by stepped podiums that will house a large, new public gallery called the Mirvish Collection, a new campus for the OCAD University, and planted terraces that will create a green silhouette overlooking King Street.

The design will create a new profile for the arts and entertainment district at the streetscape and in the skyline, add significantly to the John Street Cultural Corridor, and provide new and enhanced public spaces. The conceptual design, which will continue to evolve, will create a humane and habitable streetscape with wide sidewalks, on which Canada’s Walk of Fame will be preserved and maintained.

The three iconic residential towers, each with a different form, façade and use of materials, will be: a slender and highly articulated tower beside the Royal Alex; and on the block bordered by King, Pearl, Ed Mirvish Way and John Street, a stacked, slatted L-shaped tower and a translucent tri-winged tower. These towers are so distinct, so striking, that I think of them as sculptures by one of the greatest artists of his generation.

The new 60,000-square-foot Mirvish Collection gallery will be a destination for viewing contemporary abstract art. The Mirvish Collection, which my wife and I have built over 50 years, comprises works by leading artists, including Jack Bush, Anthony Caro, HeLen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Robert Motherwell, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Larry Poons, David Smith and Frank Stella. The nonprofit Mirvish Collection will be free, open to the public and will present artist-focused exhibitions. The gallery will also be available to other institutions and to travelling art shows.

This project will not happen immediately. It will be completed in phases. The first phase will be The Warehouse building that currently stands at King Street and Ed Mirvish Way. The second and third phases will be the group of buildings on the block bordered by King, Pearl, Ed Mirvish Way and John Street. We anticipate it will be three to seven years before the entire project is completed.

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The Globe and Mail: David Mirvish on his family’s ties to Toronto’s King Street West
 
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000 said:
Does this give the city enough taxes for a downtown relief line or only enough for the meetings about it? It feels like a waste to sit these megaprojects on hundred year old infrastructure. It's not keeping pace and imo will harm the community. This neighbourhood doesn't even have a public library anymore.
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Probably not with the lowest dev charges in the GTA. Is it even enough for basics like water and sewer is the question - never mind, let's hike water rates ANOTHER 9pc. To be fair though that's a criticism of ALL the current megaprojects, not just this one. With the demented proposal to add parking on King East to keep the shopkeepers happy the 504 sure as hell won't be getting any more efficient overall.
 
just heard about all this on cp24 thats funny how fast things get leaked. i get the feeling that people wont like the idea of the theater being torn down.
 
If this project is ever approved, and that is a big if, it will be 3or4 years before it's even started. With all the projects proposed and under construction, the condo market is getting saturated. As good as this proposal is, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it never gets off the ground. That would be a bummer, as this is the most exciting proposal the city has seen.
 
ptbotrmpfn said:
just heard about all this on cp24 thats funny how fast things get leaked. i get the feeling that people wont like the idea of the theater being torn down.
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Lose a theatre, but get two museums, and much more....I think it's worth it...anyone know what time the press conference is tomorrow?
 
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