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

canmark said:
Edit to add: Just noticed that on Twitter the talk seems to be "Princess of Wales Theatre to be demolished for condos." I think they need to deflect that talk and show how this complex will provide benefits to the city beyond just 'more condos.' The loss of the theatre is big, but a theatre can be replaced. But the addition of two new art spaces, classrooms, lecture halls, shops and restaurants, and possible other features--these are all to gain by this project.
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The Elgin & Wintergarden is sadly underused. I'd love to see Mirvish or an aggressive competitor secure a multi-year deal to properly book and manage this sensational venue. Even using the Elgin as a movie cinema for big exclusive engagements like "The Master" would be far better than seeing it sit empty for 3/4 of the year.

Chrisel said:
Hopefully this will lead to other developers raising their game.
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Here, here!
 
Awesome proposal for skyscraper geeks. We've been waiting a while for this project. Hopefully it can get over 300 meters and 1000 feet.

As for the heritage buildings, the scale of the development and the money behind it, makes me confident that they will be preserved in some form for the future.
 
themarc said:
Hahaha - Ydessa would never do something so landmark in Toronto - she'd insist on doing it in NYC.
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One can always tell when the real estate market is about to hit its zenith just as the mega projects begin to be announced.
 
Peepers said:
Lets hope that this is for real and not just a fantasy. If real it would be the most exciting project announced to date for Toronto. The three towers appear to be over 70 stories each - in fact judging from the screen shots above each tower appears to be taller than First Canadian!
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I'd go further and say this is as exciting as any project, anywhere in the world, in the last 10 years.
 
Joe R. said:
...I personally am not a fan of the fact that all three towers are basically identical in height and would be so close to each other. Also, they would block a significant portion of the CN Tower when viewed from the north.
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I don't understand this argument. It argues against any tall project - except perhaps in the middle of Lake Ontario, but even then it might block the view from Buffalo of the CN Tower.
 
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It's really easy to get so excited with such a massive proposal but I'm keeping a cool head until we get more solid details on the project, Adam Vaughan's response, how heritage issues are being addressed (ya, I know the warehouses aren't designated but hopefully will be treated as such) and detailed renderings of what Gehry has dreamed up for us.
 
RC8 said:
No it's not. Toronto has a very dense core that will just become denser in the future. The benefits that this much density would bring to the area are completely negligible. The benefits of increased density in Toronto outside the core would be tremendous on the other hand.
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Wow, just when I thought I'd heard it all! Arguments being marshalled against a Gehry mega-project in Toronto!! Something concerning density....are we that afraid of success?
 
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Im going to surmise the city also got funding for the complete re-do of David Pecaut square. I'd posted details elsewhere and gotten a collective yawn.
 
Oh my god oh my god oh my god!!!!!!!! PLEASE let this be for real! I'm in love with these towers, I only pray city council doesn't pull it's usual bag of tricks and diminish the height. I know it's difficult to guesstimate their height, but if these pics are accurate, looks to be at least 75-80 floors, fingers crossed!
 
This project will be a perfect addition to the entertainment district - too bad it doesn't include a theatre.

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The height is irrelevant to me. As I've said before, who cares about the top floor if the 1st floor sucks? I'll be hesitant to support tearing down the current mid-rise buildings on this block if the street-level isn't as good or better than what is currently in place. I'm really not optimistic about that happening given Toronto's history of podium development, but I'm willing to wait and see given the number of unique elements that appear to be involved in this project. If the rumour mentioned above is correct and the facades of the current buildings are kept, that will certainly help the streetscape (as much as it is facadism) and make it more palatable. The fact that Vaughan is heavily involved is also a good sign. Perhaps it means a strong street-level presence, 3 bedroom condos and an acknowledgment that these condos need to be more than just investment assets.
 
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