Toronto King West Life Condominiums | ?m | 25s | Plaza | Gabriel Bodor

Real brick also looks better. I mean, that bland orange type color they paint the faux brick with is ugly IMO.
 
I would rather have to repaint the precast concrete, lets say every 10 years than have to deal with deteriorating mortar between real bricks on a project this size
 
Pic taken Apr 25, 2012


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Insane density would have been fine, if the planners and designers had done their jobs. It could have been an amazing place, on par with the Distillery but too many people, obviously, dropped the ball here. Let's hope they realize what they have here and stop making such obvious blunders. (no more glass and spandrel monstrosities) They need to continue the brick warehouse theme, with retail lining EVERY major street in the neighbourhood and ONLY underground parking from now on. It's not a total write off yet, especially on the west side but they really need to focus on making it a pedestrian friendly, walkable, animated neighbourhood. It needs to develop its own, unique vibe/culture if it wants to become a serious destination and attract people from outside the neighbourhood.
 
Torontovibe said:
Insane density would have been fine, if the planners and designers had done their jobs. It could have been an amazing place, on par with the Distillery but too many people, obviously, dropped the ball here. Let's hope they realize what they have here and stop making such obvious blunders. (no more glass and spandrel monstrosities) They need to continue the brick warehouse theme, with retail lining EVERY major street in the neighbourhood and ONLY underground parking from now on. It's not a total write off yet, especially on the west side but they really need to focus on making it a pedestrian friendly, walkable, animated neighbourhood. It needs to develop its own, unique vibe/culture if it wants to become a serious destination and attract people from outside the neighbourhood.
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I find the "total write off" comment pretty funny. Projects in the area sold out extremely quickly and there is very little available in the area for lease or sale.....this is one of the most popular areas for young professionals in the city. So somebody - actually a lot of people - don't think this area is a "write off"
 
FutureBuilder said:
I find the "total write off" comment pretty funny. Projects in the area sold out extremely quickly and there is very little available in the area for lease or sale.....this is one of the most popular areas for young professionals in the city. So somebody - actually a lot of people - don't think this area is a "write off"
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You're talking about condo sales and I'm not. I'm talking about city building and creating a great neighbourhood that people from outside the district, will want to visit. (as well as architecture, beauty & character) Cityplace sells condos but few people outside the hood will travel there for any reason. It's basically a suburban neighbourhood that just happens to be located downtown. I hope we've learned our lesson and stop doing that but I'm a cynical man, so I wouldn't bet on it. I hope Liberty Village goes in a different direction.
 
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Torontovibe said:
You're talking about condo sales and I'm not. I'm talking about city building and creating a great neighbourhood that people from outside the district, will want to visit. Cityplace sells condos but few people outside the hood will travel there for any reason. It's basically a suburban neighbourhood that just happens to be located downtown. I hope we learned our lesson and stop doing that but I'm a cynical man, so I wouldn't bet on it. I hope Liberty Village goes in a different direction.
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I have to support the statement that Liberty Village is a destination at least for now. I don't believe as you say Cityplace is.

We went in there to just go to a restaurant and for the ambience and we don't live there. We would probably go back again to walk around. We would not do that around Cityplace.

We are in our 50's. My daughter who is in her 20's goes there as a destination as well and does not live there....in fact lives downtown.(not Cityplace).
 
interested said:
I have to support the statement that Liberty Village is a destination at least for now. I don't believe as you say Cityplace is.

We went in there to just go to a restaurant and for the ambience and we don't live there. We would probably go back again to walk around. We would not do that around Cityplace.

We are in our 50's. My daughter who is in her 20's goes there as a destination as well and does not live there....in fact lives downtown.(not Cityplace).
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We also go to Liberty Village to shop (great cheese shop), to go to restaurants or just to wander around. We go to Cityplace to get to the Dome for Jays games. We are also in our 50s and living walking distance to both areas.
 
FutureBuilder said:
I find the "total write off" comment pretty funny. Projects in the area sold out extremely quickly and there is very little available in the area for lease or sale.....this is one of the most popular areas for young professionals in the city. So somebody - actually a lot of people - don't think this area is a "write off"
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The point is that these developments could have been so much better than what they are. Just because the units sell very well doesn't mean that developers did their best, or worked hard creating an engaging community or vibrant streetscape. By that kind of measure, suburban sprawl is a huge success as well. Those endless fields of cookie-cutter houses were all sold to hungry and willing buyers.

Liberty Village is a destination, but you have to look west of these new developments for the explanation. In my opinion, the best development in the area is the Toy Factory Lofts. It meshes very well with the existing mixed-use buildings. It is that mixed-use and creative repurposing of the buildings and the lane ways, and their diverse uses, that makes the area attractive, not building after building of what amounts to nothing more than vertical suburbs.
 
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I never understand this "vertical suburbs" term. How can such a dense area be called a suburb? Isn't "vertical suburb" an oxymoron? To me, the salient characteristics of a suburb are low density, car dependence, and homogenous (residential) use. If this area only (sort of) commits the latter crime, how can it be called suburban?
 
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