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

I didn't invent the term, but it refers to a high concentration of residential units without any street-level amenities. It's like a vertical bedroom community (suburb).

Lauding density without considering good design and integration into the urban fabric strikes me as a somewhat empty effort. One could achieve density without having to resort to merely plopping down one tower after another. That might generate profit for developers, but it does little for building versatile city neighbourhoods. The real "success" of this neighbourhood lies just west of these new buildings.
 
There's adequate supply of street level amenities although they appear to be haphazardly thrown about instead of continuous along East Liberty. Appearances are deceiving (aside from the townhouses) with all the live/work units that actually offer flexibility of space in these instant communities. The typical chains wouldn't be interested in these spaces either.

While the west side boasts restored heritage structures, it also many junk buildings with asphalt and bumpers in place of sidewalks. It has tons of potential unlike the east side however, it's ridiculously overrated as it stands right now.
 
Whenever I see these buildings, all I can think is "FUTURE SLUM!"

The old parts of Liberty Village are nice - particularly that Carpet Factory - but the new parts, with their expensive amenities, focus on the car and lack of aesthetic interest reminds me of the worst of the suburbs crammed into one crappy city block.
 
this morning
 

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These buildings don't look so bad on top but I hate the way they are at street level, which after all, is the most important thing, in an urban setting.
 
Torontovibe said:
These buildings don't look so bad on top but I hate the way they are at street level, which after all, is the most important thing, in an urban setting.
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I walked by the other day. My issue is how basic looking these things are. There's no attempt at even marginal design here. Cheap home depot pavers, home depot doors, fencing, etc. Everything about it is generic and nothing appears to be customized. The brick is fake..it also looks fake... the "concrete" accents are also fake and look fake. C'mon Plazacorp!

Another missed opportunity.
 
I agree, everything about it, screams cheap! Not only that but the design of the main floor just looks wrong. I just think they put very little thought into it or to put it bluntly, they just don't gave a sh*t what kind of crap they build in Liberty Village. I think because it is in LV, a destination neighbourhood, more attention should be paid to details but obviously, developers just see this area as a cash cow and nothing more. Don't they realize that if they make this area unique and distinct, it will be so much more valuable because people will pay more to live in a beautiful neighbourhood, over just another mediocre, glass box cluster?

YES, it's a HUGE missed opportunity. Christ, this is Liberty Village! It could have been as nice as The Distillery or even bigger and better. That's what's so infuriating about this city. We had a perfect opportunity to create something top rate and we just let the opportunities slip through our hands. I really hate what the developers and the city are doing here. How can you squander that much potential? Sometimes it's really hard to be a Torontonian, especially when walking through Liberty Village.
 
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Torontovibe said:
I agree, everything about it, screams cheap! Not only that but the design of the main floor just looks wrong. I just think they put very little thought into it or to put it bluntly, they just don't gave a sh*t what kind of crap they build in Liberty Village. I think because it is in LV, a destination neighbourhood, more attention should be paid to details but obviously, developers just see this area as a cash cow and nothing more. Don't they realize that if they make this area unique and distinct, it will be so much more valuable because people will pay more to live in a beautiful neighbourhood, over just another mediocre, glass box cluster?
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Monarch, Plazacorp, Canalfa..... We should have known.
 
Well said.

Libery village wasn't even an option when I was looking. The place makes me feel anxious and lost.

gristle said:
I didn't invent the term, but it refers to a high concentration of residential units without any street-level amenities. It's like a vertical bedroom community (suburb).

Lauding density without considering good design and integration into the urban fabric strikes me as a somewhat empty effort. One could achieve density without having to resort to merely plopping down one tower after another. That might generate profit for developers, but it does little for building versatile city neighbourhoods. The real "success" of this neighbourhood lies just west of these new buildings.
Click to expand...
 
From the skyride at the CNE. Not really that familiar with the Liberty Village area so if i put this in the wrong thread please point me in the right direction.

ZAY7Y.jpg
 
Taken 22 Aug 12
Oddly, it looks like an abandoned factory, complete with missing window panes (like they've been broken).

DSC_0955.jpg
 
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