Toronto Luna at Concord CityPlace | 125.88m | 38s | Concord Adex | Core Architects

CityPlace has potential.. The eastern end is in my opinion a missed opportunity, but the western end is looking more and more promising.

We'll see.. I hope the retail space in Parade includes a lot of cafes/eatiers, because patios fronting Fort York + LRT line and park will look gorgeous. Remember, the hill at the park will block sightlines of the Gardiner.
 
Compare the Cityplace site to the plans for the West Don Lands.

First, to be clear, the land mass areas are different. Cityplace is about 44 acres (including 8 acre park) and the West Don Lands is roughly double that (with a 23 acre park). However, both face very similar barriers on various sides (water, gardiner, railroad tracks).

What makes them different is that the WDL is attempting to build a neighbourhood with walkable and bikable areas that works to connect itself to the existing framework of the city.

There is nothing on the WDL site now. But these are small changes that could have been adjusted earlier at Cityplace that the planners for WDL and Waterfront Toronto are taking care of now.

Cityplace just doesn't feel right to me. The roads should not be that wide. The sidewalks shouldn't be that wide either. The best area was where the entrances to Montage and whatever the other buildings were. It was cozy and felt human. However, when I was there every bit of sidewalk space was covered with cars!

I think it could have been better.
 
There is one glaring difference when comparing the West Don Lands with CityPlace and that is that the WDL contains only a tiny through street (Cherry) with semi-major routes along the periphery while CityPlace has to deal with the daily exodus of workers/travellers/tourists in and out of the Financial & Entertainment Districts. The built form in the eastern portion was specifically designed for crowd control since this area surrounds the Rogers Center and the MTCC along with the ACC. There is the potential of 100,000 people exiting an area of less then a kilometer squared in an hours time.

Are there any other small blocks of 'neighbourhood' space in which this can happen and if so how do they compare to CityPlace east?

*For the record, I am not the greatest fan of the eastern portion of CityPlace but the western portion is growing on me and I look forward to its completion with a proper Portland Street bridge.
 
greenleaf said:
Compare the Cityplace site to the plans for the West Don Lands.

First, to be clear, the land mass areas are different. Cityplace is about 44 acres (including 8 acre park) and the West Don Lands is roughly double that (with a 23 acre park). However, both face very similar barriers on various sides (water, gardiner, railroad tracks).

What makes them different is that the WDL is attempting to build a neighbourhood with walkable and bikable areas that works to connect itself to the existing framework of the city.

There is nothing on the WDL site now. But these are small changes that could have been adjusted earlier at Cityplace that the planners for WDL and Waterfront Toronto are taking care of now.

Cityplace just doesn't feel right to me. The roads should not be that wide. The sidewalks shouldn't be that wide either. The best area was where the entrances to Montage and whatever the other buildings were. It was cozy and felt human. However, when I was there every bit of sidewalk space was covered with cars!

I think it could have been better.
Click to expand...

Its nuts to compare something that is a vision and might never get built in our lifetime to something that exists. Cityplace might not be perfect but its a big step ahead of what existed there 10 years ago. :)
 
I think both points of view are right, in a way...

City Place will indeed be improved with the park and Sobeys, and hopefully there will be lots of trees and landscaping around to soften the impact of those massive traffic arteries. There is also something impressive about the looming presence of this huge residential area. As Granny says it is a sort of 'vertical suburbia' in a futuristic 'Jetsons' kind of way (how long before little personal space craft are seen tripping from balcony to balcony?), yet near enough to 'real' city living that we can almost excuse the absence of a street-level urban experience. Ease of access to effective and efficient public transit will be key to how this pumped up suburb fares.

That said, I agree that I wouldn't want to live here, and no offense to those who do or who would. Understanding the realities of how Toronto works I frankly seriously doubt we'll see the sort of green/urban streetscaping that will be required to soften City Place's mass and the presence of the traffic arteries that dissect it. I also question whether the type of public transit needed will ever work its way into the heart of this community to truly and effectively link it with the fabric of the rest of the city. Without this it will always feel like a bit of a suburban outpost by the highway on-ramps. There is also a lifestyle issue here whereby the very reason we choose an urban setting to live in is to have street level connections with others, to live/work/play in diverse neighbourhoods and to not have to rely on a car to get us to the places we want to be. City Place will fare better with some of these things than others but will 'probably' not be great at any of them, no matter what 'potential' the emerging area still has yet to realize.
 
Granny said:
All I ever seem to read about Cityplace always seems to have the same tired cliches.
It's going to be nicer when it's finished.
Just wait till the next whatever project is completed. It will be better then.
Just wait till Sobeys is open. It will be better then.
Just wait till the park is finished. It will be better then.
This area has so much potential.
Click to expand...

I think you are confusing "cliches" with "facts"
 
I also question whether the type of public transit needed will ever work its way into the heart of this community to truly and effectively link it with the fabric of the rest of the city.
Click to expand...

Spadina streetcar runs right through it. And at the western end it will be a short walk to the Bathurst car.
 
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