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

I am sure I am not the only one who would prefer the three proposed towers to be of differing heights. Instead of 300m+300m+300m, I think that 270m+330m+300m would look much better.

Although I am sure that all three towers, if they are approved at all, will be significantly reduced in height. It's the Toronto way!
 
Just goes to show that you don't need a Casino in the project to attract this much investment.
 
This project is the best example -- in a growing list -- of how developers are getting too trigger-happy. The Princess of Wales was a great, sensitive piece of human-scaled infill that completed that block. I like walking that stretch. It's the sort of thing we should be doing.

Now they're going to raze the WHOLE BLOCK as though it were the 60s. Dismal.
 
This came out of thin air!

I think their comment of "we're committed to providing more theatre space in Toronto rather than less" is a sign that the Princess of Wales will be rebuilt somewhere else. Obviously not the same design, but I feel like they'll be announcing a new theatre somewhere downtown, soon.

Unbelievable project. A true Gehry at that!
 
This is a huge game changer, and at the same time it fits naturally in Toronto's evolution into a major player.

When I heard about this project this morning, my first thoughts were of Mirvish's well known modern art museum ambitions. I was spot on, it is included in this project. When I saw the mockups I was pretty happy - extending the city skyline westward is a must, and it is (as I said) a natural progression. (Can you all just imagine the view from Nathan Philips Square?).

Something tells me the anti-height people will lose their battle against these very tall condos. There is no reason to oppose these heights, the area is right, and ripe, for this stuff.
 
TonyV said:
This is a huge game changer, and at the same time it fits naturally in Toronto's evolution into a major player.

When I heard about this project this morning, my first thoughts were of Mirvish's well known modern art museum ambitions. I was spot on, it is included in this project. When I saw the mockups I was pretty happy - extending the city skyline westward is a must, and it is (as I said) a natural progression. (Can you all just imagine the view from Nathan Philips Square?).

Something tells me the anti-height people will lose their battle against these very tall condos. There is no reason to oppose these heights, the area is right, and ripe, for this stuff.
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I have no problem at all with the height. I emphatically DO have a problem with demolishing a block and a half of attractive, mixed-use buildings for a megaproject. This reminds me of nothing so much as the crazed schemes for Metro Centre in the 60s.

King West between University and Spadina is rapidly evolving into one of the best-functioning downtown streets in North America. I simply don't see why it needs intervention on this scale. A project like this would fit better on the waterfront.
 
Mirvish doesn't own lands on the waterfront, he owns them here.

He'll have to go through the planning process like everyone else, mind you, so everyone will get their say.

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I'm not sure what to make of this. I think it's fantastic to see Mirvish invest in the city, but I'm very concerned about the heritage buildings in this area. There's already immense pressure on the restaurant row, and this isn't going to help that either.

EDIT: Apparently none of the buildings on this block apart from the theatre are designated. Still a shame to lose those buildings.
 
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Monday's press conference should be interesting, to say the least! I believe this is the biggest game changer for T.O. in a generation....looks amazing, and the cultural facilties will only make it even better....I believe this is exactly what the city needs in its quest to redefine itself as a world city - absolutely stunning!
 
Globe http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...rvishs-king-street-in-toronto/article4577221/

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Mr. Mirvish will officially announce his plans Monday, but news of the development surfaced early Saturday morning on the chat forum of civic development site urbantoronto.ca after a user found a promotional video for the project online and posted details. The video was taken down shortly after noon on Saturday.
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Wow! This is enormous news.
I was trying to figure out where this was located last night from the video; I knew it was beside Metro Hall but I couldn't fathom that is was on this block. I think this is going to be a similar debate as the Parkin-Bata lands where there will be a long list of pros and cons. I can't see the city turning this down though (other than the Toronto obligatory reduction of 2 to 5 stories)--a block and a half of Gehry eye candy will be way too hard to turn down. And a new museum to boot (Mirvish has a brilliant collection btw (I always hoped he would get together with Adesa Hernandez and create a large scale modern art museum but this will do (especially being free--it will be an attraction))). There are some beautiful building here (even though most of them need some love). It's a shame this isn't in a parking lot--but then again, you wouldn't need to bribe peoples historical morals (along with their urban planning sensibilities) and bring in a A-lister to design it if it were.
I predict Mirvish will offer to buy the Sony Centre as well, which might help council come around. Either way, you know Mirvish will have a very well thought out plan to get this built.
 
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I'm a little torn on all of this. I echo the sentiments that it'd be a shame to loose a lot of the old, human scaled brick/warehouse buildings on that strip. To be honest, that's one of the strips in the city I think works perfectly as-is.

The Star rendering looks very interesting, but first impressions are that it isn't terribly attractive.

On the other hand, I can't wait to see the plans in more detail - perhaps there will be some preservation involved and we'll get a better idea of how it's supposed to look.
 
I would have never guessed that the theatre would disappear, considering the investment in it and the art (Stella's great works). Its a shame it cant be incorporated. We are losing more "entertainment" in this district to condos, once again.

But I am excited about the project. (although I think that its coming at the wrong time as the "boom" is probably over for a while).

And its no wonder Mirvish had no issues with the height of Theatre Park.
 
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