Toronto RioCan Hall | 145.2m | 42s | RioCan | Hariri Pontarini

I don't see the problem here.

The heritage feature is preserved. The rest of the building is not heritage. Sounds reasonable to me.

Except all the interior structure and the other 90% of the heritage buildings onsite that were stripped away at some point. A heritage facade is nowhere close to being a preserved heritage building.

But of course for this project that ship sailed years ago when they were facadectomy’d for the Scotiabank Theatre.
 
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Echoing what was being said about the need for park space in the ED, I would love to see Rio Can try to buy the properties to the east of the Bond (Hooters, the houses, and the garage). Then they could increase the porosity of the development (good north/south circulation) and they could raze the hooters/garage and put a park there instead. I know these properties could technically host a tower (albeit a very slim one), but it would feel good for John to have a bunch of little parkettes . I know it's not likely, but it would be nice. Overall I like the proposal and the juxtaposition of styles/use of brick.
 
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Echoing what was being said about the need for park space in the ED, I would love to see Rio Can try to buy the properties to the east of the Bond (Hooters, the houses, and the garage). Then they could increase the porosity of the development (good north/south circulation) and they could raise the hooters and put a park there instead. I know these properties could technically host a tower (albeit a very slim one), but it would feel good for John to have a bunch of little parkettes . I know it's not likely, but it would be nice. Overall I like the proposal and the juxtaposition of styles/use of brick.
If I get what you are saying here, you want RioCan to buy up the Hooters site, consent it to this lot assembly, and propose their S.42 contributions on the Hooters site?
 
If I get what you are saying here, you want RioCan to buy up the Hooters site, consent it to this lot assembly, and propose their S.42 contributions on the Hooters site?

I suppose the idea wasn't that well fleshed out, but essentially yes, that was what I was suggesting. I was really just dreaming that now that there is a major redevelopment proposed for the scotia site finally the hooters blight could be dealt with as well. I'm not sure what other possibilities might exist - keep the John/Richmond parkette and partner with the city to buy out the hooters site (not sure if there are multiple property owners there)?
 
I suppose the idea wasn't that well fleshed out, but essentially yes, that was what I was suggesting. I was really just dreaming that now that there is a major redevelopment proposed for the scotia site finally the hooters blight could be dealt with as well. I'm not sure what other possibilities might exist - keep the John/Richmond parkette and partner with the city to buy out the hooters site (not sure if there are multiple property owners there)?
RioCan can give the city cash-in-lieu of parkland, and the city could use the money to purchase the Hooters site (or whichever site they want) for a park.
 
1997, here's a photo of a billboard promoting Festival Hall

It did not open when the billboard promised: according to Wikipedia, it opened in 1999. I've kept (most of) my movie tickets from over the years, and my first one from the Paramount is from May 20, 1999, to see Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace (so not particularly auspicious!).

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It did not open when the billboard promised: according to Wikipedia, it opened in 1999. I've kept (most of) my movie tickets from over the years, and my first one from the Paramount is from May 20, 1999, to see Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace (so not particularly auspicious!).

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How did I forget to check Wikipedia before going on a hunt for old photos ?‍♂️
 
Something I've never been able to figure out is how the staircase to hell was ever allowed by code. One tripped step, and chances are you'll stop at the very bottom. The danger of tripping is especially piqued after the wearing of 3D glasses, which leaves residual spacial and distance awareness compromised.
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TripAdvisor.ca
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TripAdvisor.ca
There's nothing redeeming about this building for me. There's many fine buildings to lament the loss of in Toronto, this sure ain't one. On that count alone I favour the redevelopment of this site as opposed to other sites that should remain untouched.
 
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