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Charm, unique, quaint, urban grit? These words get bandied about a lot, but Yonge between Dundas and Bloor is a dump with a few stand out buildings here and there. Our main strip is in desperate need of a major over haul, but that doesn't mean that the only solution is sterile modernist blocks.

The idea that Bay or Southcore type architecture is the only option is just puzzling and only speaks to a stunning lack of creativity on the part of our developers and the architects they're hiring. One only need to look around the world to find new, modern, beautiful buildings that manage to steer clear of the glass sterility one finds in too many of our new buildings. Colour, texture, ornamentation, stone, brick, metal, etc. can all be used to create a new Yonge Street that has the scale our modern city needs, yet retain the charm, character, and vibrancy that Yonge currently has in spades.

Yonge is an embarrassing mess, but glass modernism isn't the solution.
 
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How about moving over to the Downtown Yonge thread? I'm dying to get in on this some more but we've gone way O/T being off topic here.
 
junctionist said:
Just restore the heritage buildings and invest in the streetscape. Yonge Street can be beautiful with the foundational built form it already has.
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I agree! Yonge Street has some charming, old buildings that just need a renovation. It can be a very attractive street once the property owners start respecting their buildings.
 
Torontovibe said:
It can be a very attractive street once the property owners start respecting their buildings.
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It can be said to many streets, including Chinatown. But how to make it happen? You can't force owners to throw money and make their properties prettier if they don't think it is necessary.
Admittedly many buildings on Yonge are charming if taken care of, but there are plenty that have no value whatsoever too (the 501 stretch for example).
 
Yes, there are some buildings on Yonge Street, especially between Dundas & Gerrard, that need to be torn down and redeveloped but the beautiful old buildings, need to be saved. Why is it, places like San Francisco seem to be very well maintained (over-all) throughout the whole city, while much of Toronto's buildings are in desperate need of some TLC? I don't see why other cities can maintain the buildings on their main streets, yet Toronto can't. There is no excuse for the dilapidated buildings in places like Chinatown, Queen West and The Danforth. These are all major streets that should be maintained to an acceptable level. Property owners (slum lords) get away with way too much in this city.
 
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Torontovibe said:
Yes, there are some buildings on Yonge Street, especially between Dundas & Gerrard, that need to be torn down and redeveloped but the beautiful old buildings, need to be saved. Why is it, places like San Francisco seem to be very well maintained (over-all) throughout the whole city, while much of Toronto's buildings are in desperate need of some TLC? I don't see why other cities can maintain the buildings on their main streets, yet Toronto can't. There is no excuse for the dilapidated buildings in places like Chinatown, Queen West and The Danforth. These are all major streets that should be maintained to an acceptable level. Property owners (slum lords) get away with way too much in this city.
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I believe many cities have a minimum standard of acceptable disrepair, and if it goes below these standards the property owner can be fined, and if fines aren't paid property is expropriated.
 
Installing or re-installing some regular streetlights from Gerrard up to Bloor would be a good start. The street's really dark at night, and as a friend from New York told me, "fetid looking". The replacement lighting, temporary or not, stuck on the front of buildings hardly helps.

As for this building, somewhat complex or no, it's not like we're building the Taj Mahal. This is creeping along.
This is not the only thing taking an inordinate amount of time to move. The entire master plan, especially regarding the quadrangle, seems to be proceeding pretty slowly.
 
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