Toronto St Lawrence Centre Redevelopment | ?m | ?s | CreateTO | Hariri Pontarini

Preferred choice for the St. Lawrence Centre Redevelopment Competition

  • Brook McIlroy, Trahan Architects, and Hood Design Studio

    Votes: 11 13.9%

  • Diamond Schmitt, Smoke Architecture, and MVVA

    Votes: 12 15.2%

  • Hariri Pontarini, LMN Architects, Tawaw Collective, Smoke Architecture, and SLA

    Votes: 39 49.4%

  • RDHA, Mecanoo, Two Row Architect, and NAK Design Strategies

    Votes: 16 20.3%

  • Zeidler Architecture, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Two Row Architect, and PLANT Architect

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • Total voters
    79
  • Poll closed .
Northern Light said:
A report to the St. Lawrence Centre redevelopment Ctte meeting next week recommends moving ahead w/the project.

The next stage will be going to schematic design and finding the funding for construction. No renders in the report, but we do have some idea what they have in mind.

Lets start w/the basic report:


From the above:


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The real positive here:

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Here's a link to the heritage principles of any design:


Here's a link to the 'test fit' drawings:

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$421,474,622! Nearly half a billion dollars?! Did I read that right?? That's friggin' bonkers!
 
condovo said:
Nearly half a billion dollars?! Did I read that right??
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For clarity, the estimate, if they started work tomorrow, and if nothing went sideways during construction is 295M

The larger number assumes construction starting 2026, factors in regular and construction-inflation, then layers on a contingency budget.

* keep in mind a chunk of that is also design contingency, we don't even have renders yet, let alone schematic drawings, so there is a high margin of error at this stage on the cost estimate.
 
Northern Light said:
For clarity, the estimate, if they started work tomorrow, and if nothing went sideways during construction is 295M

The larger number assumes construction starting 2026, factors in regular and construction-inflation, then layers on a contingency budget.

* keep in mind a chunk of that is also design contingency, we don't even have renders yet, let alone schematic drawings, so there is a high margin of error at this stage on the cost estimate.
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Even $295 million on such a limited site is completely unacceptable given the uncertain, inflationary times we're living in. I mean, people are struggling to pay for groceries, including many here in St. Lawrence. I don't see how such an expenditure can be justified, whether you're on the right or left. Insane.
 
condovo said:
Even $295 million on such a limited site is completely unacceptable given the uncertain, inflationary times we're living in. I mean, people are struggling to pay for groceries, including many here in St. Lawrence. I don't see how such an expenditure can be justified, whether you're on the right or left. Insane.
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I certainly agree that pressing social concerns need attention, with some urgency, and material investment, and absent that, this is a hard sell.

I think it would be appropriate to consider how those other issues are being tackled by the time this comes up for a serious discussion, next year.

I freely confess, I find the budget somewhat excessive. Since we don't have a real design to go on, it's difficult to judge how it's being spent.

I do wonder though if some of that is the desire to retain the appearance of the current building, something with which I very much disagree.
 
Northern Light said:
I certainly agree that pressing social concerns need attention, with some urgency, and material investment, and absent that, this is a hard sell.

I think it would be appropriate to consider how those other issues are being tackled by the time this comes up for a serious discussion, next year.

I freely confess, I find the budget somewhat excessive. Since we don't have a real design to go on, it's difficult to judge how it's being spent.

I do wonder though if some of that is the desire to retain the appearance of the current building, something with which I very much disagree.
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Well, this proposal is completely ill-timed and tone-deaf, IMO. It reminds me of the millionaires who corralled local media, just as the pandemic was starting, to sob over the renovation ills at their sprawling penthouse on Bloor. It's in one of the threads here on UT. Mind-boggling detachment from reality.
 
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CapitalSeven said:
There's always money to prop up an expressway or deep bore a light rail tunnel for 2500 pphpd. But culture, what were they thinking?
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Totally! $421,474,622 here, $421,474,622 there. What's the problem, right? As for the people living in tents a few blocks up at Richmond and Victoria: Let them eat cake.
 
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St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts plans to launch international design competition for future building​


May 4, 2022

The St. Lawrence Centre Redevelopment Committee has marked the next phase for a reimagined St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, lead by TO Live and CreateTO.

The committee is now seeking City Council’s endorsement of the program; if approved, it will kick-off an international design competition to attract talent to design the future building.

“The reimagined STLC will create a cultural ecosystem where renewed cultural spaces, innovative spaces and gathering spaces will anchor the STLC as a cultural and civic hub along the important Front Street cultural corridor,” says the committee.

A reimagined STLC will create a new state-of-the-art cultural hub and community asset for the city, offer flexible spaces such as a theater, rehearsal hall, studios and workshops. The committee further states that the building will target Toronto Green Standards, Version 3, Tier 4 and establish new sustainable performance standards for this archetype.

The next steps require City Council’s approval to advance to Phase 2 of the City’s Major Capital Project Approval Process (concept design, through an international design competition, site investigation and due diligence to inform a project budget and schedule).

Subject to City Council’s approval, a design competition would be launched in Q3 of 2022 with a recommended design team and project budget reporting to Executive Committee and City Council in Q2 of 2023.

www.canadianarchitect.com

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts plans to launch international design competition for future building

The St. Lawrence Centre Redevelopment Committee has marked the next phase for a reimagined St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, lead by TO Live and CreateTO. The committee is now seeking City Council’s endorsement of the program; if approved, it will kick-off an international design competition to...
www.canadianarchitect.com www.canadianarchitect.com
 

New plan to rebuild St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts to go before Toronto city council​


May 11, 2022

TO Live has said the current centre doesn't reflect industry-wide standards for performing arts companies and doesn't provide accessible entryways throughout the building. The agency says it would cost more than $40 million to bring the building to a state of good repair, all of which prompted city council to endorse the redevelopment of the property in 2020.

Coun. Gary Crawford, who represents Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest and is on the redevelopment committee, says it's exciting to have the plan finally come back to council.

"A lot of work has happened over the last number of years and it's the consultation component that I think has really brought this potential project to light."

Over the past two years, the city and external consultants got feedback from the arts community and Toronto residents. The findings showed that there was a lack of green, affordable and accessible spaces for artists in the city — specifically ones that are technologically suited for in-person and online use.

The consultation also showed the new centre could address the isolation that damaged the neighbourhood socially and culturally due to the pandemic, if the plan is approved.

"I'm confident that the council will support taking the next step," said Crawford.

"[But] the funding will be one of the big challenges."

The initial design and consultation fees for the project are estimated to cost $295.5 million. However, factoring in the cost of construction and potential changes in design as the project develops, the total cost is estimated at $421.4 million, which TO Live says will be funded in part by the city, other levels of government and the private sector.

TO Live says if city council approves the plan, it will launch an international design competition this summer to find architects. A confirmed budget would come back to city council by the spring of 2023, while construction would start in 2026.
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AlbertC said:

New plan to rebuild St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts to go before Toronto city council​


May 11, 2022



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The discussion at Executive was very supportive, the Mayor really seems to like the investment. I will be amazed if it is not passed by Council but not as optimistic we will actually see the project started (or completed). It depends on getting lots of $$ from the Feds, the Province and private donors.

UPDATE: Passed without a vote at Council.
 
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condovo said:
Totally! $421,474,622 here, $421,474,622 there. What's the problem, right? As for the people living in tents a few blocks up at Richmond and Victoria: Let them eat cake.
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Setting this cost against housing needs is a valid point. The CBC article linked just above stresses that a real problem for the arts community is that they can't afford to live in Toronto. So is spending on arts venues justified if the artists have moved away, or are living under the propped up expressway? If we weren't overpaying for roads and tunnels where they aren't needed, we could build venues and housing for the arts community.
 
canada.constructconnect.com

Better Buildings Boot Camp fosters student ideas on Toronto landmark - Daily Commercial News

Forty-seven diploma and graduate students are weighing in on the transformation of a Toronto landmark through Sustainable Buildings Canada’s (SBC) Better Buildings Boot Camp. The Brutalist-style St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts that opened in 1970 at 27
canada.constructconnect.com canada.constructconnect.com

Forty-seven diploma and graduate students are weighing in on the transformation of a Toronto landmark through Sustainable Buildings Canada’s (SBC) Better Buildings Boot Camp.
The Brutalist-style St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts that opened in 1970 at 27 Front St. E., is aging and outdated. It no longer meets the functional needs of the arts community or the neighbourhood, exacerbated by the pandemic and a decimated cultural sector.

The centre, managed for the city by TO Live, is slated for a dramatic $295 million transformation in partnership with Create TO that will add thousands of square feet and create a state-of-the-art cultural and community hub.

This is the third year the boot camp has been offered by SBC. The program was created with input from sustainable building subject matter experts and faculty from various post-secondary institutions. The free virtual week-long camp’s activities and design workshops engaged university and college students in real-world applications as they learned from sustainable building subject experts and academic faculty. Previous boot camp projects have included a deep energy retrofit and a new building, both at the University of Toronto.

The St. Lawrence Centre became this year’s project after University of Toronto professor John Robinson, an SBC board member, asked Leslie Lester, vice-president of the St. Lawrence Centre Redevelopment at TO Live, if she was interested in having the centre as the subject building.

“It’s very early in the conceptual stage and a very exciting time, so the students could do a lot of blue-sky thinking,” says Mike Singleton, executive director of SBC.

“The building was purpose-built more than 50 years ago and has two venues, an 800-seat theatre and a 500-seat hall built for political debates,” explains Lester. “There has been no significant renovation that would change how the building operates. The way people see performances has changed, the building is not AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) compliant, a lot of things are in poor repair.”
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