Toronto TeaHouse 501 Yonge Condominiums | 170.98m | 52s | Lanterra | a—A

^ no hate-a-thon, from me at least, but often as I have walked by that stretch I have wondered "how long before some developer takes an interest in that row". It surely it can stand intensification.

Some disquieting thoughts, I am having ... I embrace the eventuality that downtown Yonge will be lined with condos and the corridor will have a huge population. Will all those new residents move in, and then object to the current "nightlifing" nature of the area? And will new cafes / pubs / nightclubs / whatnot be discouraged because the stretch has gone residential? I sure hope not. I am foreseeing shades of the club district reaction. I don't want to be sounding the pessimistic bell here but I feel that I must. Or maybe the design of the buildings can take into account the wonderfully noisy nature of the Yonge corridor on weekend nights.

Note to Spire, I echo you regarding BIBT.
 
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What nightlife? I don't remember the last time anyone I know went clubbing, bar-hopping or even dining on Yonge Street. Yonge's wheelhouse is retail. The only thing these condos are going to do is make all that retail go higher end.
 
I'd like to see more cafes and restaurants with patios on Yonge but it's not going to happen with the current layout of the street. Generous setbacks of new buildings and maybe cutting Yonge down to 3 lanes (centre turn lane) would help out.
 
My main concern with this development, along with all those along Yonge (or within the loop in general), is with regards to Public Transit.
the Yonge line is packed now as-is.. what's going to happen once Crystal Blu, Uptown, 5 St Joseph, Aura and now 501 Yonge as 100% occupied? Rush Hour along this stretch is a nightmare, and the Yonge line is often closed for maintenance.

Yonge is not 'known' for it's nightlife, but with the recent trend of smaller venue clubs/bars, Yonge is prime for this type.
One thing Yonge St is desperate for.. TREES!
 
Everyone's saying they don't like this stretch, but Yonge is famous for being a great, interesting street with characters and a variety of restaurants and shops, now it's losing some of that character that makes it interesting and turning into yet another condo stretch. I have no doubts this one will be the generic bland condo that will kill the character of the block. Just my $0.02.
 
DC83 said:
My main concern with this development, along with all those along Yonge (or within the loop in general), is with regards to Public Transit.
the Yonge line is packed now as-is.. what's going to happen once Crystal Blu, Uptown, 5 St Joseph, Aura and now 501 Yonge as 100% occupied? Rush Hour along this stretch is a nightmare, and the Yonge line is often closed for maintenance.

Yonge is not 'known' for it's nightlife, but with the recent trend of smaller venue clubs/bars, Yonge is prime for this type.
One thing Yonge St is desperate for.. TREES!
Click to expand...

That's the idea DC83. Cram more density along Yonge and encourage more ridership, ie more revenue, and force transit improvements.
 
I used to joke with my friend and tell him...drop the bomb...while passing by this stretch on Yonge.
Can't wait to see this re-developed.
 
From an architecture point of view some of you may hate this strip. But as a two storey retail strip how is it any different than the rest of Yonge street in this area? Shall we tear down the block across the street for a Murano style project? Yonge Street is great because of buildings and retail like this. We're going to go from this messy urbanism to a sterile retail frontage similar to Bay Street. I say boo!
 
DC83 said:
My main concern with this development, along with all those along Yonge (or within the loop in general), is with regards to Public Transit.
the Yonge line is packed now as-is.. what's going to happen once Crystal Blu, Uptown, 5 St Joseph, Aura and now 501 Yonge as 100% occupied? Rush Hour along this stretch is a nightmare, and the Yonge line is often closed for maintenance.

Yonge is not 'known' for it's nightlife, but with the recent trend of smaller venue clubs/bars, Yonge is prime for this type.
One thing Yonge St is desperate for.. TREES!
Click to expand...

More condos here is the solution to transit congestion. Right now the Yonge line is crammed full because of people who live in North York or near Eglinton and take the subway downtown for work. By having more residential in the core, that means more people will live within walking or biking distance of their work. I work near University & Dundas but live near Eglinton, so I take the Yonge line to and from work every day. If I lived at Yonge & College, I could walk or bike to work every day.
 
Overall I'm pretty ecstatic that this utterly horrible block will finally be replaced - like others have already said, in terms of architecture and density it's probably the absolute worst stretch along Yonge downtown, and should never have been allowed to be built in the first place. On the flipside though, I'm also concerned about the effects gentrification will have. Let's face it, Yonge's very appeal is based in the fact that, at least south of Bloor, it houses a very eclectic collection of retail stores, and we are guaranteed that shops of a similar nature will not fill the new spaces provided by this proposal. Condos and office buildings simply do not lend themselves to any form of vibrant retail. Let's face it - the way things are going, in 20 years Yonge street will be about as exciting to walk along as Bay street is today, which is to say, not at all. The best we can hope for is that Lanterra will at least give us a stunning design along the lines of Lumiere to look at...

I for one hope that Kleen-Air Shoes will find a new home...
 
Uncle Teddy said:
From an architecture point of view some of you may hate this strip. But as a two storey retail strip how is it any different than the rest of Yonge street in this area? Shall we tear down the block across the street for a Murano style project? Yonge Street is great because of buildings and retail like this. We're going to go from this messy urbanism to a sterile retail frontage similar to Bay Street. I say boo!
Click to expand...

I'd have no problem with the 2 storey buildings if they weren't chalk full of dollar stores, crummy shawarma spots, XXX stores and discount t-shirt stores. Either knock down the buildings or get some better retail. You look at St. Cathereine's street in Montreal, then at Younge Street and you shake your head.
 
Much of this part of Yonge Street has been dowdy for as long as I can remember, and this block's 60s dowdiness has always stood apart from the dowdy Victorians that mostly neighbour it, but it has always reminded me that this was the block that went in sometime after the Yonge subway was dug under here. It has always acted as a reminder of a certain time for me, and it just feels like the kind of place that should have a Papaya Hut in it. Basically both 501 Yonge and Papaya Hut are a pair of aging hippies that have seen better days, but they have kept on truckin' through it all...

Until soon it seems. Although I am not expecting any contrived hippy-ness, here's hoping that Lanterra brings forward a proposal that will still allow Yonge Street to have an eclectic mix of retail, and not just banks and dry cleaners here, when all is said and done.

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I like Yonge's bustle and mix. But especially from College to Bloor, Yonge is looking pretty awful for a main street. From its lack of trees to narrow sidewalks, lousy lighting and ill-kept buildings, it kind of fetid in stretches.

I won't be sad to see this particular block go, architecturally. I certainly hope the replacement has some real architectural interest. There's a lot of space out back of it. As for the character of what will go in the base for retail, I hope it's not the usual dry cleaner/ sub shop/ convenience store stuff. It'd be great if the developer has an open mind and can find a good, urbane replacement mix.

The spectre of Yonge being made more like Bay is not a pleasant one. But I don't think we're in danger of seeing that any time soon through the construction of a few new buildings.
Yonge has a lot of historical architecture that can be retained, built behind, and improved - much like 5ive is doing. That might be one key to keeping it engaging.

Raising the architectural quality of the retail and the environment is crucial, though. Personally, I'd like to see the sidewalks widened to double width, and traffic (taxis and deliveries?) reduced to one way each way. With mature trees, well designed street furniture and lighting, it might actually become a place people want to walk instead of feeling obligated to walk. Trees would be of huge importance here - softening the corridor, the architecture, the noise and the mood. It could use some lovin' and some joy to make it more a place to linger instead of just rush along or across.
 
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