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

AlvinofDiaspar said:
A more reasonable proposal (say, like the Met - and the context for that project is far more forgiving than Yonge) offered from the start might have garnered less vitriol from the community.
AoD
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Even something like the Met at 43s/143 meters, i think would not fly here with many nearby condo dwellers that believe they would still lose their views.
I believe people in the hood are looking at the city for a chop-down to 25-35s/80-95m
 
Personally, it's less to do with views and more to do with context - like I said before, this site on Yonge Street isn't anything like that the Met on Carlton - and even the latter clearly took its' cues on Granby and scaled accordingly.

AoD
 
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Automation Gallery said:
Even something like the Met at 43s/143 meters, i think would not fly here with many nearby condo dwellers that believe they would still lose their views.
I believe people in the hood are looking at the city for a chop-down to 25-35s/80-95m
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This one will go through, at between 190 meters and 200 meters. - I have no doubt.

The parking may be refined, and certainly the podium will be. In the context on sitting on one of the busiest transportation lines in the country, less than a mile from the core/financial district, I can't see how this one doesn't get through intact. If you want sustainability, this is a great way to move forward with that implementing that plan for the long run.
 
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Sorry I meant sustainable growth. That's how I meant to phrase it, high density compact growth, so that we don't sprawl outward, but keep everything regarding development contained within a narrow (or "the narrowest") possible area.

Across the street, from potentially three 60 storey plus towers, don't see an issue with this one. Developers might have to rejig the parking, and podium, but minor concessions in the context of keeping Yonge Street animated and vibrant.
 
caltrane74 said:
Sorry I meant sustainable growth. That's how I meant to phrase it, high density compact growth, so that we don't sprawl outward, but keep everything regarding development contained within a narrow (or "the narrowest") possible area.

Across the street, from potentially three 60 storey plus towers, don't see an issue with this one. Developers might have to rejig the parking, and podium, but minor concessions in the context of keeping Yonge Street animated and vibrant.
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I understand. My thought, however, is that the concept of sustainable growth is necessarily tied to sociopolitical sustainability. Given the negative response by the community to the development, I'd argue that 501 Yonge Street fails at the latter.
 
The polarization is interesting here, and understandable really given the odd situation in place where a lowrise community sits cheek by jowl to one of the city's most important thoroughfares, and one that also just happens to be one of the most obvious cases for dense highrise development in the city (being on a major subway line): two camps duking it out and one will likely have to lose...

As i've said before the city could mitigate the sense of losing by nixing the parking element, allowing the developer to lower the height of the building somewhat, address the traffic concerns, and offer a nicer street-level experience to pedestrians.
 
Tewder said:
As i've said before the city could mitigate the sense of losing by nixing the parking element, allowing the developer to lower the height of the building somewhat, address the traffic concerns, and offer a nicer street-level experience to pedestrians.
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Hi Tewder. What do you think the chances are of that happening? It strikes me as a reasonable suggestion that as you say addresses concerns about street-level experience and traffic on Maitland and Alexander as well as the severe impact on Maitland Terrace.
 
There seems to be a bit of confusion about just how high seven stories is (or isn't). 18 Yorkville, also on Yonge (albeit in a somewhat different context) and also by aA, features a seven story podium and there really hasn't been much of a problem there. Even the Villas on Scollard are seven stories and they've done nothing but improve the quality of that (much smaller) street.

Streetview

In the end, Caltrane and SP!RE are right. This will will go through and it will be big (probably at a height similar to the 190 to 200 Cal suggests). Instead of yammering and hollering about that which they cannot change, residents should focus on the street-level experience, not that aA won't deliver something impeccable anyway.
 
AlphaTO said:
Hi Tewder. What do you think the chances are of that happening? It strikes me as a reasonable suggestion that as you say addresses concerns about street-level experience and traffic on Maitland and Alexander as well as the severe impact on Maitland Terrace.
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I'm biased because I like that little neighbourhood... however, as ProjectEnd points out there are pressures at work here for height, that in their own context aren't entirely unreasonable either. I think the parking component is the biggest issue that if resolved could solve enough other issues to make the height more palatable...
 
ProjectEnd said:
Instead of yammering and hollering about that which they cannot change, residents should focus on the street-level experience, not that aA won't deliver something impeccable anyway.
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It's called civic expression, of which you and SP!RE seem to be contemptuous. Spare us the condecension. Please.
 
way to stand your ground AlphaTO! I'm with you for the most part here, though for me absolute height is not the bottom line issue. Its with the proposed massing of this monstrosity. Completely out of scale and context with its neighbours, a neighbourhood and street level killer...
 
Just because the Big Bad Hilton came and embarrassed Niagara Falls doesn't mean that you can infer anything about what might and eventually will happen here. Check the above streetview for a sampling of how if handled with deft, larger podiums are nothing like what you've described above.
 
ProjectEnd said:
There seems to be a bit of confusion about just how high seven stories is (or isn't). 18 Yorkville, also on Yonge (albeit in a somewhat different context) and also by aA, features a seven story podium and there really hasn't been much of a problem there. Even the Villas on Scollard are seven stories and they've done nothing but improve the quality of that (much smaller) street.

Streetview

In the end, Caltrane and SP!RE are right. This will will go through and it will be big (probably at a height similar to the 190 to 200 Cal suggests). Instead of yammering and hollering about that which they cannot change, residents should focus on the street-level experience, not that aA won't deliver something impeccable anyway.
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With respect, 18 Yorkville isn't a great example - though it is one of my favorate condo highrises downtown. The podium isn't nearly as high as what is proposed at the 501 Yonge project and there are people living inside those windows offering light, activity and visual interest in a lightly traveled section of Yonge Street. A better example would be an above ground parking facility more like this, only a full block long and twice as high



Very oppressive if one can imagine it, IMO.

No matter how they propose beautifying an above ground parking podium, it's like the old saying goes, you can put lipstick on a pig, but... not to mention the traffic issues which are a very real concern to neighbourhood residents.
Finally 2 X 58 on Yonge Street north of Carlton at the sidewalk takes away open skies from the tens of thousands who walk this low-rise stretch every day which just isn't appropriate along this low-rise stretch. Building off Yonge (FIVE, 8 Gloucester, Karma etc.) makes great sense in my mind, it doesn't suck the life off this very popular stretch (see Bay Street) and retains the type of retail and eateries that draw the throngs to this stretch.
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
Finally 2 X 58 on Yonge Street north of Carlton at the sidewalk takes away open skies from the tens of thousands who walk this low-rise stretch every day which just isn't appropriate along this low-rise stretch. .
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Wow, you must live nearby....according to your posts, Yonge street is sacred, and nothing too tall should be built there

Regarding the 60 storey/198.5 meter proposal for that ugly corner of Grenville (460 Yonge st.)

dt_toronto_geek said:
Not bad for Bay Street, bad for Yonge Street.
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