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

College Park said:
...so long as the podium level maintains the Yonge 3 level scale...
Click to expand...

Yonge's 3 level scale is unattractive and inappropriate. As with Sam's down the street, Toronto has moved on, or ought to. It's time for an 8-10 level scale.


Friedrichstraße, Berlin
6ep5x4.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Friedrichstra%C3%9Fe_Berlin_Quartier_206.jpg
 
Yes, it's really only between Dundas and Bloor where height can be an issue (not talking about Yonge north of Bloor here at all). Hopefully Five will set a template for how heritage rows can be incorporated into new additions, preserving what is interesting along Yonge while adding height and density. Ultimately, it may make for a very interesting streetscape along this stretch. This also clears the way for added height where there are no heritage concerns.

My caution here though is an ongoing one in Toronto which is to say a lack of planning. Some vision is definitely needed to guide development along this stretch of Yonge which to my mind is a very important one given that it has the potential to link major retail nodes, Yonge/Dundas with Bloor/Yorkville. We may tend to forget this in latter years but Yonge still is Toronto's 'main street' and dividing line which may just recover its relevance as such given the right planning and vision.
 
A major factor that will determine the shape of this proposal is that the Yonge subway runs reasonably shallowly under this development as it swings from under Yonge Street, to the parking lot and park right-of-way to the east of Yonge. That means delicate work to underpin this building of course, and next to no basement area. Depending on the number of parking spaces that the developer seeks and which the City will require, we will likely find that all parking ends up above ground in the podium... which will make for a bigger podium.

All of that changes of course if the CIty decides to allow more buildings to be built with parking, as such is the case at Residences of the RCMI over on University. While that building will have 9 (if I recall correctly) Autoshare and Zipcar spots, it is right at St. Patrick subway station, whereas this one is a couple of blocks between either Wellesley or College Stations.

42
 
interchange42 said:
A major factor that will determine the shape of this proposal is that the Yonge subway runs reasonably shallowly under this development as it swings from under Yonge Street, to the parking lot and park right-of-way to the east of Yonge. That means delicate work to underpin this building of course, and next to no basement area. Depending on the number of parking spaces that the developer seeks and which the City will require, we will likely find that all parking ends up above ground in the podium... which will make for a bigger podium.
Click to expand...

Well, there's a half-century-old parking-podium precedent a couple of blocks down at Yonge + Carlton...
 
Was walking along Yonge with a buddy and came to a realization that the next big redevelopment that should/could happen is at the "World's Biggest Bookstore" (Edward Street). It`s the last remnant of the cheezy, cliche 80`s and 90`s Yonge era with stuff like the "World`s Biggest Jeans Store", etc. In all my years, I`ve actually never been in here. It must be a newer generation thing, but I`ve always opted to check out Indigo whenever I`m at the Eaton Centre. With Yonge Street and the Square area evolving, I can see this changing too.
 
World's Biggest is great -- it is indeed very large, and unlike a lot of the Indigos, actually has books instead of candles and plates and toys and gardening supplies and coffee shops. It may feel less upscale and more Big Box than the more recent Indigos, but it is still an excellent bookstore.

I think the bigger question is whether there will even be paper books to sell in a decade -- I think book stores in general are going the way of record stores.
 
^ Agreed. Although it's a throwback to the 70's and looks like it hasn't really been renovated since then, it's a huge store with a massive selection of, wait for it...actual books. Rare to see that kind of stubborn focus in today's ADD riddled society...
 
JanneClaude said:
Was walking along Yonge with a buddy and came to a realization that the next big redevelopment that should/could happen is at the "World's Biggest Bookstore" (Edward Street). It`s the last remnant of the cheezy, cliche 80`s and 90`s Yonge era with stuff like the "World`s Biggest Jeans Store", etc. In all my years, I`ve actually never been in here. It must be a newer generation thing, but I`ve always opted to check out Indigo whenever I`m at the Eaton Centre. With Yonge Street and the Square area evolving, I can see this changing too.
Click to expand...

I'm not 100% sure that never having been into a landmark bookstore is worth boasting about. It's not the novelty it used to be 15 years ago, when bookstores were mostly runty little Coles-type mall outlets, but it's still head and shoulders above Indigo and Chapt- no, wait, those are gone too, aren't they?
 
condovo said:
Yonge's 3 level scale is unattractive and inappropriate. As with Sam's down the street, Toronto has moved on, or ought to. It's time for an 8-10 level scale.


Friedrichstraße, Berlin
6ep5x4.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Friedrichstra%C3%9Fe_Berlin_Quartier_206.jpg
Click to expand...

This is what our middle suburban streets like Eglinton, Lawrence, Jane, Keele, Dufferin, Warden, Victoria Pk, Birchmount and all of the other main arteries, need to look like. We could triple the population of the the city with this kind of density.
 
toto said:
This is what our middle suburban streets like Eglinton, Lawrence, Jane, Keele, Dufferin, Warden, Victoria Pk, Birchmount and all of the other main arteries, need to look like. We could triple the population of the the city with this kind of density.
Click to expand...

Absolutely we should build this way, as 8 story buildings create a human-scaled neighbourhood feel, and it is simpler to build structures like this. It seems to me that architects experiment and play with more fine grained details in smaller buildings - tall buildings get broader lines and the podiums tend to carry that cold majesty to the ground.
 
College Park said:
Absolutely we should build this way, as 8 story buildings create a human-scaled neighbourhood feel, and it is simpler to build structures like this. It seems to me that architects experiment and play with more fine grained details in smaller buildings - tall buildings get broader lines and the podiums tend to carry that cold majesty to the ground.
Click to expand...

Very true. See the mid-rise developments going on here and in Montreal for some solid proof.
 
College Park said:
Absolutely we should build this way, as 8 story buildings create a human-scaled neighbourhood feel, and it is simpler to build structures like this. It seems to me that architects experiment and play with more fine grained details in smaller buildings - tall buildings get broader lines and the podiums tend to carry that cold majesty to the ground.
Click to expand...

I would love to see more buildings of this scale.
 
toto said:
This is what our middle suburban streets like Eglinton, Lawrence, Jane, Keele, Dufferin, Warden, Victoria Pk, Birchmount and all of the other main arteries, need to look like. We could triple the population of the the city with this kind of density.
Click to expand...

Then we need to build a Berlin-style subway system to support the new density.
 
I fear it's just a delusional dream for us urbanists. What municipal government would ever dare to change the zoning of our arterial sreets to allow this kind of development to happen? Nobody at city hall would want to incur the wrath of the nimby's living along these streets in their detached one storey bungalows with their precious backyards obscured by fences facing the sidewalks.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top