Toronto The Addison Residences | 49.9m | 16s | Adi | Core Architects


This is Core

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A lot of times keeping facades is ridiculous but in this type of situation I think it works out great — what was once a bunch of under-used houses that do nothing for the street now could become commercial storefronts, restaurants, offices, etc. And if those housefronts were not kept we'd likely end up seeing just one or maaaybe two monolithic sterile retail spaces inhospitable to small businesses instead. I agree that houses like this are a dime a dozen all over Toronto (and in another thread I argue we should get rid of most of them on our north-south streets such as Dufferin, Bathurst, etc.), but we should be maintaining the fine-grained nature of our mixed-use streets like this and in this case I think this is a great outcome in terms of maintaining fine-grained character + creating adaptable small spaces.

On Twitter, Matt Elliott also notes that the yellow house on the end isn't part of the development, which is in a way silly and awkward, yes, but also something I see as a positive — since it forever locks in another small-scale space that will be good for the streetscape long term.
 
concrete_and_light said:
A lot of times keeping facades is ridiculous but in this type of situation I think it's works out great — what was once a bunch of under-used houses that do nothing for the street now could become commercial storefronts, restaurants, offices, etc. And if those housefronts were not kept we'd likely end up seeing just one or maaaybe two monolithic sterile retail spaces inhospitable to small businesses instead. I agree that houses like this are a dime a dozen all over Toronto (and in another thread I argue we should get rid of most of them on our north-south streets such as Dufferin, Bathurst, etc.), but we should be maintaining the fine-grained nature of our mixed-use streets like this and in this case I think this is a great outcome in terms of maintaining fine-grained character + creating adaptable small spaces.

On Twitter, Matt Elliott also notes that the yellow house on the end isn't part of the development, which is in a way silly and awkward, yes, but also something I see as a positive — since it forever locks in another small-scale space that will be good for the streetscape long term.
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You see the value in keeping these houses, but then why do you also call for "getting rid of most of them" along the main streets? I feel that the points made here would apply just as well for Dufferin, Bathurst.
 
salsa said:
You see the value in keeping these houses, but then why do you also call for "getting rid of most of them" along the main streets? I feel that the points made here would apply just as well for Dufferin, Bathurst.
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For context, here is the post in the other thread I was referring to. My issue with those big streets (Dufferin, Bathurst, Lansdowne) is they are misused on a fundamental level and are basically barren wastelands that isolate our really great walkable fine-grain east-west main streets from each other. I think these north-south big streets should be generally speaking medium-high intensity streets with dense residential, commercial storefronts, employment spaces, transit etc. That scale of change would likely practically speaking involve getting rid of many or most of them, and there is quite a surplus of them there so they could be reasonably pruned quite a lot. But I think part of that redevelopment could definitely include preserving and better activating pockets of the houses on those streets through conversion into storefronts. A situation where bigger buildings are built around clusters of preserved houses and those clusters turned into little areas better activated for the public on Dufferin, etc. sounds great to me.
 
135 PORTLAND ST
Ward 10 - Tor & E.York District

Site Plan Approval application to permit a 16-storey building having a height of 49.99 m (mech. penthouse included). The proposal will consist of 129 residential dwelling units and 8156 square metres of non-residential floor area. The existing townhouse units at 139-143 Portland Street will be maintained.
Proposed Use ---​
# of Storeys ---​
# of Units ---​
Type​
Number​
Date Submitted​
Status​
Applications:​
Site Plan Approval​
19 232218 STE 10 SA​
Oct 4, 2019​
Under Review​


 
Completed in 1881 by a Toronto builder named Francis Phillips, the subject properties are brick-clad dwellings with mirrored principal (west) elevations, that read as two pairs featuring bay widows at the first-floor level and steeply-pitched roof gables containing decorative wood bargeboard. The latter feature, in particular, is representative of the Gothic Revival style which was introduced to North America in the mid-19th century. While identified with ecclesiastical buildings, Gothic Revival features were adapted for residential buildings as the result of widely-circulated architectural pattern books and periodicals (Image 8).

The houses rise 2½-stories and are covered by a cross-gable roof with returned eaves, brick end chimneys and, on the west slope, a central gable with decorative woodwork. The houses are clad with brick on their principal (west) elevations, which are currently painted at 141, 143 and 145 but 139 reveals the original polychromatic red and buff brickwork typical of High Victorian Gothic Revival styling and that characterized all houses in the row built by Phillips. Under their central frontispiece the principal (west) elevations of both pairs are organized into two bays with side-by-side entrances, singlestorey bay windows at the first or ground level, segmental-arched openings in both storeys and a round-arched opening in the attic level
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Sorry i pass by these and many of these type of houses everyday and find it hard to have any enjoyment of looking at them

Yes they are old but not pretty
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Anyways keep the facades and everyone will be happy:rolleyes:
 
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