Toronto The Berczy | 41.76m | 13s | Concert | Arcadis

[Urban Shocker]

Yes, those little streets that run from Front to the Esplanade are rather sweet. Something about the incline adds to their charm, particularly in a flat city like ours. The last time I was in the Le Papillon building was when it was a Greek restaurant in the late '70's and early '80's and one of my old boyfriends slung pasta around at the Old Spaghetti Factory for a living.

 

[fred]

Just to clarrify, the building that currently stands at Church and Front is not an old building at all. It was built in the 60's and is made to look old thanks to some nifty fake arched window painting.

The building on the Esplanade (Finn MaCool's) though is old, and will have its facade incorporated into the design on the podium. That leaves the Keg and Le Papillion. Hardly worth saving a half city block for.

I realize this block is hardly a gem, but the proposal is also nothing special. If they were going to build something spectacular I would be more supportive. But nobody is even going to notice this building let alone look twice. If all they are going to do is build something bland, they may as well leave the street as it is. Many people do find this street charming.

 

[fred]

Ah, someone who dislikes the poor enough to denegrate their homes in not one but two posts, and who thinks Le Papillion is upscale. Quite the urban aesthete.

I am poor myself. I have nothing. But you have to admit that the Cityhome / TCHC project on that corner is less than appealing. Just because people are poor, that doesn't mean you have to place them in unattractive buildings. If anything, if you built more attractive public housing projects the people there would take more of a sense of pride in their communities. I just find all of the Cityhome / Public Housing projects, as well as all the newer Ryerson Buildings to be unattractive. I don't see why they can't put more of an effort into the design.

 

[interchange42]

The new Teeple designed TCHC building up on Richmond should usher in a new era of good architecture for Cityhome buildings.

42

 

[Urban Shocker]

I think the City has done a fairly good job with the design of buildings they have developed for people of lower incomes - through the TCHC, for instance. The first of the new Regent Park housing, now under construction, is designed by aA and was selected from a shortlist that included several of our best local architectural firms. Some of them are designing other phases in the same development. There's 60 Richmond East by Teeple, and aA are at work on housing west of Spadina in City Place.

I've never thought that poor people should have to put up with poor design as well - in fact, I think that many of the buildings the City is now developing, contemporary in style, are superior to the marketing-driven condo towers for the ultra rich.

 

[adma]

The conundrum, though, is that a lot of today's loathed negative exemplars of low-income city housing (Alexandra Park, for one) were themselves conceived in their day as serious antidotes to so-called bad design.

Just warning you (though from the perspective of one who's not all that inclined to bash Alexandra Park)

 

[AndreaPalladio]

I But you have to admit that the Cityhome / TCHC project on that corner is less than appealing.

No, I don't have to admit that because I don't see anything wrong with it. It seems a perfectly attractive apartment building to me.

 

[jaborandi]

Just to clarrify, the building that currently stands at Church and Front is not an old building at all. It was built in the 60's and is made to look old thanks to some nifty fake arched window painting.

Actually, it is an old building - the cut stone base is still visible on Church. Alas, the building was "fixed up" in the 60's and all architectural integrity was lost

 

[Conrad Black]

I've been inside and indeed it is an old building.

 

[AndreaPalladio]

But is the exposed brick surrounding the aluminum window frames rare, of historic or design signifigance, or particularly worth saving? No. It's just old.

 

[beaconer]

Newer Render from their website:

http://www.concertproperties.com/pr.../country3/province17/region36/property146.htm

New

Old

 

[JasonParis]

Meh, there's something about this I don't like, but I can't put my finger on it. It's definitely the brick portion though.

It seems like Chapters is still the tenant.

 

[ProjectEnd]

I believe a combination of the new tower on the old base would be best.

 

[CityPlaceN1]

I agree the older base is much better than the new one. However I wish they did something Mozoish for the entire project rather than adding the glass part to the top.

 

[urbandreamer]

Old rendering is better! New one looks like that POS thing they built behind the REF library mixed with the Boho condo near the Drake. Blah! Never put balconies on a corner--they ruin things! Duh!