Toronto The One | 328.4m | 91s | Mizrahi Developments | Foster + Partners

I'm agnostic on this (neither particularly excited for a Foster building nor against demolition of the existing building) but I wanted to comment on the reaction Councilor Tam-Wong gave on CTV. I got the impression that she was down-right pissed. She mumbled something about not having the ability to do something about the demolition but having the ability to delay this project until One Bloor East was finished. In other words bad blood has been spilt and it looks like this will be a long war of personalities. It didn't have to be this way and we will see what happens but I think both the developer and councilor are still fairly young and it seems everyone will get a lesson in playing well with others in the sand box.
 
TrickyRicky said:
I'm agnostic on this (neither particularly excited for a Foster building nor against demolition of the existing building) but I wanted to comment on the reaction Councilor Tam-Wong gave on CTV. I got the impression that she was down-right pissed. She mumbled something about not having the ability to do something about the demolition but having the ability to delay this project until One Bloor East was finished. In other words bad blood has been spilt and it looks like this will be a long war of personalities. It didn't have to be this way and we will see what happens but I think both the developer and councilor are still fairly young and it seems everyone will get a lesson in playing well with others in the sand box.
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She was referring to the portion of city side walk that was rented to One Bloor East and how Mizrahi would have to wait until they finish before Mizrahi could get permission to rent the sidewalk to carry on his demolition. She was blabbering out of her behind, the law is the law and he can apply for a permit to rent the sidewalk for his reno work. She really can't do anything to stop it, I think she is just pissed that this particular developer has not sat on his hands waiting for the heritage designation which would lead to months if not years of back and forth talks before the building could have been demolished. He dealt with heritage on Hazelton and knows first hand what a hassle it is.
 
david-realtor said:
She was referring to the portion of city side walk that was rented to One Bloor East and how Mizrahi would have to wait until they finish before Mizrahi could get permission to rent the sidewalk to carry on his demolition.
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I think she was referring to building the new 1 Bloor W., which would close a lane for a couple of years like 1 Bloor E. has. But who is she kidding, 1 Bloor E. will probably be almost done by the time 1 Bloor W. is shovel ready anyway.
 
TheTigerMaster said:
Is it interesting? I wouldn't expect anything less from this development. It's right on top of the subway, so I don't see why they wouldn't build a connection.
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It is not right on top of the subway - neither of the lines in fact.

I think Mizrahi's comment should not be understood quite so literally.

The easiest connection would be to 2 Bloor West. From there it is, arguably, a short walk through the PATH to Bloor-Yonge Station. Voila, The One connects to both subway lines.

Getting directly to the subway lines without running into an intervening passage will be another matter. To get to the Yonge line they would have to dig under Bloor all the way past the top of 1 Bloor East to in front of the Xerox building. Presumably that would connect The One to the southbound platform, as to get to the northbound platform you'd likely be too close to the surface and running into services installed just below ground level. To get to the Bloor line uninterrupted, you would have to dig under Yonge, drop under the connection between 2 Bloor West and 2 Bloor East, then rise again before connecting east into the on-street entrance to the station. Since it would be crazy to dig under that PATH tunnel connecting 2 Bloor West to 2 Bloor East, you wouldn't… and as soon as you've connected to that, what's the point in digging anything else? You now have climate controlled access to both subway lines.

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I tried to find contact info for Mizrahi Developments but couldn't. I had an idea. I would assume that this development would have to have retail. It would be great if they just "turned it inside out". Use the Art Deco carved stone walls on the interior public realm (if there is a retail component. It would be warm, historic and visually appealing. My thinking is along the line of what they have in BCE Place.
 
ceaz40 said:
I tried to find contact info for Mizrahi Developments but couldn't. I had an idea. I would assume that this development would have to have retail. It would be great if they just "turned it inside out". Use the Art Deco carved stone walls on the interior public realm (if there is a retail component. It would be warm, historic and visually appealing. My thinking is along the line of what they have in BCE Place.
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Or better yet remove the stone and use them on the limestone facade of his various other projects. Too late, it's already been chipped off.

AoD
 
ceaz40 said:
I tried to find contact info for Mizrahi Developments but couldn't. I had an idea. I would assume that this development would have to have retail. It would be great if they just "turned it inside out". Use the Art Deco carved stone walls on the interior public realm (if there is a retail component. It would be warm, historic and visually appealing. My thinking is along the line of what they have in BCE Place.
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T. 416 922 4200
F. 1 866 300 0219
E. reception@mizrahidevelopments.com

Did you try using these? From their website.
 
ceaz40 said:
It would be great if they just "turned it inside out". Use the Art Deco carved stone walls on the interior public realm (if there is a retail component. It would be warm, historic and visually appealing. My thinking is along the line of what they have in BCE Place.
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I don't think you get it it....these aren't good quality carved limestone bits, and dating from 1930 doesn't change that. Why would you want to save them and pin them on something?

I'm all for this sort of thing, but you can't just expect people to preserve every piece of junk ever constructed. It would appear that the problem seems to be that people can't discern between junk and quality. I understand that sometimes buildings aren't of significant architectural value, but are of significant historical value...not the case here either (unless you think selling over-priced Barbour coats are of significant historical value).

The 1845 William Thomas (St. Lawrence Hall, St. Michael’s Cathedral) facade in the galleria is both high quality and of historical significance...the 11 facades of BCE Place are the few survivors of the fire of 1904.
 
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