Toronto U Condominiums | 183.79m | 56s | Pemberton | a—A

If they were grand brownstones on Bay it might work, but those little townhouses are kind of ridiculous. The towers are a bit cheezy but still I am not disliking them. Go figure.
 
I had written off Bay years ago because the architecture was so uninspiring. Its just possible the new projects between Yorkville and College will correct this. Taller, better, density - modern.
 
live/work units

I can see the townhouses working well if they are allowed to function as live/work units which might work well to introduce a more varied streetscape along that section of Bay.
 
^I can't see that working either because 'live' units work best if they are slightly raised above street level and work units work it they are flush with the sidwalk.
 
^If someone buys a townhouse fronting on Bay I assume they have more work than live in mind.
 
Adma points out the visual link to Woodsworth, but there's also one to Clear Spirit with the angled pillars for the towers - and to the Four Seasons condo/hotel with the vertical thrust of glass at their tops. aA's design vocabulary rolls over from one development to the next. Entrance to the townhouses at 18 Yorkville is raised from street level, and the renderings for this thing suggests that the upper levels of these towns are given more emphasis than the lower, so perhaps something similar is happening.
 
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Commercial is a must for this proposal. Townhouses do nothing to liven up a street as they're a dead zone for all but those who live there. Might as well be a brick wall in terms of how they integrate with the urban fabric. I'm not a big fan of professional space either because it'll be yet another business closed at night. Fun retail space can work on Bay street - the new cafe at the NW corner of Bay & St. Joseph is proof of that!
 
Commercial space in large developments is however rented out by management companies who probably specifically write in their leases:

Business must be a corporate franchise not to conduct business later than 10 pm. No independent thought or creative business decision making allowed. Absolutely no fun.
 
Wow, the towers look fantastic. Actually, I find the whole design to be quite impressive.

At the same time, the location concerns me. I also wish that this area of Bay could see more than townhouses on it. But then again, it is already a snoozy stretch of that otherwise bland street. At least the townhouses will look nice.
 
Commercial space in large developments is however rented out by management companies who probably specifically write in their leases:

Business must be a corporate franchise not to conduct business later than 10 pm. No independent thought or creative business decision making allowed. Absolutely no fun.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. I've seen retail units for sale in some buildings (French Quarter, 18 Yonge etc). I assume those units have no such restrictions.
 
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