Toronto U of T: The Gateway | ?m | ?s | Westbank

[UtakataNoAnnex]

Update: There's a core sampler doohicky on the north "lawn" of UTS...

...which is weird, as I would have thought they had done that for that other UTS upgrade/extension already.

 

[jje1000]

A couple of observations here.

The photo above shows that the 1924 'east wing' of the Darling and Pearson UTS complex is off limits; but it includes the original 1910 main building as part of a potential development.

The latter is listed, but not designated in the City's Heritage Register, making it vulerable to demolition. I imagine saving the facades would be a given (I'd hope), but I wonder if any of the interior spaces would be a particular loss.

Not any update, but the only interior spaces worth saving are the ground floor interior foyer (questionable) + the auditorium.

The latter would be a challenge to retain especially if multiple towers come into play, but I wonder if it might be worth converting said space into a cultural space? Especially in light of the city's increasing dearth of venues...

 

[Student99]

My long term bet: build this, then move everyone out of UofT family housing on Charles, then redevelop the two sites on Charles. That’s probably 10-12 years away though.

Smart thinking, I hadn't considered that. The Charles buildings are aging and not fitting in well with the evolving design of the neighbourhood.

Not any update, but the only interior spaces worth saving are the ground floor interior foyer (questionable) + the auditorium.

The latter would be a challenge to retain especially if multiple towers come into play, but I wonder if it might be worth converting said space into a cultural space? Especially in light of the city's increasing dearth of venues...

The foyer is nice enough.
I like the auditorium, but last I heard is that it will be razed. I don't think it's used anymore since UTS vacated the space, and I believe it's already been hacked away at inside when they were constructing the UTS addition (the auditorium abuts the new UTS).

I would expect a lot of facadectomy on this larger site, both the UTS building and some of the homes.

 

[F__]

Very interesting that the housing here is aimed not just at regular, boring old students, but at students in family situations, plus at faculty and staff. I assume this is an acknowledgement that the UofT is hearing from faculty and other staff members about how hard it is for them to find housing at price points they can afford.

The Victorians on Washington Ave are currently being used as housing for new faculty (up to four years after hiring). It's more about convenience and not having to search for a place remotely than about affordability, since faculty members can generally afford a decent place to live (perhaps not so much the non-academic staff!)