Toronto Union Park | 303.26m | 58s | Oxford Properties | Pelli Clarke Pelli

[allabootmatt]

Surely the fact that, in the space of a couple of weeks, more development has been proposed for Adam Vaughan's ward than Doug Ford's is likely to see in the next half-century is further evidence that Sec 37 funds intended to mitigate the impact of intensification have no business being concentrated downtown. Right? (ends snark).

 

[yyzer]

Two huge proposals (ProjectCore and Oxford) totaling 3-5 billion dollars for Toronto in the last week...thats one hot potato for Adam Vaughan

Yes...a Gehry and a Foster, within the space of about a week.....not bad!!

2.5 million square feet of office space!

 

[gabe]

Ten percent of a project this size is probably around 600,000 square feet. Casinos kill downtowns, there has never been a single successful downtown casino that boosted the downtown economy. If you want one at exhibition place, that's fine with me, but not one in the heart of the city here.

The Greektown Casino has improved Detroit's greektown district, the nearby stores and restaurants have really benefited from casino and the hotel, as well It's brought a lot more traffic into the downtown, which is exactly what Detroit needs. Downtown Toronto on the other hand, doesn't need thousands of cars coming into the downtown especially on Front st. I'm for a casino, just not middle of the city.

 

[Edward Skira]

You have to drive to downtown Detroit. No need to do so here. And hopefully it finally pushes the Downtown Relief Line to the forefront.

 

[Red October]

Decking over the rail corridor - check
Complete redevelopment of the existing MTCC - check
Complete redevelopment of the RBC block - check

This is the most exciting part for me actually. It would help the biggest barrier cutting through downtown right now. And the towers look great!

As for casinos killing downtowns and not being able to think of a successful downtown one (this isn't at you AoD but another comment I saw), there are multiple casinos in Central London (Westminster and the City), including 2 right in Leicester Square, and they do nothing but contribute to the nightlife of the area. It's not like this is some Fallsview casino monster or anything.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I wonder if all the office space is consolidated in a single tower - if so, it will actually be bigger than the Bow in Calgary.

The Architect:

No worries, my stance on casinos downtown is more neutral leaning towards pro anyways.

AoD

 

[dlam]

personally, i dont like the idea of a casino in the downtown core.

second, deck and building over the rail tracks will eliminate the possibility of relocating the gardiner expressway 15-20 years from now when it becomes beyond repairable. concrete has started to fall, there will be a point where the upkeeping/repair will be too costly and causing too much delays. I'm not saying building the new gardiner over the rail tracks is the solution, but I think there needs to be a plan in place now so we dont eliminate any potential solutions.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

dlam:

There is nothing that would prevent solutions to the Gardiner "problem" even if you deck over the rail corridor - the existing alignment can probably accommodate burial or renewal, and it's probably far superior when one takes into account pesky things like on and off ramps will be mightily difficult to address along the rail corridor, particularly at the core where there are extant buildings immediately beside them.

AoD

 

[unimaginative2]

You have to drive to downtown Detroit. No need to do so here. And hopefully it finally pushes the Downtown Relief Line to the forefront.

Absolutely! This also pushes the centre of gravity of the core even further to the south, making the Front-Railway alignment even more attractive than before when compared to more northern routes.

The Greektown Casino has improved Detroit's greektown district, the nearby stores and restaurants have really benefited from casino and the hotel, as well It's brought a lot more traffic into the downtown, which is exactly what Detroit needs. Downtown Toronto on the other hand, doesn't need thousands of cars coming into the downtown especially on Front st. I'm for a casino, just not middle of the city.

I understand what you're saying, but by that logic we shouldn't be building anything in the centre of the city. It's inevitable that there will be some traffic congestion in the core of a major city, and really even a development this big will be a drop in the bucket for Downtown Toronto. I can't think of a better place to put a major destination than a couple blocks from the city's biggest transit hub and, hopefully, right on top of a new subway station.

I wonder if all the office space is consolidated in a single tower - if so, it will actually be bigger than the Bow in Calgary.

It doesn't look like it. From the rendering, both towers seem to be a mixture of residential and office space, perhaps with residential on top and office below.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

From the Star:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/art...ion-casino-plan-unveiled-for-downtown-toronto

Choice bits:

“It’s a complete, elegant, private solution to what would otherwise be a complex problem,” he said. “We’re able to completely retrofit (the convention centre) to make it one of, in our view, the best in the continent.”
...
The project would add 500,000 square feet to the convention centre and connect the South building to the North.
...
Two office buildings at 315 and 325 Front St. W., one occupied by the Royal Bank, will be demolished and construction will proceed at that site first, said Hutcheson. The Intercontinental Hotel will be the last building to be demolished.

The convention centre will remain open during the construction. Hutcheson said the project would create 10,000 on-site sustainable jobs in addition to construction jobs.

AoD

 

[mrjun18]

Imagine leaving this area after a leafs/raptors game has just finished, a skydome concert ending, plus this casino open and going on a friday or saturday night....in the winter.

 

[Tewder]

The potential here is exciting. An entire tourist precinct in the making: CN Tower, Ripley's Aquarium, Rogers Centre, Roundhouse, convention centre, and potenially a casino with hotel and retail... all nicely in one convenient central location. This is definitely not a place i'd like to hang out at personally but I do understand that this sort of monumentality would generate a lot of attention for the city and attract a lot of visitors!

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

Exhaust venting. If I recall correctly from my time in London, England, not all their lines into Euston Station are electrified, and diesel trains enter the station thought similar tunnels and covered structures.

I know you can vent, and personally I'd love if we could deck over the tracks from Bathurst to the Don... I wish I could find a thread where the proposal for a park over the track were discussed, IIRC it was generally panned because of a)the need for venting, and lots of it and b)the clash of having exhaust vents in a natural park setting. I simply can't remember if it was simply people's opinion that the plan would not work or if there were statements from some experts about it not being possible without electrification.

Why suddenly when a developer suggests building over the tracks are people (including politicians) saying "wow, what a great idea! I never though of it".

Also the cynic in me says the developer proposed the park as a way to quiet any critics. "Look we are adding parkland"

 

[Mongo]

The people at the Southcore Delta hotel must be conflicted about this. On the one hand, an expanded convention centre plus a large casino would bring in plenty of additional people to the immediate area. On the other hand, another hotel on top of the casino will draw some of those people away from the Delta hotel. On balance, I think that all of the people running the existing attractions will be happy about this. People will come here to gamble, and then take in a game at either the Rogers Centre or the ACC, or maybe visit the aquarium -- or vice versa. I think that the addition of this complex might create a "critical mass" of attractions that turns the whole RC/ACC area into a major destination in its own right.

 

[fedplanner]

Way to go Toronto! Towers desinged by Foster and Gehry right next to each other!? Millions of square feet of new office and retail?! Wow. This stretch of Front was my least favorite part of downtown, so I'm pleased to see the area is getting a redo. And a casino right next door to city place? Shoot. I have strong opinions on city place, but I'll keep them to myself for now.

85 storeys for Mirvish does not seem out of context anymore if it's greeted by two 80-story offices a block away.


I didn't see any stats in the article but anyone willing to venture on square footage of the different components and number of storeys of the towers?