unimaginative2
Senior Member
US: Are you really trying to tell us that the waterfront needs more Harbour Squares? If so, you're in a distinct minority and I respect that. I don't quite get the anti-capitalist rhetoric, though. You've proven that you enjoy going out shopping as much as the rest of us. If you really want purely parkland on the waterfront, that's of course an extremely popular position with many people, but that wouldn't seem to jive with support for this condo.
I respect your opinions on our city very much, so that's why I'm so confused by your take on this project. I see that you also support Project Symphony, which proposes a very different vision of the waterfront, one which I support regardless of the actual architecture involved. Of course I think that Pier 27 is an attractive building, but I just don't think that purely residential uses are appropriate for the central waterfront. I'm well aware that there is public space in this project, and that there will be a walkway along the water. A walkway isn't enough. I can say from experience in dozens of successful waterfront neighbourhoods around the world, from Sydney to Barcelona to Tel Aviv, that the key is a vibrant mix of uses including shops, restaurants, and other public uses. While I obviously see the value of parks and open space, it seems very obvious to me that any successful, pedestrian-oriented strip -- like Queen or Bloor or Danforth or any other in Toronto -- is the continuity of the businesses. You can't have vast gaps of condo townhouses stretching for blocks in the middle of your pedestrian-oriented street. Recall that shops and restaurants both along Queens Quay and along the waterfront promenade were recommended in both the TWRC plan that came as a result of endless public consultations, and the rival Jack Diamond plan.
I respect your opinions on our city very much, so that's why I'm so confused by your take on this project. I see that you also support Project Symphony, which proposes a very different vision of the waterfront, one which I support regardless of the actual architecture involved. Of course I think that Pier 27 is an attractive building, but I just don't think that purely residential uses are appropriate for the central waterfront. I'm well aware that there is public space in this project, and that there will be a walkway along the water. A walkway isn't enough. I can say from experience in dozens of successful waterfront neighbourhoods around the world, from Sydney to Barcelona to Tel Aviv, that the key is a vibrant mix of uses including shops, restaurants, and other public uses. While I obviously see the value of parks and open space, it seems very obvious to me that any successful, pedestrian-oriented strip -- like Queen or Bloor or Danforth or any other in Toronto -- is the continuity of the businesses. You can't have vast gaps of condo townhouses stretching for blocks in the middle of your pedestrian-oriented street. Recall that shops and restaurants both along Queens Quay and along the waterfront promenade were recommended in both the TWRC plan that came as a result of endless public consultations, and the rival Jack Diamond plan.