Toronto West Block Est. 1928, The LakeShore, and The LakeFront | 130.75m | 41s | Choice Properties | a—A

They took the facade apart brick by brick as I understand it and put it back together..... It just doesn't look the same anymore though.
That being said, this is one of my favorite projects in the area. It's going to bring a lot of retail value to Fort York and further densify the whole neighbourhood. All good things.
I wonder why they felt a tear down and reconstruction brick by brick was more economical than gutting the inside and keeping the facade walls in tact -like what was done with Bisha and King Blue (old Westinghouse building). Was there some regulatory constraint or something? It seems prohibitively more expensive to do it the way they did it here. Am I wrong?
 
I don’t think the bricks have been cleaned yet, so they’re still coated in a light skin of mortar. I’d imagine once they give it a good scrub before occupancy, the appearance of the bricks will even out.

not 100 sure but I am also guessing they had to mix in some new bricks along with the old ones to account for any damaged or lost pieces that couldn’t be used after disassembly. They used new bricks for the back of the building.
 
I dont understand why they couldn't have treied to do something interesting with these two banal towers. Why not tie in some features froom the Lobkaws building? Gives these awful towers some character, some design, some life.

Yet another disappointing addition to the Toronto skyline. Two, bland, basic apartment buildings. Just sad.
 
Big Daddy said:
I dont understand why they couldn't have treied to do something interesting with these two banal towers. Why not tie in some features froom the Lobkaws building? Gives these awful towers some character, some design, some life.

Yet another disappointing addition to the Toronto skyline. Two, bland, basic apartment buildings. Just sad.
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Agreed 100% they don't even look like the same project. Missed opportunity.
And again really can't expect anything from a shit developer like Concord Adex
 
I do wish that those windows on the Lake Shore side were extended to the ground to animate the street level a bit more.

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Mr. Poopy Pantaloons said:
Isn't that what they were building, though? Not every apartment needs to be remarkable.
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when they are making such a big deal about saving and refurbishing the historic building, you'd think that would be one time when the apartments above should indeed be remarkable. otherwise, all the efforts put into saving the heritage component seem pointless. amazing heritage building with a pile of crap on top. such a waste and missed opportunity here. they should have designed something interesting and done it in black which would compliment the orange brick and look a lot classier.
 
The more I look at these apartment towers, the more I think they belong somewhere in Soviet Russia. Like, they just have this cheap mass-produced prefab panel architectural vibe to them, the one Soviet housing prided itself on:

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And the off-white hue they chose for the spandrel? So 60's... These towers haven't even been finished yet, but they already look like they've aged poorly.
 
Full Metal Junkie said:
The more I look at these apartment towers, the more I think they belong somewhere in Soviet Russia. Like, they just have this cheap mass-produced prefab panel architectural vibe to them, the one Soviet housing prided itself on:

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And the off-white hue they chose for the spandrel? So 60's... These towers haven't even been finished yet, but they already look like they've aged poorly.
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People are willing to pay $1,000/sq.ft. regardless of the style of the facade.......
The towers are dull, agree. However, everything else about the project I mentioned before I like...
 
Full Metal Junkie said:
The more I look at these apartment towers, the more I think they belong somewhere in Soviet Russia.
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This is a massive insult to Soviet architecture IMO but the comparison is a useful one. We should ask ourselves if possibly our system of society is now also fundamentally flawed if what we end up with is people going into hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt to make their homes in carelessly-made buildings like these, crammed in right next to a crumbling, polluting expressway.
 
Sure the apartments will rise to the level of Cityplace finishes, lol. But as noted the good bit, the podium, sits on a quasi highway. How do I explore... turn right/left... where do I put my car? Is it worth a visit?

Sorta looks like a destination but serious way-finding experts may be needed to herd those interested.
 
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