Yonge-Dundas Square/Sankofa Square (Brown + Storey Architects)

[Amare]

If only the owners knew how much money they could truly make it they blew it up and started again from scratch. The way this building is currently set up makes it an inefficient use of space to say the least.

I wont even get into how screwed up it is from a pedestrian flow stand point, and the mess that they like to call the exterior.

 

[MetroMan]

It doesn't change the fact that it is a poorly thought out building that is cheap and tacky - the old adage "lipstick on a pig" fits.

AoD

I agree. It was a building constructed around an old parking garage. I can only imagine the additional cost they incurred by doing it that way.

That said, I think the building is salvageable.

Forget about the building underneath. Think of it as a giant billboard surface. It’s the tacked on nature of all the signs that make it worse. It needs a more cohesive signage plan with all non windowed surfaces covered in large displays designed to look like they belong together. No more little signs scattered everywhere.

This big screen is a great start. It aligns with the billboards on the other side of the central pillar. Replace those with another big screen.

Inside, the circulation is a mess but it could be corrected. Ultimately, where the whole thing falls apart is in their lack of tenant standards. A Winners and Dollarama as anchors will always lead to a Winners/Dollarama venue.

The answer to that has been right in front of them forever but they keep missing it. The restaurants at 10 Dundas East are always always busy. Good luck getting a table without a wait. The whole building should be dedicated to a movie theatre with restaurants. Leasing the Futureshop floor to Winners instead of another big restaurant chain was the biggest missed opportunity — specially with the Yonge Dundas Square views from those windows that Winners blocked with merchandise shelving.

 

[ndawgg]

From last Wed night around 11:00pm. If you look closely you can see the worker up there.

 

[Transportfan]

Glad to see this is now going up. If only they put another 3D display back on that empty platform on the media tower.

 

[MetroMan]

From last Wed night around 11:00pm. If you look closely you can see the worker up there.

View attachment 178531

Looks like this isn’t going to be as big of a screen as planned. They kept the billboard box on the right. I thought they just hadn’t finished taking everything down but they’re already installing brackets for the screen.

Cleaning up the current mess of signs is what’s needed to make this a slightly more attractive building. Bigger but fewer signs. If they’re keeping the billboard, then I’ll just throw my hands in the air and give up because this building owner keeps missing all the obvious fixes and making perfectly avoidable mistakes..

 

[isaidso]

Hopefully the section with the signs 'The Beer Store, SHARK CLUB, Goodlife FITNESS, CINEPLEX IMAX, spring rolls, DOLLARAMA) eventually gets covered with a screen. Then they can move onto 'Milestones, CINEPLEX, WINNERS, Adidas. As much of this building that gets covered up the better.

 

[MetroMan]

Hopefully the section with the signs 'The Beer Store, SHARK CLUB, Goodlife FITNESS, CINEPLEX IMAX, spring rolls, DOLLARAMA) eventually gets covered with a screen. Then they can move onto 'Milestones, CINEPLEX, WINNERS, Adidas. As much of this building that gets covered up the better.

That’s not going to happen. That view is valuable to Shark Club, Milestones, jack Astors and the food court even if Winners isn’t taking advantage of the immense value of theirs.

I’m ok with all of the grey panelling getting covered in displays but the windows should stay open to the square. The inside of that bunker needs all the natural light it can get.

 

[kotsy]

Looks like this isn’t going to be as big of a screen as planned. They kept the billboard box on the right. I thought they just hadn’t finished taking everything down but they’re already installing brackets for the screen

I sincerely hope they're just not doing things in a straightforward manner.

Even the original rendering/plan had that billboard box on the right replaced with something a bit wider and much taller.

 

[ChesterCopperpot]

Cannabis shop/cafe Tokyo Smoke is going into the old HMV space

 

[MetroMan]

I sincerely hope they're just not doing thing sin a straightforward manner.

Even the original rendering/plan had that billboard box on the right replaced with something a bit wider and much taller.

View attachment 178690

Shit. Why the heck would they put another static billboard there? Moving displays garner way more ad revenue. It breaks the symmetry that a full screen would have created. Whatever... at least it's better than those crappy misaligned "mirrors" surrounding a low resolution display.

 

[kotsy]

I don't think that's happening either. The one in the rendering is wider than that is up there now if you look closely. That means they would have to take the old one down to build what we see in the rendering.

 

[MetroMan]

No, it's about the correct width. If you look at the rendering in your notice, the screen ends at about the pillar between the windows. All that they'll need to do is extend the billboard box higher.

What I'm worried about is that they're going to just put a dinky little screen where the framing is already and then another billboard across the top. Maybe I'll swing by late tonight to have a look at how the work has progressed.

 

[MetroMan]

Oh wait!

I just went back and re-read @ndawgg's post.

From last Wed night around 11:00pm. If you look closely you can see the worker up there.

View attachment 178531

Even though he posted after I did, his photo is older than mine. It's from last week. Mine was from this Monday. That framing is no longer there. It's the framing from the old screen. If I was going to bet, I would say that the old billboard box has or is being removed or is in the process of being extended taller to match your rendering.

 

[kotsy]

The real life picture earlier on this page has the billboard appearing flush with the edge of the pillar while the rendering has it going a bit past but the pillar. The following image (taken from the last page) confirms that the other picture is just deceiving.

 

[MetroMan]

The real life picture earlier on this page has the billboard appearing flush with the edge of the pillar while the rendering has it going a bit past but the pillar. The following image (taken from the last page) confirms that the other picture is just deceiving.

View attachment 178739

The photos are out of sequence. My photo without the brackets is newer. The whole thing is in the process of being disassembled and I just noticed that your variance notice is from 2017. I completely misunderstood the order of all these renderings and photos. We might be getting a full screen after all.