Yonge Street Revitalization (Downtown Yonge BIA/City of Toronto)

[Celeste]

+1

As much as I think Yonge Street's buildings are rundown due to incompetent landlords, there is some hidden charm to Yonge Street. The Gloucester Mews building is one of the prettiest buildings in the city, and also houses Brownstone Bistro and The Red Bench (both amazing). Like said above, BarVolo is also great and is one of my favorite bars in all of Toronto. Going north there are some great cafes along Yonge like 7 West and Cafe M, and along the stript awesome longtime local businesses like Cats Cradle. These are all quality businesses that Torontonians still go to, despite Yonge Street looking like a piece of trash.

Arguably a lot of them do really well BECAUSE of the Yonge Street location being right off the subway line and being a very central street. There is so much potential along Yonge, it kills me to see so many of these two storey buildings fall apart and house D-list retail.

I don't mind the condos going up along Yonge, they certainly are more aesthetically pleasing than whats currently there, although I do love a lot of the well maintained older buildings that give Yonge it's charm. Perhaps Five St. Joseph can set a good example for Yonge Street.

Exactly! Why ruin the old world charm of Yonge Street when so much more can be done to bring it back to life?

 

[jje1000]

In an ideal world, Yonge Street would be redeveloped along the lines of Five St. Joseph with the goal of retaining as much heritage as possible (aka a Toronto version of Stephen Avenue in Calgary). The entire street south of Bloor down to Dundas Square or Even Queen Street would then be pedestrianized or reduced in the number of lanes. It would essentially be our version of Barcelona's La Rambla.

Of course, this will never happen due to traffic concerns, but one can always dream, right?

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Of course, this will never happen due to traffic concerns, but one can always dream, right?

The southernmost area of Yonge Street doesn't move that many vehicles. There's a chance that we may be able to divert vehicles elsewhere without too many consequences.

 

[Ladies Mile]

Exactly! Why ruin the old world charm of Yonge Street when so much more can be done to bring it back to life?

"Old world charm." Hmmm. I do not think that means what you think it means.

 

[jje1000]

"Old world charm." Hmmm. I do not think that means what you think it means.

I think it implies an European feeling of "quaint" old buildings (Yonge Street's storefronts are not monumental) combined with a generous pedestrian realm.

 

[Celeste]

I think it implies an European feeling of "quaint" old buildings (Yonge Street's storefronts are not monumental) combined with a generous pedestrian realm.

 

[Johnny Au]

McDonald's have just opened the province's largest location across Yonge Street from Zanzibar and Ryerson: http://www.thestar.com/business/201...hip_mcdonalds_to_open_near_dundas_square.html

 

[TheTigerMaster]

That's the largest location? I'd expect it to be bigger.

 

[One Nut Kruk]

McDonald's have just opened the province's largest location across Yonge Street from Zanzibar and Ryerson: http://www.thestar.com/business/201...hip_mcdonalds_to_open_near_dundas_square.html

Good, now I can get diarrhea while fantasizing about the soiled undies being tossed about, across the street. I love this city!

 

[Johnny Au]

That's the largest location? I'd expect it to be bigger.

Yes, but it has OVER 9000 square feet of space. Even the manager of that McDonald's said "OVER 9000." Yes, I know that it is a lame meme.

 

[Johnny Au]

Good, now I can get diarrhea while fantasizing about the soiled undies being tossed about, across the street. I love this city!

...and you can hit the books as well, perhaps an academic journal article about the correlation between the consumption of fast food and the consumption of soiled undies.

 

[One Nut Kruk]

...and you can hit the books as well, perhaps an academic journal article about the correlation between the consumption of fast food and the consumption of soiled undies.

That's not a bad idea.

 

[StruongTeam]

I agree, I think that it would take away the charm of Yonge street

 

[pman]

I agree, I think that it would take away the charm of Yonge street

"Charm" has come up in a couple of posts, so at least two people here seem to like Yonge. It clearly isn't charming in the way that Fifth Ave (NYC), Rambla de Catalunya (Barcelona), or Collins Street (Melbourne) are. Personally I think Yonge is typically Toronto - pig ugly, shabby and depressing. But I'm willing to admit there might be something I missed. In what way can Yonge be considered charming?

 

[Johnny Au]

Not on Yonge Street per se, but the Thai restaurant called Bangkok House (adorned with Thai flags even) is housed in a beautiful building on Elm Street.