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Yesterday we ran a story on the plans by the Ontario Government to build a new office tower at 880 Bay Street. The proposed tower would rise 39 storeys and would be used to consolidate many government offices scattered around the area. Well lo and behold a day later potential renderings have surfaced on architects &Co's Facebook page.
We thank forum member SP!RE for the following information along with renderings.
"Here is what &Co have visualized for 880 Bay and two adjacent sites: &Co, on a team lead by Walker Nott Dragicevic, undertook the urban design and visualization for an Optimal Use and Massing Alternatives Study for provincial property comprising 880 Bay, 60 Grosvenor and an additional site located to the west. To explore options for possible redevelopment, our team determined how various uses might be massed on the site and what constituted optimal use in the context of the current planning policy and regulatory framework. Results included the determination of maximum achievable density, visual communication packages to illustrate massing schemes including perspectives and 3D models, and final recommendations such as marketability, pro-forma analysis."
Forum member Mike In Toronto explains the government's plans in further detail:
"The ORC has an objective to consolidate a lot of government office space spread around the city and a number of long term leases are due in the next couple of years. So this proposal makes long-term financial sense and it will help reduce some of the 'silo' effect by bringing a lot of staff in different Ministries under one roof that is directly adjacent to a number of other Ministries at the Main Legislative Building, Mowat Block, Hearst Block, Hepburn Block, Ferguson Block, Whitney Block, Frost Building etc. The site also includes land parcels directly behing 880 Bay along Grosvenor Street (as seen in the renderings). The approximate timeline is at least 2-3 years. There is a long-term plan for the provincial government that seeks to replace older buildings with new ones, retrofit interiors (as was recently done to 900 Bay), upgrade various HVAC systems which decreases the environmental impacts and GHGs while also improving the overall image on the Ontario Government."
We like the design and the additional density that will come to the area. Some forum members have expressed concern about the tower's massing not being located right at the corner of Bay Street. We don't mind that at all.
What do you think?
