City
Massive development proposed for 1 Yonge Street
A long-time contender for the ugliest building in Toronto could be about to get some interesting neighbours. A huge proposal to develop much of the Toronto Star lands at 1 Yonge Street into a cluster of giant, optically-confusing towers is currently percolating among architects and developers.
Though the plans are in their very earliest stages and haven't yet been filed with the city, these drawings that first surfaced at Urban Toronto are an indication that developer Pinnacle International wants something eye-catching for the area currently occupied by a low-key print facility and an open air parking lot.
Central to the site are two dog-legged towers sketched midway up the block between Yonge and Freeland streets. Though they are smaller than the more conventional structures planned for the Lake Shore Boulevard elevation, these two are the most memorable and the ones likely to see revision at the hands of the city's Design Review Panel.
At street level, judging by the renderings, the complex will have retail space on Queens Quay East (note the confident appearance of a streetcar) that would tie in nicely with the redevelopment work currently underway in the area. Over the next year, the city is working to rejig much of the street to be more pedestrian and transit friendly.
There's not likely to be any relief for enemies of the brutalist Toronto Star building, though. Its leaden presence on the corner of Yonge and Queens Quay is likely to linger on for some time yet, albeit in the shadow of something a little more modern.
What do you think of these plans - would you prefer the developers kept it sensible on this site? Whatever happens, the waterfront location means these buildings won't be lost in the forest of the city's flourishing condo scene. How could this plan be improved?
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
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Please expand on this.
Ugliest Buildings, Toronto
1) OCAD Building.
2) The ROM addition.
Had a chance to visit those suburbs that surround Toronto over the holidays, many like it there. But in my eyes I saw blandness with a healthy dose of ugliness, hectares and kilometers of the same. I understand the need for a GPS in the car you never know were you are it all looks the same. Boredom sets in quickly, no place to go except for walks along streets of sameness with a high speed multi lane road never far away. Saw very few people and even fewer willing to interact, mostly I saw suspicion in their eyes. You best option is get in a car to go places.
Not all is beauty in the city but there is enough of everything to please most everyone. But I do not conclude my opinion is the only opinion. You should try and appreciate were you are instead of insulting other to make yourself feel better about yourself and your choices.
OCAD and the ROM additions may not be what they should have been, yet they add to the richness that makes Toronto great.
The only thing worse than an ugly building is a dull building, which describes the TorStar building. An ugly bulding you can talk about, a dull building is just ignored.
There's one small office building and four very very tall condominium towers in the plans. These four towers would be pretty much the tallest residential buildings in the city (at least one of them would, the other three would be in the top 5 or 6 buildings).
It's a BIG condo development.
It's a BIG condo development.
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What the frack else is new? Of course, it'll be another bunch of shoebox units with not enough room to swing a cat in, and barely anyplace to cook food in. Plus, it'll be taller than anything ever built, blocking out the sun and any other view of things.
Why can't they build these building in Scarborough and all of the other suburbanized parts of Toronto? If the city forced the developers did this, there'd be the density for the subways Ford & Co. claim they want more than LRT.
Calling the OCAD and ROM additions ugly is like calling a Jackson Pollock painting ugly. Might be true (to you) but you're kind missing the point, aren't you?
Shitty, banal and narrow minded opinions do more harm to a city than a couple of experimental building designs.
seriously, who wants to live in the city?
secondly, to have thriving businesses you need people to go to those businesses. head offices are based on bay. those businesses also have a tendency not to invest in the community, but instead in their profits. condos provide people to supply other businesses such as convenience stores, dry cleaner, cafes, and the sort, those business that are more likely to reinvest into their communities. therefore people, condos, and high density are instrumental in building thoughtful communities.
thirdly, many opinions have been shared about this development. the most important aspect of any development happens within the first 6 storys. what is the relationship between the building and street level? the towers around it? the city as a whole? these are the more inportant questions, not whether it's pleasing to YOUR eye.