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Originally Posted by someone123
The Barrington development is interesting. It's possible to imagine a version of that development that would be a big net win. 1343 Barrington has little publicly visible heritage value and there's a large underused lot in behind. If this stretch had been a bit better preserved it might have been a candidate for complete preservation but as it is it could use some sympathetic new development.
Dexel projects tend to be decent too so there's no reason to assume they'll build something awful.
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I remember going to a public meeting on this, which Louie Lawen attended. He seemed genuine about wanting to preserve the two heritage buildings, but only if he could get some additional height behind them that he said was necessary to make the project economical.
He also talked about preserving and even restoring the middle building to something like its original state. That would be amazing, but I'm pretty doubtful it would happen. I'll be happy just to see the two still intact ones restored and preserved, with something new in-between and behind. And if the city can't arrange a compromise, honestly, I say give him what he wants. Until we get better legislation on heritage, property owners/developers hold all the cards. The city can play hardball, but they're guaranteed to lose.