The facades that bother me the most are the buildings along Barrington that remain in poor condition despite so much talk over the years of fixing them up. Apparently many have received tax incentives but aside from a couple of examples, like the Freemasons building, not much has changed. The white building next door is still in bad shape, as is the Green Lantern Building, NFB is still a shell, etc.
The building with Idealbikes is another example:
http://g.co/maps/6nnpp
All the buildings nearby are interesting with great brickwork in apparent good condition but this single building is run-down. I therefore believe that this situation has more to do with neglect than shortcomings of the street. Barrington could be amazing looking with a modest amount of renovation to the current "duds" and the city should pressure owners to improve their buildings, while also extending tax incentives and investing in new streetscaping and better lighting. The streetscape plans for Barrington appear to have been shelved but now is a great time to redo the whole street with new lighting, sidewalks, and street furniture.
I agree completely about the Maritime Centre atrium. That could be great if well-executed. Similarly Scotia Square should be overhauled. I always hear complaints that it would be too expensive but, well, of course it will be expensive -- it's a large development. The payout of having it work properly would also be large.