Canadian Skyline Thread III

[WhipperSnapper]

Nope. Toronto ain't that small. That's area is roughly downtown

Toronto has Rouge Park which is not central and rundown. (well, last time I walk the trails an unknown number of years ago)

[softee]

Originally Posted by Meuhud

A very impressive Youtube video. Toronto's growth is certainly impressive. That said, a few comments from afar. First, most of the buildings look the same. Second, the city, at least from the water to Bloor and from the Don Valley to
Bathurst seems devoid of the urban neighborhoods that make city living attractive. Just a lot of tall buildings. Three, the statistics cited are not accurate due to the fact that skyscraperpage is based in Canada, with many of the main contributors coming from Canada, and it is a fact that the number of buildings under construction in cities outside of Canada that are over 10 stories is much greater than acknowledged.

Kensington Market, Chinatown, St. Lawrence Market, Cabbagetown, Church-Wellesley Village, The Annex, Queen St W, & Harbourfront are all great & walkable urban neighbourhoods within those boundaries; which is basically the borders of the downtown core.

[Nouvellecosse]

There are plenty of cities in NA where the downtown is mostly tall buildings surrounded by stuff like parking, car dealerships, mechanic's garages, self-storage, light industrial, and highways. It was particularly bad before the gentrification and infill that was common across the continent in the last couple decades. So it seems downright bizarre to accuse Toronto of those issues when it's one of the cities that's the strongest in that regard. The neighbourhoods just transition seamlessly into downtown on three sides with the 4th being the lake.

[GeneralLea]

Well, I'm just going to say I agree with other forumers (as a longtime resident of the city of Toronto) that theres more to downtown that just a blank slate of tall, dense buildings. Yes, it's getting crowded, but downtown overall is quite varied between every neighbourhood and there are plenty of lowrise, historic, quaint areas still in that boundary.

Anyways, I took this today, from the Don Valley, on the hillside by a wastewater treatment plant from the 1920's. Thankfully, much of the woods near it wasn't logged when it was built, so this view is quite well shaded by older growth deciduous trees, notable white and red oaks:

The crane to the left middle is CIBC Square phase 2
From the Hill by Josh Kennington Photographics, on Flickr

[Meuhud]

Originally Posted by Everyday

I think you need to visit before passing judgement. Water to Bloor and Don Valley to Bathurst covers basically the entire city

You are correct to deflect my criticism of Toronto, given the fact that I haven't lived there in decades and don't know the city very well at this point in time. I do travel a lot and view skyscraper page.com to try and keep track of developments. The development of Toronto is more than impressive in terms of quantity - however the photos seem to portray a lot of sameness. One can make that argument for Vancouver and plenty of other cities as well. Not only are many of the newer buildings similar in appearance but the design of their street front retail space seems uniform.

[WhipperSnapper]

There's sameness in every era and movement. It's to be expected in a major boom. To expect otherwise is expecting too much. No one complains about Haussman's Paris or fat naked people during the Renaissance.


As for this boom, developers have made concerted efforts to individualize their projects from competition. It tends to be either subtle and overlooked or very tacky. In both cases, it commercialised design and developed at rock bottom cheapness. It's worst than the aging, maligned modernist era.

[cranes]

Kitchener

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/27234481/1001-1-victoria-street-s-kitchener

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by Meuhud

The development of Toronto is more than impressive in terms of quantity - however the photos seem to portray a lot of sameness. One can make that argument for Vancouver and plenty of other cities as well. Not only are many of the newer buildings similar in appearance but the design of their street front retail space seems uniform.

This is the case for every city that goes through a massive construction boom. Currently, Toronto has over 115 buildings u/c over 50m. It's been going at this pace for the past 15+ years now. With a dozen or so major players in the development game using tried and tested designs it's no wonder why so many buildings resemble each other. If this was 15 years ago all of the new builds would be blue/green glass condos. The next batch of condos should ad some much-needed colour as the trend to more warm and earth tones is making a comeback.

[Harley613]

Downtown Ottawa this afternoon

[giallo]

^ Some serious density in Ottawa's downtown core.

[905er]

love that density in downtown Ottawa...hate the tabletop

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by 905er

love that density in downtown Ottawa...hate the tabletop

Check back after Marriott Renaissance and Dream Lebreton top out in 2025/2026. They aren't skyscrapers, but they will really improve the situation.

[905er]

Originally Posted by Harley613

Check back after Marriott Renaissance and Dream Lebreton top out in 2025/2026. They aren't skyscrapers, but they will really improve the situation.

Isn't that the Marriott Renaissance u/c in the picture? if it is, it doesn't seem to be improving the situation, just adding to the tabletop. that said, its a much improved aesthetic for downtown.

[Coldrsx]

Love that Baltic/Eastern Euro vibe.

[Coldrsx]

From:
https://youtu.be/AUeZNaKD1kY

[TorontoDrew]

What are they doing to Hawrelak Park?

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by 905er

Isn't that the Marriott Renaissance u/c in the picture? if it is, it doesn't seem to be improving the situation, just adding to the tabletop. that said, its a much improved aesthetic for downtown.

No, Renaissance in excavation in front of those two towers. It will be 6m taller than the top of the mechanical penthouse of Place de Ville C, the big brown office tower to the left.

[Martin Mtl]

Photo by Montreal0 on agoramtl.com

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

What are they doing to Hawrelak Park?

Full renovation/restoration and rejuvenation. A 2-3 yr project

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Gresto

Yes, 'tis a great pity Olmsted didn't swing by T.O. But wait, we have Downsview Park! Remember the three levels of government gathering for the big announcement 20+ years ago? 700 acres to become a grand urban park of the magnitude and grandeur of Central Park. What became of the plan is an absolute disgrace. Heads should have rolled.

I haven't heard a peep about that either. Maybe it, like many urban renewal projects in Toronto, will take 15-25 years before one sees actual shovels in the ground. The pedestrianization of Yonge is another example. We'll be long dead and buried before some of these things materialize.