Canadian City Proposals

[Innsertnamehere]

cityplace is only half-finished. and even if we drop to 5,000 a year, that is what Montreal is at right now. even that isn't END OF THE WORLD AHHHHHHHHH!!!1!!11!11!!!

[Ramako]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

cityplace is only half-finished. and even if we drop to 5,000 a year, that is what Montreal is at right now. even that isn't END OF THE WORLD AHHHHHHHHH!!!1!!11!11!!!

CityPlace is more than half finished. Quartz and Spectra are under construction and the only remaining proposals are Lumen (which will consist of two towers) and the ever-mysterious Signature Tower.

[Innsertnamehere]

note how I said FINISHED, I.E. open, with people living in them. when it comes to sales, and highly likely completion, we are looking at around 7/8th completion.

[Ramako]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

note how I said FINISHED, I.E. open, with people living in them. when it comes to sales, and highly likely completion, we are looking at around 7/8th completion.

From: Urban Toronto circa 2007



Finished:

Apex 1 & 2
Matrix 1 & 2
Optima
Harbourview Estates 1, 2, 3, 4 & Loft
West One
N1/N2
Montage & Neo
Luna
Panorama
Parade East
Canoe Landing Park


Effectively Finished: (literally weeks away from opening)

Parade West
Puente de Luz Bridge


Pouring Concrete:

Quartz & Spectra (Note: Not part of the original CityPlace master plan. Land purchased by Concord later.)


Sales:

Lumen (Note: Not part of the original CityPlace master plan. Land purchased by Concord later.)


Urban Legend:

Signature Tower



I'd call that far more than only half finished.

[Innsertnamehere]

I was thinking the general area, rather than just concord adex developed land.

we still have:

quartz
spectra
lumen
2 more towers to be announced on lumens block (small towers, but still towers)
signature tower
loblaws in that old warehouse
library condos
block 32 housing
that block that was supposed to be a school but is now sitting in limbo

that is 10 unfinished projects..

[Ramako]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

I was thinking the general area, rather than just concord adex developed land.

we still have:

quartz
spectra
lumen
2 more towers to be announced on lumens block (small towers, but still towers)
signature tower
loblaws in that old warehouse
library condos
block 32 housing
that block that was supposed to be a school but is now sitting in limbo

that is 10 unfinished projects..

Yeah, I guess if you're including other projects in the neighbourhood (plus don't forget the LRT ROW). I was thinking more along the lines of CityPlace proper as conceived by Concord. I'd still call the CityPlace neighbourhood as a whole about two thirds complete.

Why are we bickering over this anyway?

[Innsertnamehere]

Exactly lol

For some odd reason I am extremely excited for the Vaughn office building, despite it being a small box in the suburbs.. Weird. I honestly don't know why I am so excited for it.

[koops65]

Because Vaughan is starting to take baby-steps towards becomming another Mississauga?

[The Gibbroni]

Originally Posted by Ramako

Yeah, I guess if you're including other projects in the neighbourhood (plus don't forget the LRT ROW). I was thinking more along the lines of CityPlace proper as conceived by Concord. I'd still call the CityPlace neighbourhood as a whole about two thirds complete.

Why are we bickering over this anyway?

Yeah CityPlace! International showpiece of progressive planning.

How's that masterpiece bridge doing? I heard it had its grand opening..

[Chadillaccc]

Are you being serious or sarcastic? I do think the planning is pretty good (though I'm certainly no expert)... but I'd hardly call it a showpiece. They tried to make it visually appealing but they should have attempted... a bit better.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by koops65

Because Vaughan is starting to take baby-steps towards becomming another Mississauga?

I'd say "another Burnaby", as Vaughan will actually have rapid transit by the time part of this financial core is built, while Mississauga and Brampton will still be arguing over funding of their LRT.

[rapid_business]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Are you being serious or sarcastic? I do think the planning is pretty good (though I'm certainly no expert)... but I'd hardly call it a showpiece. They tried to make it visually appealing but they should have attempted... a bit better.

I disagree. Nice to look at. Pretty tall buildings. But not great from a connectedness and planned point of view.

Here is some gas to that fire: http://www.thegridto.com/life/real-estate/is-cityplace-torontos-next-ghetto/

[Chadillaccc]

Well if it does turn into a ghetto, it'll be the nicest ghetto I've seen anywhere

[rapid_business]

/\ If this were the 1960s, we might have been saying the same of St. James Town...

[Vertigo3000]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Well if it does turn into a ghetto, it'll be the nicest ghetto I've seen anywhere

The ghettos that exist in Canada are barely ghetto, if this is considered ghetto, I don't want to know what more than half of what the US is. We use the word ghetto so loosly in Canada, I've been through cityplace, it takes two minutes to get out of it on foot, theres plenty of stuff there too, like Sobeys. Cityplace has more to offer than my neighborhood, there is nothing but a private school for skiers. Getting out of cityplace was so easy, if you find it difficult to sacrifice two minutes of your time, then you need to find a better way to deal with your problems. Cityplace in no way, is a ghetto

[rapid_business]

I'm not saying it is. I linked to the article to show some feedback I had read last year. The reality is, it is an esthetically pleasing place with lots of general amenities that can pay higher CRU lease rates and sign long-term leases (grocery store, bank, bank, restaurant, bank, etc.) It takes the "Vancouver Model" of podium/tower, but blows it out of proportion. It does have nicely designed, landscaped portions, and some much needed field space too. The biggest drawback in my mind is the separation from the rest of the city, no matter how small it is. It is an island unto itself separated by lakeshore blvd/gardiner to the south, rail to the north, bathurst and spadina. The biggest barrier being north and south, obviously.

It isn't a BAD neighborhood by any stretch of the imagination, and any city would kill to have something like CityPlace adjacent to downtown. However, my personal preference prefers other Toronto communities to CityPlace, and that is fine.

[someone123]

Here's a rendering of a new apartment building proposed by Southwest Properties for Hollis and Sackville Street in Halifax:



The report included a rendering done from the Citadel showing some other proposed buildings. There will also be 3 towers (Nova Centre) in the foreground that are not shown.



Report: http://www.halifax.ca/boardscom/drc/documents/121108drc000.PDF

I made this simple rendering of Hollis Street a while ago. The foreground green building is under construction (RBC Waterside) and the far building is the newly proposed Southwest tower. Far in the back you can see the red balconies of the Vic apartments that were recently completed. It all makes for a fairly impressive "canyon" appearance with a nice mix of new and old buildings:

[Dmajackson]

^Would The Alexander/Brewery Market Tower be visible from that view Someone123?

Also it should be noted the Citadel Hill rendering does not include the United Gulf site proposals that are across the street (nearer to the hill) from this project. The report states that including the previously approved project (Twisted Sisters) would completely hide the new proposal from the view. Presumably the proposed new project (Skye Halifax) which is much taller would do the same.

[Bankview]

Originally Posted by rapid_business

I'm not saying it is. I linked to the article to show some feedback I had read last year. The reality is, it is an esthetically pleasing place with lots of general amenities that can pay higher CRU lease rates and sign long-term leases (grocery store, bank, bank, restaurant, bank, etc.) It takes the "Vancouver Model" of podium/tower, but blows it out of proportion. It does have nicely designed, landscaped portions, and some much needed field space too. The biggest drawback in my mind is the separation from the rest of the city, no matter how small it is. It is an island unto itself separated by lakeshore blvd/gardiner to the south, rail to the north, bathurst and spadina. The biggest barrier being north and south, obviously.

It isn't a BAD neighborhood by any stretch of the imagination, and any city would kill to have something like CityPlace adjacent to downtown. However, my personal preference prefers other Toronto communities to CityPlace, and that is fine.

Like with everything in life, time will make all the difference for CityPlace. It's still a child in terms of it's growth stage and its connection to the city. As the developers move on to greener pastures and the area matures into an actual established neighborhood within the city you'll see the quirks and charm sprout up.

Example: I live in Coal Harbour in Vancouver, fully built out to any reasonable extent and let me tell you, IT IS STERILE. But slowly the infill is creeping onwards, a couple shops open here and there. Voila, you have the fresh shoots of a vibrant community in the future. I've seen a definite improvement and things will only go up from here.

Were errors made, of course.
Could things of been done better and with more effort, of course.
Developers aren't in the community building business, and will do good generally only through chance or under duress, they're in the money making business after all.
It's up to the city and it's residents to bring forth and nurture the things that make it a place you'd want to live in, you cannot just sit in comfy armchairs and complain while you wait for Paris to rise out of Lake Ontario.

It's all on you.

[Ramako]

Originally Posted by rapid_business

I'm not saying it is. I linked to the article to show some feedback I had read last year. The reality is, it is an esthetically pleasing place with lots of general amenities that can pay higher CRU lease rates and sign long-term leases (grocery store, bank, bank, restaurant, bank, etc.) It takes the "Vancouver Model" of podium/tower, but blows it out of proportion. It does have nicely designed, landscaped portions, and some much needed field space too. The biggest drawback in my mind is the separation from the rest of the city, no matter how small it is. It is an island unto itself separated by lakeshore blvd/gardiner to the south, rail to the north, bathurst and spadina. The biggest barrier being north and south, obviously.

It isn't a BAD neighborhood by any stretch of the imagination, and any city would kill to have something like CityPlace adjacent to downtown. However, my personal preference prefers other Toronto communities to CityPlace, and that is fine.

Connectivity is certainly an issue with CityPlace, but at least it's laid out in a proper grid, unlike the awful dead space that characterizes St. James Town.

With respect to the south barrier, they've completed Dan Leckie Way all the way to Lake Shore Boulevard, so it's now possible to enter and exit CityPlace from the south by car or foot. Eventually Fort York Boulevard will connect to Bathurst, creating a third connectivity point for cars and a fourth for pedestrians.

My dream is that they eventually deck over the rail tracks and fully connect CityPlace directly to the King West neighbourhood to the north.