Canadian City Proposals - Page 181

Coldrsx · #**3601** Posted **May 27, 2015, 7:15 PM**

vanman · #**3602** Posted **May 27, 2015, 9:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

That one is a wait and see. It could go either way, spectacular or terribly bad.

If it was being built in Toronto or Vancouver I'd expect it to end up a disaster. Thankfully Montreal seems to be a leader when it comes to high quality exterior cladding. I have yet to see a single project from that city that was ruined by cheap materials.

WhipperSnapper · #**3603** Posted **May 27, 2015, 10:58 PM**

Lot of poor cladding choices in Montreal. The shift awaycfrom window wall which is happening everywhere is a positive for glass buildings.

vanman · #**3604** Posted **May 28, 2015, 12:11 AM**

You have any recent examples of poor cladding in Montreal?

WhipperSnapper · #**3605** Posted **May 28, 2015, 1:36 AM**

Some uglies in Griffintown. Just about anything outside the centre ville.

1overcosc · #**3606** Posted **May 28, 2015, 11:01 AM**

I never thought I'd live to see the day... an 18 story condo tower is proposed in downtown Kingston.

IN8 Developments, a developer of urban high rises in Kitchener-Waterloo, has acquired the site of the old Capitol Theatre, our former downtown first-run theatre which closed in 2012. They're proposing to renovate and preserve the old theatre as part of the podium of the tower.

There would be 223 units, described as "mostly with one or two bedrooms and with a price tag of roughly $225,000 to $350,000", with only 132 parking spaces due to its downtown location. Those prices are definitely on the high end for Kingston (the U/C Anna Lane project around the corner, for example, sold one bedrooms for $140k), but if they can tap into the student housing market via investor-owners they should be good for sales.

http://www.thewhig.com/2015/05/27/business-owner-backs-condo-project-at-former-theatre

Martin Mtl · #**3607** Posted **May 28, 2015, 1:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Some uglies in Griffintown. Just about anything outside the centre ville.

Griffintown: The Griffix is ugly, the rest is mostly bricks, glass (curtain walls) and pre-finished aluminum panels (à la Toronto's Picasso). Nothing too bad. No spandrel and window wall yet, unless you know about a building that I'm not aware of.

WhipperSnapper · #**3608** Posted **May 28, 2015, 3:20 PM**

I specifically said choices. Good materials can enhance a design as much as poor aesthetics can diminish the use of upgraded materials. District Griffin is pretty bad but not as bad as the condos out by Angrignon shopping centre. The farther you get from Ville Marie, the worse things are.

Rico Rommheim · #**3609** Posted **May 28, 2015, 3:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

I specifically said choices. Good materials can enhance a design as much as poor aesthetics can diminish the use of upgraded materials. District Griffin is pretty bad but not as bad as the condos out by Angrignon shopping centre. The farther you get from Ville Marie, the worse things are.

I'm having a hard time disagreeing with this, actually.

MexiQuebecois · #**3610** Posted **May 28, 2015, 3:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

I'm having a hard time disagreeing with this, actually.

Which would reinforce the notion that Laval is indeed the literal a$$hole of Montreal. Clock tower and all. I think we're up to something here.

WhipperSnapper · #**3611** Posted **May 28, 2015, 3:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by theman23

The horror of all those poors moving into their half million dollar town homes. How will this poor kept woman ever get along with all those people who actually have jobs?

Her concerns for this specific case are rather hollow. There are 30 storey towers directly across the street. The value of the properties directly on Keewatin could be inflated because of the opportunities for intensification. However, we shouldn't just brush aside that a stacked condo complex with units ranging at around $500,000 would have devastating consequences on the value of neighbouring million plus dollar homes.

I have acquaintances in a similar situation. Both live on the same street in a prewar low rise subdivision. Both have nearly identical homes. One neighbours an intense infill development that went up five years ago. The value of his house since the development has gone up 5%. The other guy down the street has seen his house appreciate by 30%. there are consequences to every development. It's unfortunate those concerns are typically brushed aside here for skyline aesthetics or even just plain old stats.

Martin Mtl · #**3612** Posted **May 28, 2015, 3:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

I specifically said choices. Good materials can enhance a design as much as poor aesthetics can diminish the use of upgraded materials. District Griffin is pretty bad but not as bad as the condos out by Angrignon shopping centre. The farther you get from Ville Marie, the worse things are.

We were specifically talking about cladding material quality, not design. You are pathologically incapable of admitting that you are wrong in any discussion on any circumstances. It's almost unreal. And I mentioned the Griffix, not District Griffin. Very different projects.

telyou · #**3613** Posted **May 28, 2015, 4:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanman

If it was being built in Toronto or Vancouver I'd expect it to end up a disaster. Thankfully Montreal seems to be a leader when it comes to high quality exterior cladding. I have yet to see a single project from that city that was ruined by cheap materials.

You haven't been to Montreal have you? I'm looking at Griffintown right now outside my window. 6 extremely ugly buildings. Take a look at le Triangle as well. 8 beyond hideous buildings over there.

telyou · #**3614** Posted **May 28, 2015, 4:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Mtl

Griffintown: The Griffix is ugly, the rest is mostly bricks, glass (curtain walls) and pre-finished aluminum panels (à la Toronto's Picasso). Nothing too bad. No spandrel and window wall yet, unless you know about a building that I'm not aware of.

Ugly suburban beige brick does not make a nice project.

Martin Mtl · #**3615** Posted **May 28, 2015, 4:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by telyou

Ugly suburban beige brick does not make a nice project.

Not a fan neither. But I like the black and white bricks of Lowney sur Ville.

Beedok · #**3616** Posted **May 28, 2015, 4:33 PM**

So, I saw a sign in Edmonton of what seemed to be a rather tall proposal connected to the Fairmont Railway Hotel thing. What's going on with that?

telyou · #**3617** Posted **May 28, 2015, 4:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Mtl

Not a fan neither. But I like the black and white bricks of Lowney sur Ville.

Indeed, Lowney is the saviour of Griffintown. Goes to show you don't need 50 story buildings. I should've bought there.

WhipperSnapper · #**3618** Posted **May 28, 2015, 6:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Mtl

We were specifically talking about cladding material quality, not design. You are pathologically incapable of admitting that you are wrong in any discussion on any circumstances. It's almost unreal. And I mentioned the Griffix, not District Griffin. Very different projects.

I stated choices from the very first post as I explained it is as important to quality as to whether its stone or precast concrete. I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong either. You asked for examples in reply to me stating there are some uglies in Griffentown. I gave you District Griffin. That's the one I know best and it's not attractive.

bkd · #**3619** Posted **May 28, 2015, 9:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beedok

So, I saw a sign in Edmonton of what seemed to be a rather tall proposal connected to the Fairmont Railway Hotel thing. What's going on with that?

You're referring to the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald? I believe that's a Procura "proposal" that is as pie in the sky as the Edmontonian "proposal" at this point.

The_Architect · #**3620** Posted **May 28, 2015, 9:23 PM**

Whoa, what?

This is what could replace the Gardiner Expressway

Quote:

...None, however, have been quite so bold as a new plan from CORE Architects. Pitched as part of the Toronto of the Future exhibit at Metro Hall, the plan is called "Dig Down and Build Up" and imagines a radically transformed Toronto.

In a nutshell, the concept calls for both the Gardiner and Lake Shore Blvd. to be removed in favour of a 12-lane tunnel that would span 10 kilometres across the foot of the city. A two-lane road would remain above ground to service residents and businesses, and a network of green space would be installed to enrich the city's lakeshore.

...

"By conservative estimates, the land value of this 14km stretch is $8 billion in today's dollar. The sale and development fees of this land should offset a sizeable piece of this project's cost. Public funds will cover only part of the cost since a good chunk of it can come from sale of the lands."