Canadian City Proposals

[TorontoDrew]

This looks straight out of Rotterdam.


Source: urbantoronto.ca

38 Walmer Road

Address: 38 Walmer Rd, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2X4
Category: Condo, Institutional
Status: Pre-Construction
Number of Buildings: 1
Storeys: 20
Number of Units: 162
Developer: TAS
Architect: Suulin Architects
Design Architect: ZAS Architects
Heritage Architect: ERA Architects
Landscape Architect: gh3
Planning: Bousfields

Location:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/38+Wal...b0bba2dc17!8m2!3d43.668575!4d-79.4067421

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

I heard of a massive new development coming to Kitchener sometime in the next 4-10 years: the entire block that Central Fresh Market, Tim Hortons, the medical clinic & plenty of surface parking is on is to be redeveloped in phases.

Also a big one proposed for Mill St beside the Mill ion station - six towers ranging from 11 to 32 storeys, with 1500 apartment units. Whether any of this stuff actually gets built in the face of the downturn, time will tell.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

This looks straight out of Rotterdam.


Source: urbantoronto.ca

38 Walmer Road

Address: 38 Walmer Rd, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2X4
Category: Condo, Institutional
Status: Pre-Construction
Number of Buildings: 1
Storeys: 20
Number of Units: 162
Developer: TAS
Architect: Suulin Architects
Design Architect: ZAS Architects
Heritage Architect: ERA Architects
Landscape Architect: gh3
Planning: Bousfields

Location:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/38+Wal...b0bba2dc17!8m2!3d43.668575!4d-79.4067421

Nice. Love that the church is to be preserved (even if the ancillary buildings will be lost) and will continue to be used, in part, as a church. I hope we'll see many more developments on these lines in future.

[WhipperSnapper]

you mean a proposal in Toronto doesn't include building on top of an existing structure or is it 60 storeys to make up for the lost space to build? This must be extremely preliminary

[Nouvellecosse]

I like the highrise but I wish they didn't need to destroy so much of the church. But I guess saving something is better than nothing.

[TorontoDrew]

Source: https://acotoronto.ca

This is the section that will be torn down. It's too bad, but I'm assuming the church has little use for that space. Looks like an old school or office componant for the church. It would have been nice had the city invested in it to turn it into senior housing or a woman's shelter.

[TorontoDrew]

This area needs it. The Junction lacks a lot of large scale development.

Source: urbantoronto.ca
2280 Dundas West Proposal

Address: 2280 Dundas St W, Toronto, Ontario, M6R 3B5
Category: Condo, Institutional, Office, Public Space, Rental, Retail
Status: Pre-Construction
Storeys: 42, 36, 36, 34, 22, 20, 20, 14, 10, 7
Number of Units: 2600
Developer: Choice Properties REIT
Architect: Hariri Pontarini Architects, Giannone Petricone Associates
Landscape Architect: Public Work, NAK Design Strategies
Engineering: Hatch
Planning: Urban Strategies Inc., Brook Pooni Associates

[Pavlov]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

I found Calgary very rundown and depressing. Beautiful friendly blondes but otherwise it's puzzling how they've knocked down so much of their history for parking lots, bland new homes and mostly mediocre condo towers. Edmonton reminds me of a bigger Winnipeg. I think the smaller Albertan cities, minus the absolute hole that is Red Deer, are better investments.

There's plenty to criticize Calgary for, but I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone describe it as being "very rundown"...

[Hawrylyshyn]

Originally Posted by Pavlov

There's plenty to criticize Calgary for, but I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone describe it as being "very rundown"...

+1. I've always thought of Calgary as one of, if not THE, least rundown large Canadian city

[905er]

Calgary?....rundown?.. I don't see it at all. I live in Ontario.. I've seen rundown.

[O-tacular]

Yeah if anything Calgary is more bland than rundown with all the 70's and 80's era towers. In recent years the vibe has changed though with DT vacancy still hovering at 30% and crime skyrocketing in the core.

I guess it depends where he visited. If he went to Stephen Avenue, Inglewood, East Village, Bridgeland or Riverwalk it would be hard to call it rundown. If he only visited the Core or 9th Ave it might appear that way. Curious to know from an outsider's perspective where he was referring to.

[esquire]

The Calgary CBD gave off some gritty vibes when I was there last summer, but I chalked that up to covid malaise which is evident in many Canadian cities. That had more to do with people than the built environment, though... I certainly wouldn't call the buildings themselves run down. Far from it.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by esquire

The Calgary CBD gave off some gritty vibes when I was there last summer, but I chalked that up to covid malaise which is evident in many Canadian cities. That had more to do with people than the built environment, though... I certainly wouldn't call the buildings themselves run down. Far from it.

The vibe has certainly changed. You feel uneasy now in the core. There's less pedestrian traffic due to all of the office vacancy and a lot more undesirables and crime. There have been quite a few stabbings and assaults occurring at the C-train platforms. Some completely random and unprovoked. It has even spilled into the Beltline. A yoga instructor was murdered on her way to work in an office building near the Mustard Seed a few months ago. Also random and not targeted.

Here's where it occurred: https://www.google.com/maps/@51.0432689,...itch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

This area needs it. The Junction lacks a lot of large scale development.

Source: urbantoronto.ca
2280 Dundas West Proposal

Big development. Area is currently a grocery store, LCBO, and surface parking. Big scale and size. Great to see.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

The vibe has certainly changed. You feel uneasy now in the core. There's less pedestrian traffic due to all of the office vacancy and a lot more undesirables and crime. There have been quite a few stabbings and assaults occurring at the C-train platforms. Some completely random and unprovoked. It has even spilled into the Beltline. A yoga instructor was murdered on her way to work in an office building near the Mustard Seed a few months ago. Also random and not targeted.

Yikes.

Yeah, Winnipeg has suffered even more in that regard, and I've heard Edmonton has had its challenges too. In some ways, Regina and Saskatoon are doing a bit better among prairie cities because their downtowns are not just commuter office districts... they have the big malls and other things that keep them hopping.

[ciudad_del_norte]

It's certaily gotten worse over Covid, but I do think Calgary on the ground has always been bit grittier than you'd expect from the skyline. Not particulary worse than other cities, but I think new/shiny construction can lead to unrealistic expecatations about what to expect on the ground in most locations.

It does seem the contrast is particularily stark now, still lots of shiny glass and metal (not particularly run down at all) above you with more poverty/addictions and open drug use at street level.

[niwell]

I wouldn't necessarily call it grit, but downtown Calgary is full of windswept corporate plazas and blank walls. Throw in the wide one-way streets, relatively narrow sidewalks and the presence of the plus-15 system and it can give off a bit of a foreboding vibe. Haven't been back since before COVID but this was far worse in the 90s, though I could see some of the sheen coming off the corporate spaces with the high vacancy rates and pandemic hangover.

[TorontoDrew]

I've never seen any gritty Calgary shots. Now I want to see some.

[GeneralLea]

I've never been west of Ontario, so I can't say what I feel about Calgary except for what I've heard on this website. It doesnt seem rundown based on images posted, although I can imagine it might if COVID-19 stay at homes measures were still a strong factor in having people work from home.

It's good to see that big lot on Roncesvalles redeveloped, although I hope a good deal of retail is retained and a grocery store wil come back to that area.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

Source: https://acotoronto.ca

This is the section that will be torn down. It's too bad, but I'm assuming the church has little use for that space. Looks like an old school or office componant for the church. It would have been nice had the city invested in it to turn it into senior housing or a woman's shelter.

Yeah, the current street level is a frankenburger. The church will look much better without all the accessory buildings. The tower will appear separate even if it the interior space is physically inseparable