41 Wilson Street | 103, 101 and 100 m | 3 x 30 fl | Under Construction

[Chronamut]

Ugh so happy to see something finally going here - this whole area of the city always felt like a graveyard.. cuz.. well.. that's exactly what it was - so many factories and churches torn town - this whole area used to be part of the manufacturing area of the city, along with run of the mill residential.

[Innsertnamehere]

Some more from me yesterday - They have ripped up probably about half the parking lot now, and demolished the parking attendant booth. I'm extremely excited for this project, but will in a terrible sort of way miss this parking lot since it was dirt cheap and was free after 6pm for when we come downtown to go to a restaurant on King William or James North..

From Hughson:


From Wilson:

[Chronamut]

Hunh wasn't aware it was free after 6, I still think they need a giant parking tower - like taller than the one that already exists near the city center - just one block of like 30 stories of parking - cities parking needs taken care of for the next 100 years lol..

[Hawrylyshyn]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

Hunh wasn't aware it was free after 6, I still think they need a giant parking tower - like taller than the one that already exists near the city center - just one block of like 30 stories of parking - cities parking needs taken care of for the next 100 years lol..

*takes 1 hour of driving in a circle just to leave the your parking spot*

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

Hunh wasn't aware it was free after 6, I still think they need a giant parking tower - like taller than the one that already exists near the city center - just one block of like 30 stories of parking - cities parking needs taken care of for the next 100 years lol..

That legitimately sounds like hell on Earth and would generate so much traffic. We need less parking if anything. The downtown has an overabundance of parking and if the Burlington parking garage can teach us something, it's that suburbanites want to park as close as possible to their destination and aren't willing to walk. The garage is never full except 1 or 2 days in December when parking is free and it's prime shopping season.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by TheRitsman

That legitimately sounds like hell on Earth and would generate so much traffic. We need less parking if anything. The downtown has an overabundance of parking and if the Burlington parking garage can teach us something, it's that suburbanites want to park as close as possible to their destination and aren't willing to walk. The garage is never full except 1 or 2 days in December when parking is free and it's prime shopping season.

And since a number of suburbanites are already vowing to avoid the downtown because of the forthcoming congestion, their parking needs will be nil.

Rather than a massive parking garage, integrating publicly-available parking into podiums is a better way to replace some of what is "lost." But parking capacity and its pricing are levers to get people to travel by alternative modes... which makes the HSR re-vamp important, and so many people use ride-hailing services. Also, there's nothing wrong with taking a taxi! (local cab companies seem to be upping their game over the past few years)

[Chronamut]

lol ive taken the hsr my whole life but I am sure its not convenient for everyone, esp the times you have to wait between stops to get places..

I do wonder how many people will actually use the residential podiums who are coming from out of town or will know to - are they well utilized as it is?

One thing i noticed is taxis seem to top running at night after a certain time.. got stranded a couple times coming home from toronto and had to walk 2 hours home to the east end - its not the end of the world but still..

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

lol ive taken the hsr my whole life but I am sure its not convenient for everyone, esp the times you have to wait between stops to get places..

I do wonder how many people will actually use the residential podiums who are coming from out of town or will know to - are they well utilized as it is?

One thing i noticed is taxis seem to top running at night after a certain time.. got stranded a couple times coming home from toronto and had to walk 2 hours home to the east end - its not the end of the world but still..

People do it in Toronto all the time. Public parking is the norm in the underground of private buildings. We left our car in the basement of a Montréal office building all weekend. It was great. No concerns about the car, and when we needed it we just walked right in, paid and drove out.

[Chronamut]

Very nice very nice - yes I agree that all downtown parking should be in a sense hidden away - like it was in the very very long ago past - to get that feeling that the city is where people live and is its own self-contained thing.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

the city is where people live and is its own self-contained thing.

And not simply a neighbourhood to "pass through"

[TheRitsman]

Walked by after my dentist appointment, and they were working away. Noticed they dug up the southeast corner first which I thought was odd since my understanding was that this was to be a phased building with the northwest corner starting first. I was thinking maybe it was a result of an old foundation they had to rip up? There were quite a few large boulders they were trying (and hilariously failing) to break up.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

Very nice very nice - yes I agree that all downtown parking should be in a sense hidden away - like it was in the very very long ago past - to get that feeling that the city is where people live and is its own self-contained thing.

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

And not simply a neighbourhood to "pass through"

This is why I'm all for converting King and Main back to 2 way at least through the downtown core, maybe from Dundurn in the west to Wentworth in the east. That's 3.3-3.4km of slowing down traffic in the core

Right now having a downtown speedway is not good for city living and very few businesses want to be located on Main St especially. Catering to suburbanites helped ruin downtowns all across North America. Hamilton and Buffalo (Oak and Elm Streets) exemplify that with 1 way speedways through the downtown. It's a hostile environment to pedestrians and cyclists.

/end Wigs rant

back to the thread topic, I'm looking forward to seeing these 3 towers rise! ~931 units will be a boon for this part of downtown and hopefully encourage even more high density development.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Right now having a downtown speedway is not good for city living and very few businesses want to be located on Main St especially. Catering to suburbanites helped ruin downtowns all across North America. Hamilton and Buffalo (Oak and Elm Streets) exemplify that with 1 way speedways through the downtown. It's a hostile environment to pedestrians and cyclists.

Main is particularly bad between Gage and the Delta. Many motorcyclists and drivers of sporty cars treat it like a drag strip -- I've been living within sight of the street since the beginning of the year, and it won't surprise me when I eventually see someone careen out of control. Hopefully there are no pedestrians nearby when it happens.

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Main is particularly bad between Gage and the Delta. Many motorcyclists and drivers of sporty cars treat it like a drag strip -- I've been living within sight of the street since the beginning of the year, and it won't surprise me when I eventually see someone careen out of control. Hopefully there are no pedestrians nearby when it happens.

I live off lawrence rd - and trust me - the strip where gage turns into lawrence by gage park is the worst.

[PaperSun]

Activity picking up here, about 12 guys on site today. Equipment on site to drill and rebar was being delivered.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by PaperSun

Activity picking up here, about 12 guys on site today. Equipment on site to drill and rebar was being delivered.

Are they working on the southeast or northwest corner of the site?

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by TheRitsman

Are they working on the southeast or northwest corner of the site?

the integrated nature of the podium likely means that the entire podium structure will be built at once - only the tower elements may be "phased".

Honestly - given that the first two towers are apparently sold out.. I'd be surprised if we see any phasing here at all. By the time construction gets above the podium, the 3rd tower will likely be launched and have sufficient sales to finance it's construction.

I am curious about how the foundation will be done here as there aren't any basement levels shown in the architectural plans.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

the integrated nature of the podium likely means that the entire podium structure will be built at once - only the tower elements may be "phased".

Honestly - given that the first two towers are apparently sold out.. I'd be surprised if we see any phasing here at all. By the time construction gets above the podium, the 3rd tower will likely be launched and have sufficient sales to finance it's construction.

I am curious about how the foundation will be done here as there aren't any basement levels shown in the architectural plans.

That's fair, and I'd expect the same, but I'm curious mostly because of the permitting on the site.

[WhipperSnapper]

Presuming bedrock is not near the surface. They will probably need to install shoring and dig down a level to accommodate the raft slabs. That will take some time.

[PaperSun]