The Great Canadian "If you were a developer (Just for fun)" Thread

[urbandreamer]

Not a fan of this Telegraph building replacement in Saint John:
https://developsaintjohn.com/recent_...erbury-street/

Another idea:



Grannan Lofts - my first Saint John proposal
Canterbury facade

Grannan Lane facade

rear alley facade

six storeys, 32 rental units, 4 CRU, built on top of an existing parking garage


red brick, not brown EIFS defines Canterbury Street

[Fischbob]

Here's something a little different, both in scale and medium.

The Central Peninsula of Saint John is severely lacking in new-build housing suitable for families. Lots of high-end loft conversions catering to retirees and young professionals without kids, but almost nothing in the 3BR range and above. With a 1 year old now in tow, I've been made quite aware of this gap in the market for young families who want to maintain an urban lifestyle.

So I fired up Minecraft (pretty much the only design/building software I'm competent at) and built a quick contemporary townhouse concept suitable for a narrow (~26ft) but deep lot.



3 bedrooms plus den & family room. Open concept kitchen/living/dining second level. Garage and private outdoor terrace tucked in the back.



Granted, there aren't many rear laneways in Saint John, so the garage location presents a bit of a challenge. But I'll take it over having the garage at the front

[urbandreamer]

I was in Dundas Ontario this afternoon studying old Victorian commercial facades: I really want to bring back decoration to modern design.

Maybe I'll give the Grannan Lofts an Ontario-inspired facelift.



OTOH, I have an emergency redesign for a POS Toronto balcony tower proposal on the boards: skeleton

[Truenorth00]

If I were a developer I would follow every tip in this video:

https://youtu.be/Hy4QjmKzF1c

I’d build neighbourhoods that people want to live in. And I’d still be making money, because I’d be okay taking in a million per floor from a low and mid rise neighbourhood instead of 2 million per floor from an ugly and dysfunctional high rise:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real...-we-afford-it/

[urbandreamer]

A conservative approach to remixing the aA-style glass balcony tower (think U Condos, King Charlotte) - same overall effect just different materials

[urbandreamer]

Maybe with arches ... seriously can someone get Centrecourt to do a tower like

[Maldive]

Great idea Dreamer for Mumbai. Been there 4 or 5 times and this would work as solid infill for the (rather huge) middle-class condo shopper. Depends on the location ;-)

Or did u mean in Canada?

[urbandreamer]

Yeah specifically I was designing a balcony tower for the 250 University Avenue site. I know the historic office building on the site isn't coming down, so my proposal could be situated anywhere on the planet. Ideally in downtown Toronto.
At 250 University, a lighter grey precast is appropriate



Somewhere else maybe

the usual: 8000 sq ft floor plates, 10-12 units per floor, 54 storeys, ground floor retail, parking below grade

[urbandreamer]

H&R REIT's 145 Wellington West redevelopment proposal looks like poo. I opened sketchup this morning to see if I could redesign it, keeping the massing the same: a 52 storey, 8000 sq ft floor plate luxury rental balcony tower plopped on top of a 13 storey mixed use podium--either a boutique hotel or office space with high quality ground floor retail




in yellow brick & precast



the proposal: https://www.145wellington.com/

[urbandreamer]

Glazed green brick is all the rage in Europe and NYC so why not in Toronto?

or stone/precast

[urbandreamer]

Arched facade concept for Kingsett's 506-528 Yonge Street site:




the usual: 8000 sq ft floor plates, 10-12 units per floor, 70 storeys, 740' tall

[urbandreamer]

Very simple arched balcony tower concept that introduces colour to the genre

[urbandreamer]

Two years ago I was working on a condo tower inspired by Robarts Library:

(maybe someday I'll finish it)

Last week: a really basic balcony tower for a site in Uptown Waterloo, inspired by the absolute shite going up nearby


Today a grid facade:

[urbandreamer]

145 Wellington Street West v2

[urbandreamer]

145 Wellington Street West (Toronto) v2.1



v2.2 - looks better in red brick (precast panels)

[urbandreamer]

145 Wellington Street West Toronto v2.2 in Google Earth:




conservative timeless architecture

[urbandreamer]

145 Wellington Street West v3

[urbandreamer]

This week I was thinking about my next home. I could buy an old home and update it or build a new one. Ideally located on a 10-30 acre woodlot. Designed from the inside out: 1400 square feet slab-on-grade single car garage with workshop storage space, 2 bedrooms 1 bathroom, laundry/utility room, kitchen and a large dining/living area with built in shelves for my 10,000 books. Debating whether it should be geothermal or wood heated. Budget $400k. Any suggestions for improvement?

[urbandreamer]

Alternative version: 1000 sqft 1 bedroom with movable shelving, wood heated slab on grade cottage/home.

[urbandreamer]

Sneaky Dee's is being redeveloped and naturally twitter's outraged so I put my creativity to task to create a thirteen storey 169 unit concept for the site at the southwest corner of College and Bathurst: BC Condos



underground parking accessed via the back lane is most logical here

I've kept seven CRU although reality is we'll probably see a bank, convenience store or Farm Boy ha.