Rascacielo
Senior Member
These holdouts add character to the development, but they do need a lick of paint and a new tenant for the vacant one.
- Thread starter TorontoArchitect
- Start date
txlseries4
Active Member
The building with the red paint, 756 Bathurst, is going to home to the Blackhurst Cultural Centre, who are currently across the street at 777 Bathurst. I remembered hearing last year they'd be moving across the road and when I Googled what the address would be, I found a doc from the city's website that not only mentions the non-profit leasing it, but that City Council authorized the City's purchase of the 756 property in 2017. Seems like restoration work is being done (slowly...) so hopefully it's not long before the front is cleaned up.
officedweller
Senior Member
If those holdout lots are redeveloped, they'll probably be at least 5-6 storeys and will block the neighbouring windows
(or those neighbouring windows will be used as reason to prevent them from building up).
You shouldn't have windows facing another lot so closely. It would be okay if there was more space between, but it looks like it 's built practically up to the property line.
(i.e. they have sterilized future development potential of those 2 holdouts, maybe as a means of getting back at them for not selling? Not a "neighbourly" built form.)
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UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
...then we can tell there is no interest in future development that exceeds the heights of those holdouts by any parties involved here. So it's less likely of "shouldn't" and more of "wouldn't" ..and for what that's worth.
T3G
Senior Member
And what if those two hold outs continue to hold out indefinitely? The entire south facade of the building will be a blank wall leering out over the area for decades? Seems a poor thought to base a design decision on the equally poor thought of "this must someday be redeveloped".
Towered
Superstar
Alternative Thinking is gone???
officedweller
Senior Member
The alternative is to sterilize the neighbouring property.
That's a good way to preserve views if you can get it past the city.
Historically, you would always see a party wall on an interior property line
(maybe with windows that would be filled in, but the ones shown here are not like that).
The other alternative is to set back from the property line.
Northern Light
Superstar
This is sterilized. The distance across the 2 lots themselves is only 9M; but even if you go 'tower to tower' looking up here you're barely at 20M, given that midrise separation distance is 11M, there is no viable build plan here.
There is no space here to go up.
The existing window separation likely meets acceptable separation distances............ just.
officedweller
Senior Member
From the first pic shown, it looked like the Mirvish building is right up to the property line and has windows facing over the adjacent parcels. Maybe there's a foot or two separation?
What I could see is if the two old buildings are eventually redeveloped with a shorter condo building, like this one on an orphan parcel between 2 condo podiums in Vancouver. ie. the old building could burn down and face redevelopment.
1168 Richards Street - Metroliving, Vancouver MLS® Sold History & For Sale
View SOLD prices, new listings and strata restrictions for Metroliving 1168 Richards Street, Vancouver.
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
In the meantime, I think we can appreciate these two holdouts gives this stretch character. Or it would of been fairly sterile in a different way...
Tyrang
Active Member
To be fair Mirvish Village is probably not sterile if you put it against most of Toronto development.
D
DavidCapizzano
Guest
After visiting the under-construction Esplanade Cartier project in Montreal, it's hard to look at this monochromatic concrete mass with any admiration. I'm not sure signage and greenery will be enough to make this feel welcoming. MV gets the scale and width of the typical toronto commercial street but absolutely fumbles the materiality - the result is devoid of personality and joy.
Tyrang
Active Member
It's nice - but it looks like a bigger version of MV?
Ward8
Active Member
I find the mucking up of the demise lines very irritating. Good looking project none the less.
"Devoid of personality and joy" is a bit hyperbolas. It is too grey, but the problem is mostly isolated to the main corner and bloor frontages. The scale and pedestrian perception of the interior ally render the lack of colour irrelevant. My feeling, having been by there a bunch is that it'll be one of the best new spaces in the city when it becomes occupied. The park and the restoration of the houses on markham is also looking like it will be very successful.
The blandness of the corner at Bloor and Bathurst, and the retail ruining the scale/illusion of the demise lines, are the biggest disappointments for me.
D
DavidCapizzano
Guest
wrong