allengeorge said:
I don’t think Toronto can support another 5-star hotel right down the street from the Fairmont.
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Agreed. Prices in the low-mid range hotels have doubled over the last 4 years but the top-end (St. Regis, Shangri-La, Ritz) in the financial core have been pretty steady. Reduced business travel left a bit of a glut on 5-star chain rooms. I have no idea how the boutique hotels are doing.
 
Urghh I was hoping they forgot about this.

Larco please just go away with your drab, none of us are interested in what's sure to be the next iteration of your embarrassment proposal. Sell the site to someone who will actually do the site proper justice.
 
Amare said:
Urghh I was hoping they forgot about this.

Larco please just go away with your drab, none of us are interested in what's sure to be the next iteration of your embarrassment proposal. Sell the site to someone who will actually do the site proper justice.
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Really think the current arrangement with the CIBC Squares at the back looks perfect. Another tower in the front will just block the composition.
 
Civdis said:
I would like them to leave this building alone
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With regards to what is currently proposed, I couldn't agree more. Though the Dominion Public Building isn't particularly old, there's no denying it has a remarkable street presence, and this stretch of Front St. is also unique in all of Toronto. Its wide, tree-lined sidewalks make it a visually enticing experience for pedestrians, and as they follow its gentle arc west past this imposing building, they are further rewarded by the equally monumental Union Station and Royal York Hotel. This is the closest thing Toronto has to one of those grand European boulevards lined with graceful buildings, and though undeniably 'new world', it does recall something of London's Aldwych in The Strand. What concerns me most is the seeming lack of vision for what we have here. This is exemplified by the redeveloped stretch of street in front of Union Station that, IMO, has been so terribly botched(not to mention the new 'bollards'). There's no denying that the city needs more rental units, but we also need to resist the urge to erect a tower atop every available inch of real estate in the downtown core.

I'm certainly not opposed to redeveloping this building; in fact, it's crying out for it, but a well-done, subtle, and stepped rooftop addition in keeping with the proportionality and character of the building is what I believe is called for..As for the building itself, one possible use might be a London or Milan-inspired arcade of shops and restaurants on its lower levels that preserves its wonderful interior spatial features, with residential and/or hotel units above. Believe it or not, Toronto once had one of these 19th-century precursors to the modern shopping mall, appropriately enough called the Arcade Building, but it was unceremoniously demolished in 1954, and its current namesake was built on the site in 1960. Such a redevelopment could transform this building and make this already unique stretch of Front St. into a truly remarkable urban experience. Whatever redevelopment is in this building's future, it deserves much better than to have a pair of unsympathetic towers sprouting from it.
 
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My two cents: I think that the Dominion Public Building should be purchased to serve as the Toronto the terminus for high speed rail, with the actual track and platforms located in a tunnel beneath the station and connections provided to tie it into the Union Station complex. The feasibility of using the building for a high speed rail terminal is another matter, of course, but it's just too practical an idea to not seriously explore.
 
Milaisacat said:
My two cents: I think that the Dominion Public Building should be purchased to serve as the Toronto the terminus for high speed rail, with the actual track and platforms located in a tunnel beneath the station and connections provided to tie it into the Union Station complex. The feasibility of using the building for a high speed rail terminal is another matter, of course, but it's just too practical an idea to not seriously explore.
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I am, with respect, questioning your sanity.
 
^I dunno, there's lots of folks out there who are completely sane that hold weird ideas such as this on things. Sometimes it's all about which side they fell on after whatever it was they just smoked... >.<
 
Milaisacat said:
My two cents: I think that the Dominion Public Building should be purchased to serve as the Toronto the terminus for high speed rail, with the actual track and platforms located in a tunnel beneath the station and connections provided to tie it into the Union Station complex. The feasibility of using the building for a high speed rail terminal is another matter, of course, but it's just too practical an idea to not seriously explore.
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I've said as much, but only if CIBC Square North hadn't been built. An extension towards the rail corridor would form the platforms and the Dominion Public Building could become Union Station East, for high speed rail and connecting to the already built Bus Terminal. Even the subway crosses in front of it and new exits into the DPB could help disperse some of that TTC rider crowding.

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With CIBC built, there is definitely no more room with the foundations of towers on the Esplanade in the way. You'd have to go way too deep to make it worth it. Ultimately Alto will have to fit into Union Station. Taking the place of UP Express in the Skywalk is the most viable location that I can think of, other than mingling with GO and VIA trains on regular platforms.
 
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