[Northern Light]

I really enjoy a lot of this building - except for where the two material types meet on the fourth floor. It irks me every time I see it, especially with how considered the rest of this build is. I think it's because the brick portion seems heavier (darker colour, wider line) and having it just end where it does seems wrong. I just wish they continued the brick down that pillar.

Agreed that it looks off.

I think the issue is that the brick in this section is higher than on either side for no obvious reason; and also that the white cladding has a slight overhang just to the west, then stops and actually 'transitions' to being setback.

It's a very peculiar arrangement.

The eye likes symmetry is a good default rule, and this breaks that. It's most obvious in the horizontal but in the vertical, you don't need symmetry in the sense of a tower having one cladding 1/2 way up then switching to another, but your eye wants that visual cue of where the base/podium ends and the tower/upper tier begins. This layout leaves the eye confused wondering where stuff begins/ends.

Funny, in the sense that COBE does a lot of great stuff and the budget here to do quality materials and workmanship, and you can see that on display here. I just think this was misjudgement in terms of how it would read.

 

[Rendezvous Rama]

 

[Pfloyd]

Does anyone know what is going on across from Scrivener to the north at the LCBO fountain? It's been fenced, torn down and excavated. When I ask LCBO enployees, they say "TTC has taken over, and they are making an access to the subway". They also said the the fountain "is likely gone for good", which is a real shame to say the least. The closest station is Summerhill a full block to the north, and it is a lightly used station. I cannot see the justification for that, if that's the case. I also called TTC , and they didn't know what I was talking about, in their usual clueless selves. The traffic in this area has been a nightmare for a while now, and will get worse by the the construction of the new condo bldg at Yonge and Roxborough. Rowanwood (by the Shell gas station is also closed to traffic due to major road work. Concillor Diane Sax said in a virtual town hall recently, that traffic will be worse than it is due to watermain work on top of all the bldg construction current and planned. The way construction and infrastruction work is coordinated and planned in this town is really a joke. Zero concern for the quality of life of current residents. And I am a fairly pro development individual being and architect, but this is beyond shameful.

 

[StephenJob]

Does anyone know what is going on across from Scrivener to the north at the LCBO fountain? It's been fenced, torn down and excavated. When I ask LCBO enployees, they say "TTC has taken over, and they are making an access to the subway". They also said the the fountain "is likely gone for good", which is a real shame to say the least. The closest station is Summerhill a full block to the north, and it is a lightly used station. I cannot see the justification for that, if that's the case. I also called TTC , and they didn't know what I was talking about, in their usual clueless selves. The traffic in this area has been a nightmare for a while now, and will get worse by the the construction of the new condo bldg at Yonge and Roxborough. Rowanwood (by the Shell gas station is also closed to traffic due to major road work. Concillor Diane Sax said in a virtual town hall recently, that traffic will be worse than it is due to watermain work on top of all the bldg construction current and planned. The way construction and infrastruction work is coordinated and planned in this town is really a joke. Zero concern for the quality of life of current residents. And I am a fairly pro development individual being and architect, but this is beyond shameful.

Here are the facts regarding the TTC construction at Yonge and Scrivener Square:

On 2020-02-25 in item 3, TTC authorized the Summerhill Second Exit/Entrance design and construction agreement with a $2.5M design limit and other conditions. The Staff Report has a good background worth reading and some good images (see bottom of this post).

On 2025-07-23 in item 2025.GG23.27, City Council authorized City Corporate Real Estate Management Staff to continue negotiations and/or expropriation to acquire necessary property interests "for the purposes of constructing a second exit at Toronto Transit Commission's Summerhill Station".

On 2025-08-29, as reported on 2026-02-13 in item 2026.TTC13.12, TTC's Project Delivery group awarded a $38,679,404, three-year contract to Summerhill Second Exit Inc. for "Construction of the Summerhill station second exit".

On 2025-12-16 in item 2025.GG26.34, City Council authorized partial expropriation of the plaza on the south side of the LCBO, north of Scrivener Square, for Summerhill Station secondary entrance construction. There is a visual draft Reference Plan in the Staff Report.

On 2026-01-13 in item 2026.TE28.55, Toronto and East York Community Council authorized "closure of the north and south sidewalk on Scrivener Square, between a point 38 metres east of Yonge Street and a point 60 metres further east, and a provision of a temporary pedestrian walkway, from February 1, 2026 to April 30, 2028 inclusive" with numerous conditions.

On 2026-06-03 in item 2026.TTC15.8, TTC will receive a Major Projects Update for the Period Ended April 30, 2026, including: "Summerhill Station: Property acquisition and permit approvals were finalized, and construction commenced in Q1 2026" with an In-Service timeline of "Q1 2028" (already a delay from the Q4 2027 timeline reported in 2025 Major Projects Update reports).

A few other comments on your post:

Summerhill, like numerous other TTC stations, is getting a second exit/entrance in accordance with the TTC's long-term plan decided between 2013 and 2015. As you have said, this area is increasing in population density and a second exit will improve access, safety, and resilience for this transit station.

Rowanwood has been re-opened. Toronto Water communicated that closure exceptionally proactively and thoroughly before it started, and I rarely saw the site idle. They worked fast.

I agree that the City gives constructors road closure permits that are too large and lengthy, but this is changing, with Mayor Chow giving an example of a two-lane, one-month closure on Lake Shore Boulevard that would have cost $5,000 under the old system but now would be a charge of $280,000 (source).

Images from 2020-02-25 TTC decision (see above in this post):

 

[Pfloyd]

Here are the facts regarding the TTC construction at Yonge and Scrivener Square:

On 2025-07-23 in item 2025.GG23.27, City Council authorized City Corporate Real Estate Management Staff to continue negotiations and/or expropriation to acquire necessary property interests "for the purposes of constructing a second exit at Toronto Transit Commission's Summerhill Station".

On 2025-08-29, as reported on 2026-02-13 in item 2026.TTC13.12, TTC's Project Delivery group awarded a $38,679,404, three-year contract to Summerhill Second Exit Inc. for "Construction of the Summerhill station second exit".

On 2025-12-16 in item 2025.GG26.34, City Council authorized partial expropriation of the plaza on the south side of the LCBO, north of Scrivener Square, for Summerhill Station secondary entrance construction. There is a visual draft Reference Plan in the Staff Report.

On 2026-01-13 in item 2026.TE28.55, Toronto and East York Community Council authorized "closure of the north and south sidewalk on Scrivener Square, between a point 38 metres east of Yonge Street and a point 60 metres further east, and a provision of a temporary pedestrian walkway, from February 1, 2026 to April 30, 2028 inclusive" with numerous conditions.

On 2026-06-03 in item 2026.TTC15.8, TTC will receive a Major Projects Update for the Period Ended April 30, 2026, including: "Summerhill Station: Property acquisition and permit approvals were finalized, and construction commenced in Q1 2026" with an In-Service timeline of "Q1 2028" (already a delay from the Q4 2027 timeline reported in 2025 Major Projects Update reports).

A few other comments on your post:

Summerhill, like numerous other TTC stations, is getting a second exit/entrance in accordance with the TTC's long-term plan decided between 2013 and 2015. As you have said, this area is increasing in population density and a second exit will improve access, safety, and resilience for this transit station.

Rowanwood has been re-opened. Toronto Water communicated that closure exceptionally proactively and thoroughly before it started, and I rarely saw the site idle. They worked fast.

I agree that the City gives constructors road closure permits that are too large and lengthy, but this is changing, with Mayor Chow giving an example of a two-lane, one-month closure on Lake Shore Boulevard that would have cost $5,000 under the old system but now would be a charge of $280,000 (source).

Thanks for the speedy post clarifying what is going on there.

Regardless of the city approvals, and I live in the area, a second exit on a very lightly used subway station, is a waste of money that can be used elsewhere. On top of that, expropriating the LCBO plaza and fountain for that purpose makes it even worse. Toronto is starving for outdoor spaces for people to hang out at (have people "running" this city been to Europe???). And for what? to make an ugly typically utilitarian TTC subway entrance into a underutilized subway station? In front of the beautiful heritage Old Summerhill Station??? are you kidding me?

If TTC did entrances like Transit for London or Bilbao Metro: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/bilbao-metro maybe I would be less concerned, but we all know the track record here.

 

[Undead]

I've been to London a few times and most station entrances are pretty utilitarian...

 

[Pfloyd]

I mentioned I live in the area to make it clear I know how much that station is used, and why it makes no sense to deface the heritage bldg and destroy the open plaza and fountain to add another exit.

 

[Pfloyd]

I've been to London a few times and most station entrances are pretty utilitarian...

Because most of them are older than Toronto itself (I am exaggerating there of course), but the new ones? Especially in front of heritage architecture and plazas which we have a massive deficit of?

 

[Tuscani01]

Thanks for the speedy post clarifying what is going on there.

Regardless of the city approvals, and I live in the area, a second exit on a very lightly used subway station, is a waste of money that can be used elsewhere. On top of that, expropriating the LCBO plaza and fountain for that purpose makes it even worse. Toronto is starving for outdoor spaces for people to hang out at (have people "running" this city been to Europe???). And for what? to make an ugly typically utilitarian TTC subway entrance into a underutilized subway station? In front of the beautiful heritage Old Summerhill Station??? are you kidding me?

If TTC did entrances like Transit for London or Bilbao Metro: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/bilbao-metro maybe I would be less concerned, but we all know the track record here.

It won't be a lightly used station for long with it being a PMTSA now and a lot of new development being targeted to it. It's got the status of being one of the least used stations on the network so expect some good density around it now.

The James comes with a new public park and POPS, so the loss is more than being made up through the new development. The development will also house the new TTC entrance, not the LCBO space. I assume that expropriation was required for the upgrades to the ventilation system/fire systems.

 

[Pfloyd]

It won't be a lightly used station for long with it being a PMTSA now and a lot of new development being targeted to it. It's got the status of being one of the least used stations on the network so expect some good density around it now.

OK. I am not opposed to improving our underwhelming transit infrastructure, but the location of this 2nd exit does seem dumb. In a... ahem... aesthetically challenged city like Toronto, destroying that plaza in front of the heritage old train station to locate this likely ugly box, is in my opinion a bone headed decision.

 

[Tuscani01]

OK. I am not opposed to improving our underwhelming transit infrastructure, but the location of this 2nd exit does seem dumb. In a... ahem... aesthetically challenged city like Toronto, destroying that plaza in front of the heritage old train station to locate this likely ugly box, is in my opinion a bone headed decision.

Again, the second entrance isn't in the plaza. It's within the James development.

 

[Pfloyd]

Thanks to StephenJob for editing your post, and also adding the drawings. That certainly helps visualizing what is going on there. So we can assume the plaza is going to be left as a plaza? and are the current fountains going to be re-instated in some way, shape or form?

 

[CLT]

From today

 

[Downtown Toronto]

June 24 2026