Results tagged “development”

The Edgewater Hotel sign is gone. City officials ordered that the Parkdale landmark be removed on November 3, after nearly three years of working to convince the owner of the building to which it was attached to make necessary repairs. According to a Municipal Licensing and Standards manager, the sign had finally become so derelict that city inspectors deemed it unsafe.

Phil Pick does not enjoy being called a villain. Wait, which Toronto publication was it that described him that way, again? Oh, right. It was us.

Just weeks after City Hall's executive committee approved yet another lengthy analysis of the future of the Gardiner Expressway, a notable design firm has introduced a fresh concept into the twenty-plus-year-old debate. At last week's tenth annual ideaCity, Les Klein, founding partner of Quadrangle Architects, called for building a green roof on top of the roadway, complete with parkland, cafés, and bike paths stretching from Dufferin Street to the Don Valley Parkway. His proposal for the Gardiner, which was met with a standing ovation, demonstrated that thinking way outside the box might be the best way to move forward from this highly cyclical discussion.

              

Back in April, we posted about a bridge design charrette hosted by the Urban Toronto forums, and, in response to Concord's indifferent proposal to connect CityPlace and Front Street with a box truss bridge, there are now sixteen bridge designs to consider as alternatives. All of the entries adhere to the rigid guidelines outlined by GO Transit and Canadian National Railway [PDF], and most have even addressed technical feasibility, cost, safety, and ecological requirements in addition to aesthetics. Votes and comments have been pouring in, and polls will remain open until June 12, when one submission wins the "Design of Distinction" title.

Glitz and glamour go hand in hand, but they are rarely accompanied by substance. Inside the ROM on Monday evening, however, the three coalesced in the third installment of the Munk Debates. Determined to offer a "substantive forum for leading thinkers to debate the major issues facing the world and Canada," the revered series has brought high-profile speakers such as Mia Farrow, Samantha Power, and Charles Krauthammer to Toronto to debate critical issues like the need for humanitarian intervention and the 2008 U.S. presidential election's effect on global security.

Each year, the executive committee of the Pug Awards looks to expand the scope of their initiative to further influence design in Toronto. Last week marked the introduction of PIMBY (Pug In My Backyard), an interactive and ever-evolving blueprint for growth that aims to cover as much of the city as possible. The intention of this project is to provide the general public, landowners, and city decision-makers with a framework for planning future development in the region, while promoting an ongoing dialogue about the importance of good design.

Today, Urban Toronto is launching a design charette called "Bridging the Design Gap" to respond to what they say are the “unacceptable plans for the CityPlace box truss pedestrian bridge across the rail corridor.” Design charettes typically serve as a forum to introduce an important project to the community, explore its needs, and identify different design solutions, which means that anybody can get involved and brainstorm about the design and aesthetics of the bridge that will link the Railway Lands West with the neighbourhood north of the CN Rail corridor.

View Torontoist's 2015 Toronto map (2.5 MB .PDF)

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There goes another chunk of the 'hood. The ground is all chewed up, the renta-fence is in place, and Queen West's on-street parking just got a little bit worse. The cars have been kicked off the corner lot at Queen and Portland streets, ready for the construction crews to move in. The neighbourhood is a big step closer to getting ninety more condo suites, anchored by a big-box Home Depot. May, 2010, is the projected date for occupancy.

As the dismemberment of the CHUM City empire proceeds apace, the CHUM building on Yonge near St. Clair has been sold to developer Aspen Ridge Homes for $21 million. Well, progress is progress and AM radio hasn't been a viable medium since the Stones were only middle-aged, but let's hope they keep the sign.

Students of George Brown College are about to get some premium lakefront property.

The third annual Toronto Independent Game Development Jam ran from the 9th to the 11th of May this year with over 125 developers managing to produce 34 different games across the intense three day period, and their pain is now our pleasure as all of the successfully completed games have been released online.

Waterfront Toronto has secured David Miller's support for knocking down part of the Gardiner Expressway, which currently looms over the waterfront like a massive prehistoric, um, highway. The teardown is likely to be delayed by a cost expected to be in the hundreds of millions, so Torontoist suggests doing a Berlin Wall on it—Sunday morning, we'll all meet down at the foot of Jarvis Street with our sledgehammers.

In addition to some upcoming online renovations based on some questions they are asking, the Toronto Reference Library has announced a revitalization project that will physically transform the library throughout the next five years. Being the first renovation of its kind since the library opened its doors in 1977, the project will cost $30 million. Original architects Moriyama and Teshima will be responsible for the library's redesign.

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset.

Urbanist is a photo series that will look at developments, architecture, trends and activities happening in various cities––including our own––to inspire the urbane urbanist at home to make Toronto a better place. December will bring about the demolition of the building at the southeast corner of Yonge and Bloor to make way for the gargantuan condo development known as One Bloor East. Urbanist is generally supportive of the condo boom since it means more people...

As the 20th Century dawned, Danforth Avenue was a muddy road that served as the northern boundary for the eastern portions of the city of Toronto. Between 1909, when the city made its first major annexation on the north side of Danforth, and the appearance of today's ads in 1921, the area we now know as "The Danforth" rapidly changed from a semi-isolated mix of farmland, villages and church reserves to a series of...

Former Torontoist contributor Ted Healey came across a great find at the Wellesley & Ontario condo and townhouse development known as "The Star of Downtown." Previously the subject of an Ugly Stick here on Torontoist, the condo's advertisements have seen plenty of scorn since they were put up. The latest addition to the front facade is thanks to someone named Defy, who has decided to give a voice to the gay urban professionals artificially posed around their sweet new townhouses.

Brad J. Lamb is not, to put it gently, universally loved.

Toronto's condominium market isn't always a pretty one. Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy (also the strings arranger for The Arcade Fire and The Hidden Cameras, pictured above at left) decided to take an unorthodox approach to dealing with the problem: he wrote a song about it.