Put aside the debates about whether an unhealthy amount of investors are now poisoning this astonishing boom... every building that is actually built is occupied one way or another (renters rejoice).

I've read of countless projects cancelled around North America (and other parts of the world).

Toronto (Harry doesn't count)... not so much. Not so much at all.

exactly! In fact there are many cities that the "boom" has simply passed them by altogether- healthy or unhealthy-wise.

here's a nice night pic of Montage and Neo Towers at Cityplace, posted by Mike in TO over at the urbantoronto forum website....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3099/2393623815_8af8ea1280_b.jpg

toronto looks bloody cold as always!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2092/2424004981_5548d81d32_b.jpg

From mkimagery @ flickr

awesome photo

Great shot Marcanadian!

Can't wait to see that section of town filled up!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3155/2477767371_0e40ca6cb4_b.jpg

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25789326@N07/2477767371

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3277/2537652712_d16361f6b5_b.jpg

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43334562@N00/2537652712

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/2536109783_ebc42be977_b.jpg

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23047396@N00/2536109783

Pictures of City Place from this past weekend.. it is going up fast but there are still a lot
of buildings to be announced:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7887i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7893i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7896i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7897i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7899i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7900i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7903i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7910i.jpg

the area is well serviced by streetcars:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7931i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7943i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7948i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7950ii.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7958i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP7960i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP8061i.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP8066ii.jpg

What was once a huge brown field not more than 15 years ago will soon be a community
to thousands of new downtown residents!

Great pictures TB. I didn't even recognize Cityplace in the first one.

:bow: Astounding! I hate to admit It about ANY city, but I'm SO envious of Toronto. :bow:

It is coming along better than most feared, I believe.. still could be more architectural variety, but at least they are trying harder now than at the beginning of the project when they were hoping just to do a carbon copy of the one in Vancouver. The really good thing about this project is that it brings THOUSANDS of new people to live downtown. Young people, too... and that is going to add a lot of life to King Street, and the downtown area in general.

Massive project. Never noticed this before! :eek:

More glassy than Vancouver actually but not as much retail:ohno: Architecturally it's less po-mo and more modernist than Concord Pacific Place but lacks the podiums and street interest of Yaletown.

Some recent pics taken by WyliePoon over at urbantoronto.ca.....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2616450231_9f0af79519_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3074/2617278550_a5147cbf5e_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3233/2616457223_2f102db275_b.jpg

Just to refresh people's memories. This is an over view of what the whole development will look like:

[CENTER]Concord Cityplace - 20 Residential Towers - Toronto, ON


The current CityPlace condo development was conceived by Concord Adex developments, the same company that helped revitalize a large section of former Expo 86 lands in Vancouver. Hong Kong magnate Li Ka Shing is known to have large shareholding in Concord Adex. At 45 acres and 7500units, the $1.5 billion Cityplace project is the largest residential development ever attempted in Toronto.


http://img115.echo.cx/img115/1484/cityplace5jx.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/3512/yuyuzf2.png

I remember my first day in TO looking through the windows of the hotel at the Skydome wondering whether those really are residential and not office buildings, I had never seen such nice apt blocks in my life, I really liked them, and I was thinking that if I could choose it'll be a really difficult choice between Kensington market and that place. Of course these are merely a visitor's impressions.

Oh and they really should get rid of the Gardiner Expressway at least in that part of the city.

You stayed at the Skydome? How cool.. I don't think I've known anyone who stayed there.
@isaidso, thanks for that key... I get those buildings mixed up all the time!

Yeah, and they have that bar at the hotel with great views towards the inside of the stadium, same goes for some of the hotel rooms, but not mine though. By the way what's the difference between a condo and apt block? I was looking at your pics blog and saw you saying about some 50s high end apt block being converted into a condo.

A few pics of my own:

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj31/NYOS87/100_0992.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj31/NYOS87/100_1014.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj31/NYOS87/100_1071.jpg

^^ Nice.

Here are some I took from the islands on July 31. The pair under construction now are Luna. I should update the first page.

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/9988/img5925at6.jpg

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/4015/img5816aa3.jpg

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/6731/img5819vj2.jpg

A truly beautiful photograph by tomms at urbantoronto:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/2700836916_8e42b6ff49_o.jpg (http://blursurfing.com/index.php?showimage=73)

Cool picture, looks amazing!!!!!!!:cheers:^^

This is shaping up to be the best of all the City Place towers! That's a killer condo connecting the two towers 29 floors up.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2236/1680181375_271c3f4d7d_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2359/1681047122_9a7eafc806_b.jpg
Courtesy of Mike_in_TO at urbantoronto.

A few pics of Luna vista from today.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c10/mjwk/IMG_8969Large.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c10/mjwk/IMG_8974Large.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c10/mjwk/IMG_8979Large.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c10/mjwk/IMG_8985Large.jpg

Looks like no change in glass on this one. I had hoped to see something different. It's moving along very quickly though.

I dunno... The more I look at this, the more I hate it. Its all glass and boring.

^^I'm not a big fan either. I'm hoping this area will evolve over time and become more interesting and mixed use.

That model you showed from Mike in Toronto.. is it "Parade"?

I'm assuming so. Parade is the only one with the connector between 2 towers. I am looking forward to that and Signature, but the rest doesn't interest me so much. I was going over the list of highrises here and in the Toronto section. Casa, Bloor Street Neighbourhood, and some other smaller ones aren't represented. Do you think they should be added?

Pic by Redroom Studios at urbantoronto.ca, showing a couple of the Cityplace buildings....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/2814666470_59dd8b89f7_b.jpg

Few designs that looks okey. But WTF? All of the buildings are put like trees in a garden, comon.. the planning sucks and thats whats most important. Damn i like Toronto but this is really sad ;/

Front page has been updated with new photos and info from this month.

I'm impressed!

couple of Cityplace pics by Wyliepoon over at urbantoronto.ca, showing Montage (still working on finishing the crown), plus Luna & Luna Vista in the foreground..

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3030/3004909304_aedc7bf29d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/3004074303_610cc63f37_b.jpg

thats a really cool development! one day i hop to visit a canadian city just to see the glass high rise developments going up there

Despite the obvious shortfalls of this project, the real glory will be in the replication of what has made the pacific place development so spectacular, a sea of glass that is beautiful and reflects the sky in a multitude of ways throughout the day. Toronto needs more of this type of natural beauty to remind poeple that buildings aren't the only thing in a city, and at least these towers will be placed around a large green gathering space. I'm beginning to come around to this development, though the earlier towers along front street were certainly worrying. As a whole it will relieve Toronto of what is at least one ugly area around its downtown core. If only they could figure out what to do with the areas around the mouth of the Don River, for which the re-development plan looks horrible, they may actually realize their waterfront development and become a really pretty city. Good luck to you Toronto!

Great updates on this exciting project. Thanks!!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3030/3003673653_d67df0bc7d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/3003671309_63d9e7154d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3035/3004507520_53c3d0de0e_b.jpg

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bryanscott/sets/72157594580651243/

Nice pictures from a different perspective.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3198/3085221055_e2aef6ca50_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/3086059550_02b7fd1238_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3006/3085221301_992759d399_b.jpg

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilta/

love those pics, Skybean!

It looks so unreal !! Unusual shots !!

Oct 2008. Sorry I thought it was newer then I noticed the lack of snow.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3048/3111559126_c952aa7f8d_o.jpg

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32142724@N03/3111559126

I drove past the development about a year and a half ago and even now can't figure this out. In terms of the facades of the various buildings they all look a little too much cut from the same cloth. I thought to myself, is this Toronto's version of an urban renewal scheme, and if so, why did they choose one out of the 1960s?

The overall effect is that of witches in a coven, huddled around a cauldron. Double, double, toil and trouble....

^^ It's been a widely aired complaint amongst Torontonians as well. Too sterile, too monotonous, and they aren't respecting how buildings meet the street in a city core. If these were out in the suburbs, fine, but downtown requires buildings that abut right up against the sidewalk to form an 'apron'. It's what makes our downtown streets exciting and enticing places for pedestrians.

City Place is what it is, and to be fair, is ending much better than it started. The first towers were worrisome, while the last ones are far better. Too much of the same thing though. It's done, so we'll just have to live with it and hope that it evolves over time into a more interesting place at street level. Currently, it makes a nice skyline shot, but it's an absolute snooze at sidewalk level. I couldn't imagine spending anytime down there at all.

Maple Leaf Square down the street is far better. Toronto should have insisted that all City Place towers had proper podiums like Maple Leaf Square or Festival Centre, and no 'grounds'. It's an utter waste of prime real estate. In an urban core, if you want greenery or open space, you go to a park or square.

Tower #10 out of the 12 tower City Place development - LUNA
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3459/3183395742_f2a5ce1352_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3400/3183397004_6fa09b6169_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3102/3183399164_17bab24ab8_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3390/3182563833_4082a2a51b_b.jpg
Courtesy of CSW2424 at urbantoronto

Old photo
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3486/3236615541_9fb9c291d1_b.jpg

source: http://flickr.com/photos/sdwood/3236615541/

Maple Leaf Square down the street is far better. Toronto should have insisted that all City Place towers had proper podiums like Maple Leaf Square or Festival Centre, and no 'grounds'. It's an utter waste of prime real estate. In an urban core, if you want greenery or open space, you go to a park or square.
Agreed. That's an issue I have with some of Vancouver's highrise developments as well. When built into this kind of context, they just don't feel urban.

Agreed. That's an issue I have with some of Vancouver's highrise developments as well. When built into this kind of context, they just don't feel urban.

People see a high rise or density and associate it with being urban. For me, those 2 aren't enough. It needs that apron of buildings right up against the street, and scale that engages you at street level.

I'm wondering how these glass facades survive amidst the temperature swings across seasons. Are they able to insulate units in the winter or would the glass help transfer the cold from the outside in, or condensate badly when cold air from outside clashes with the warm air from the inside?

How about during the summer when sunny, hot weather, turn the units into hot greenhouses?

I'm wondering how these glass facades survive amidst the temperature swings across seasons. Are they able to insulate units in the winter or would the glass help transfer the cold from the outside in, or condensate badly when cold air from outside clashes with the warm air from the inside?

How about during the summer when sunny, hot weather, turn the units into hot greenhouses?

Canadian construction technology has been quite advanced for decades now. Our climate, growth, and massive infrastructure requirements have fostered an innovation intensive industry. Double glazing and even triple glazing has been standard throughout much of the country for a long time. A properly sealed window will not have condensation issues.

Contrary to what one may assume, most glass facades built in Canada protect from the cold better than brick. I've never been cold in a properly constructed modern Canadian home while standing right in front of a whole wall of glass.

It does get hot as a green house in the summer, but then you just open a window, or use an air conditioner.

Or close the blinds :colgate:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3353/3273750931_719aac952e_b.jpg

source: http://flickr.com/photos/7988092@N05/sets/72157607761462549/

Towers designs are good, nothing impressive, but they fit perfectly into Toronto's skyline. Nice addition for sure, and the construction is going well.
Final result will be great :okay:

Here's a shot of the recently completed tower, Montage, taken from my friend's balcony this past weekend.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3467/3294109856_c4db107d31_b.jpg

Montage is really sleek, the best tower yet. I just wish they had gone with the rendering and added the brick on the lower half like they did with Neo.

nice shot of Cityplace posted by greenleaf over at urbantoronto.ca, taken today while onboard a Porter Airlines flight landing at Toronto Island Airport....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3564/3329276239_a767658ab7_b.jpg

Where will Signature be located in that pic from greenleaf?

It'll be where the sales centre is now. There's no render or official height yet though.

http://i44.tinypic.com/xgdt7q.jpg

It would be nice to have a thin market district,similar to Dovercourt Village,but a smaller version and intergrated with the condos and such ah who am I kidding I am 14 years of age.

I think it would be good to have a market district similar to Dovercourt Village,in a smaller version and intergrated into the condos.Ah who am I kidding I am 14 years of age.

oh sorry double post.

I've been trying to visualize where Signature would go in relation to that cluster. It's great to see some of these north south streets extend right down to the waterfront. Too many of them have been cut off by the train tracks, Gardiner, or condo towers on Queen's Quay. The vista looking up Spadina from the lake is great.

God has nothing to do with it, and neither does your post have anything to do with this thread. Mods, please delete.

Mods, please delete.
Good luck with that one.

God has nothing to do with it, and neither does your post have anything to do with this thread. Mods, please delete.

:lol: guy, that's spam...

lol @ replying to a piece of automata

lol @ replying to a piece of automata

How can you tell the difference between someone posting crap and something computer generated?

recent Cityplace pics posted by wyliepoon at urbantoronto.ca...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3644/3410035329_d5da04a11e_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3359/3410846462_3088b4525f_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3396/3410036607_dd78bde402_b.jpg

Wow. Those photos are fantastic. A lot of people, I'm sure, wont be fond of this type of sterile look. I think Toronto is big enough, though, to have this type of development/area.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii108/jasonzedd/mississauga1376.jpg

^great shot Jason. I sent you a PM... please give it read.

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/8991/img7350.jpg

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/1208/img7361.jpg

Blackout forces some to climb 50 stories in the dark
21 April 2009
The Globe and Mail

Residents of several condos near downtown Toronto's waterfront expressed frustration and anger yesterday after a power outage left thousands without power for much of the weekend.

The lights went out at several condos and an adjoining gymnasium near the Rogers Centre, some of them part of the massive Concord CityPlace development projects, shortly after 6 p.m. on Saturday. The blackout, which lasted almost 24 hours in some buildings, forced some residents to spend the night in hotels or with family.

While some backup lights immediately switched on at the gym and other areas, there were none at all for several hours in at least one of the condo buildings.

With elevators shut down, residents in one tower climbed up to 50 stories in a pitch black emergency stairwell to get home, the only light coming from their cellphones and MP3 players. Because most of the emergency stairwell doors are locked – with the exception of the ground floor and about 10 cross-over floors – residents eventually began jamming junk mail into the locks to keep the doors wedged open for others.

Toronto Hydro crews were able to restore power to one of the towers at around 8 p.m. Saturday, and another tower just before 3 a.m. Sunday, according to Vanessa Nero, a Toronto Hydro spokeswoman.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, security at a third tower on Mariner Terrace advised residents that Toronto Hydro would be attempting to turn the power back on shortly. The problem wasn't fully fixed for more than 12 hours, with the electricity fully restored everywhere at around 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Ms. Nero said the issue was not with the utility's lines, but with “customer-owned equipment.” Although she would not say what that equipment is, she specified that Toronto Hydro's customer is the property manager.

“Work has to be done by the property manager of the building before we can resume power,” she said. “It's a customer issue that they have to repair.”

An engineer at one of the buildings early Sunday morning was overheard saying that flooding in one tower blew the fuses for several of the adjoining units.

However Daniel Barron, a property manager for several of the affected buildings, said the initial cause of the outage was a broken high-voltage line at one of the buildings, the cause of which is still unclear.

“The flooding was a co-incidence,” he said. “A really horrible co-incidence.”

In total, nine buildings suffered blackouts of varying lengths, from a couple of hours to almost a full day.

Several of the CityPlace towers are closely connected, sharing a sprawling underground garage.

“The problem is this: Why is it when something affects one building it affects all the buildings?” asked Gary Pieters, a resident in one of the affected towers. “That's a development flaw.”

Mr. Pieters said he received very little communication about the nature and length of the blackout. Uncertain about his safety, he decided to spend the night at a hotel.

He recently went online, asking residents to give him their thoughts about what happened. He ended up getting dozens of angry responses.

“The communication, emergency preparedness and security in this community is totally absent,” wrote one resident. “It is a blessing that no one was injured on the weekend.”

Early signs of a rebound
24 April 2009
The Globe and Mail Excerpt

After a brutal winter in the resale market, March saw a modest revival – year-over-year sales were still down 7 per cent, but that was the smallest decline in five months. The average price in March – $362,052 – is now on a par with levels in mid-2006, this after dropping off a frothy high of $398,687 in April 2008 when the market was at the tail end of a 10-year-long boom.

Average resale house price % change
January-March Q1 2008-
CENTRAL 2008 2009 Q1 2009
Alexandra Park $323,858 $315,333 -15%
Allenby $780,087 $745,000 -10%
Armour Heights $755,784 $648,071 -1%
Bathurst Manor $481,776 $444,293 -6%
Bay Street Corridor $367,658 $377,001 21%
Bayview Village $421,614 $390,370 1%
Beaconsfield $491,667 $535,750 17%
Bedford Park $728,738 $673,619 -11%
Bennington Heights $1,449,150 $731,000 N/A
Bickford Park $563,726 $504,540 -11%
Bridle Path $2,322,857 $3,316,292 14%
Cabbagetown $564,214 $578,883 -2%
Caribou Park $919,554 $574,333 -36%
Casa Loma $932,848 $437,833 -62%
Chaplin Estates $920,313 $896,063 4%
Chinatown $355,864 $398,729 8%
Christie Pits $473,721 $525,914 9%
Church and Wellesley $348,118 $305,920 -15%
Cityplace $335,638 $312,707 -20%
Corktown $454,876 $401,363 -22%
Cricket Club $1,102,014 $1,458,000 27%
Davenport $364,394 $370,107 2%
Davisville Village $521,079 $466,058 -6%
Deer Park $777,097 $695,973 -19%
Don Mills $478,780 $459,906 -16%
Don Valley Village $371,645 $345,239 -3%
Dovercourt Park $442,266 $403,313 -6%
Dufferin Grove $590,171 $417,167 -39%
Fashion District $408,155 $370,543 -17%
Financial District $282,782 $233,667 -18%
Flemingdon Park $167,750 $161,159 -5%
Forest Hill $1,035,627 $826,930 0%
Fort York $318,431 $306,599 -3%
Graydon Hall $386,400 $472,333 44%
Harbourfront $390,962 $329,153 -22%
Henry Farm $585,770 $511,000 -11%
Hillcrest $590,265 $468,592 -13%
Hoggs Hollow $955,009 $745,750 N/A
Humewood-Cedarvale $784,264 $413,013 -51%
Jarvis Street Corridor $316,232 $313,776 -2%
Kensington Market $508,932 $432,500 N/A
Lansing $552,061 $574,000 12%
Lawrence Heights $222,188 $181,333 -12%
Lawrence Manor $392,055 $355,400 22%
Lawrence Park $1,862,545 $1,384,820 -14%
Leaside $775,561 $650,436 -17%
Ledbury Park $1,009,893 $717,804 -26%
Liberty Village $312,923 $333,382 9%
Little Italy $526,782 $606,250 15%
Lytton Park $1,011,750 $829,971 -8%
Moore Park $1,371,501 $1,165,938 -21%
Moss Park $429,330 $406,528 8%
Newtonbrook $396,883 $367,013 -11%
North Toronto $623,282 $482,452 -26%
Oakwood-Vaughan $392,363 $335,539 -14%
Parkwoods $394,994 $356,075 -2%
Pleasant View $366,035 $400,700 15%
Rathnelly $877,838 $1,188,000 N/A
Regal Heights $539,147 $487,800 -3%
Rosedale $1,044,217 $980,043 1%
Seaton Village $591,739 $582,850 -11%
South Annex $596,019 $540,528 -19%
South Hill $1,320,786 $757,500 -40%
St. James $349,154 $312,214 -17%
St.Andrew-Windfields $983,074 $866,850 -9%
St.Lawrence $331,108 $276,572 -18%
Summerhill $941,318 $793,000 N/A
Teddington Park $1,625,800 $651,500 N/A
The Annex $907,134 $895,347 -5%
The Distillery District $315,268 $353,604 28%
The Entertainment District $330,520 $311,177 -5%
Thorncliffe Park $225,520 $240,000 -1%
Trinity Bellwoods $548,067 $557,433 -10%
Trinity Niagara $354,776 $318,840 -9%
Victoria Park Village $283,693 $306,559 24%
Wanless Park $819,334 $850,000 7%
Willowdale $374,271 $375,116 1%
Yonge-Dundas Square $321,252 $319,889 -8%
York Mills $1,308,564 $1,147,469 -20%
York South $330,859 $311,632 -7%
Yorkville $750,667 $677,404 -12%

currently building the podium for Parade, the latest tower (actually 4) at Cityplace...pic by urbandreamer at urbantoronto.ca...

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/6254/dsc00541n.jpg

Waaaaaayyyyyy too many glass condo's being constructed on that side of the rogers center, needs some diversity in the buildings! I'm going to be sick.

^^ At least it's not precast.

and it brings in more light to the apartments especially during our dark winter months.

An overview of Cityplace with Parade rising:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2483/3796382128_b78871163a_b.jpg

'Parade' by drum118 on UT

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/aug/2009_08_24/IMG_aug_24-09-0186.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/aug/2009_08_24/IMG_aug_24-09-0187.jpg

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'Panorama' by Marcanadian on UT

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'Panorama' by drum118 on UT

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Hill with no name a 'big deal'
New park set to open in condo complex
9 September 2009
National Post

Toronto has a new hill. And in a city that is largely flat, this alone is cause for celebration.

Concord Adex, developer of the city's biggest condo project -- the 20-building CityPlace, west of the Rogers Centre -- built the hill from the clay it excavated for the underground parking garages of its towers. The hill is so high it allows you to look down on the elevated Gardiner Expressway, which drones to its south.

The Vancouver-based developer then hired Vancouver writer and artist Douglas Coupland to shape the hill into a four-hectare park, which Mayor David Miller will open today.

In accepting the commission, Mr. Coupland promised us the city's best toboggan run, an idea that did not make the journey from his fertile imagination to the actual park.

I scouted the park yesterday with a Gen-Xing tobogganist's eye; the west face has possibilities, though you may take out some bushes on the way down and end up in the middle of Dan Leckie Way.

At the park's circumference, on a path suitable for bikes or joggers, Mr. Coupland has placed small billboards on white steel standards featuring colour photographs from his coffee-table book about our national hero Terry Fox: his filthy sock with the shredded heel; his grey shorts; a notepad entry from his run ( "Toronto to Oakville, 37k, Oakville-Burlington 18K, through Hamilton 22 K short route." With all the distances added up, Toronto-North Bay comes to 697 kilometres).

Yesterday as I walked around, guys with leaf-blowers and high-pressure hoses were desperately trying to clean the place up for the opening.

The park features hundreds of saplings: beech, oak, birch, maple and spruce. I hope it rains soon. Many look parched.

There are also more whimsical flourishes: In one spot Mr. Coupland has stuck 16 cartoonish, huge replicas of fishing net floats, in orange, green, yellow, light blue and cream, which cluster like small rockets on a concrete launch pad, near a replica of a beaver dam in white sticks, from which flows a fountain of water.

Throughout, the simple backless benches, made of steel with tropical hardwood seating, are lovely and comfortable.

Nearby is a sports field, about big enough for two soccer games, on a field of astroturf.

At the hill's summit, meanwhile, Mr. Coupland has placed a red plastic canoe as long as a TTC bus -- an arresting sight from the Gardiner and, amid all the trappings of West Coast culture, a welcome bit of Central Canadiana.

But the true triumph of this park is in how it connects the new development to the waterfront at Lake Ontario.

I chatted with Kelly Fallis, a Web developer who lives on the 32nd floor of a CityPlace tower on Spadina Avenue, as she walked her Shih Tzu/Lhasa Apso cross, Bleeker, near the fence that still surrounded the park.

"I think it's great," she said. "It has easy access to the lake. Right now it is a logistical nightmare, with all the traffic getting on the Gardiner, to cross Spadina to Queens Quay. You throw your hands up. It's not entirely safe."

Leaving her, I did try to cross Lake Shore Boulevard West from Spadina. Our city fathers have provided no crosswalk or pedestrian light; it's terrifying.

Then I checked out Dan Leckie Way, where wide walkways and sidewalks invite the crossing under the Gardiner. Just steps away glistens the lake.

"The waterfront is so under-utilized," Ms. Fallis said. "This is a big deal. It's pretty spectacular."

Now all the park needs is a name.

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I'm planning on going back to the GTA in the coming months and I will be checking this place out for sure! Way to go Toronto!

It takes a condo to make a village
12 September 2009
The Globe and Mail

Sometimes you don't have to go very far to find a good story. About five minutes walk from the headquarters of The Globe and Mail at Front and Spadina stands Concord CityPlace, a thicket of high-rise condominiums that will eventually house up to 14,000 people. Year after year I have watched it rise from The Globe's rooftop deck, one sleek tower after another, and as it has grown, my feelings about it have changed.

At first, I thought: Who on earth would want to live there? CityPlace is going up on the old railway lands, a huge tract at the bottom of downtown that stood fallow for years as the city and developers wrangled about what to do with it and scheme after scheme fell apart. For a long time, it was home to a downtown golf course with a towering net to catch golf balls, a sad symbol of a wasted opportunity. It seemed an unlikely place to make a home, with few amenities and no sense of neighbourhood. As Gertrude Stein said of Oakland, there was “no there there.”

But as the towers rose, it became clear that something cool was happening. The buildings, unexpectedly, are quite beautiful, sleek medleys of glass and steel in a variety of shapes and styles. When you go closer, you find the beginnings of a real neighbourhood, with a supermarket, people walking their miniature condo dogs, couples pushing baby strollers and – officially opened this week – a creative new park designed by Vancouver writer and artist Douglas Coupland. Schools, daycares and public housing are to follow, along with a new library and community centre. There is a there there after all.

It goes to show that properly planned and designed projects need not be islands unto themselves. They can attract shops, restaurants and other facilities and weave themselves into the urban fabric.

There is a bigger lesson, too: Density works. The waterfront condo boom is a boon to the whole city. It is attracting more and more people to downtown living, reducing urban sprawl, helping the environment, making good public transit more efficient, generating millions in tax revenue for the city and producing the best high-rise architecture since the rush of office-tower construction in the core decades ago.

The CityPlace phenomenon is being replicated all across the western waterfront with high-end condo developments such as Malibu at Harbourfront, Tip Top Lofts and ICE. Developer Alan Vihant reckons that between 100,000 and 120,000 people will live in new housing along the waterfront once all the new projects are done, more than the population of Peterborough.

These projects are doing what decades of stalled waterfront renewal has failed to accomplish: Connect the city to lake. The people who live in all those towers can walk to the lake as easily as they can stroll northbound to the theatre district. Eighty per cent of the residents of CityPlace do not drive a car to work.

Even more remarkable, they are thriving on the waterfront despite the Gardiner Expressway. Gardiner haters want to spend billions to tear the elevated highway down, but thousands of condo dwellers are living within spitting distance of the Gardiner without much fuss. Mr. Coupland has even put a giant red canoe in his park, perched on a sloping bluff that overlooks the highway. He imagines people sitting in the land-bound canoe and waving at people sitting in their traffic-bound cars.

Urban planners have fantasized for years about a revitalized downtown with greater density and more urban buzz. They tried to spur it with schemes such as main-streets intensification, designed to line streets with bigger buildings. Nothing much happened.

The change came through a commercial phenomenon: the condo boom. Mr. Vihant says that Toronto is the top condo market in North America and one of the top five in the world. Condos have sprouted not just along the waterfront but in midtown (along Bay Street near College, for example), North Toronto (Eglinton and Bayview) and the eastern downtown (King Street East and environs).

A whole new neighbourhood, Liberty Village, is rising in the west end, and condo builders are focusing now on trendy West Queen West. In the northeast, meanwhile, Mr. Vihant's Concord Adex Inc. (he is vice-president of development) is planning to build another big project, Concord Park Place, near Sheppard and Leslie.

Critics call it the “condofication” of Toronto. They complain that condo clusters threaten traditional neighbourhoods and clog the arteries of an overcrowded city.

In fact, clusters like the one rising on the waterfront are simply a different kind of neighbourhood, busy, dense, vibrant and distinctly urban. In places like North Toronto, strips of condos on main streets exist happily next to quiet, leafy 'hoods of detached houses, no harm done. In places like the waterfront, they reclaim waste land and bring it to life.

Looking at those towers from the deck of The Globe, I no longer wonder why anyone would want to live there. Instead I wonder how neat it would be to live there.

It would be nice to have a thin market district,similar to Dovercourt Village,but a smaller version and intergrated with the condos and such ah who am I kidding I am 14 years of age.

And you're and idiot,sir.

By MatrixElement on UT. November 7.

I love the shiny sunset pictures!

From Front St. The construction elevator labels end at 30, so following the ridiculous skipping of 4s and counting up they are forming the walls for the 37th nominal floor.
If you look closely, there is a subtle change in the balcony and floorplate patterns in the top three or four floors on the west (right) side. Perhaps this is the space for the bridge?

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Parade taking its rightful place in the Cityplace skyline, from Ireland Park. Just wait till the second tower and bridge are built. The Ritz and RBC also visible at the far right. To all those grumpy Torontonians who keep whining about too many condos and tall buildings, I say "screw you" and "have you considered moving to a small town?"
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Panorama by wyliepoon. November 3.

Nov 3

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Permits suggest rebound
6 November 2009
The Toronto Star

Dennis Au-Yeung started sales of the 90 available units at his mid-rise downtown Toronto condominium promptly at noon on Thursday. In a few hours he had sold out.

To meet the demand of buyers and agents who had lined up for the first day showing, the developer ended up releasing another 10 units from his Concord Cityplace project.

"We only had so many units to go around so, unfortunately, we had a lot of disappointed customers. I wish we had more," said Au-Yeung, the vice-president of finance and CFO of Concord Pacific Group, one of the largest condo developers in Canada.

The story is familiar for high-rise developers, showcasing a remarkable turnaround in fortunes from a winter where few consumers were interested in buying homes on the ground - much less in the sky.

"We were all ready to hunker down and prepare for the worst at the start of the year," said Jim Ritchie, senior vice-president of condo builder Tridel Corp. "But the market changed rapidly."

In October, Tridel sold 400 condominiums alone, a stellar month for the developer. That same month, Au-Yeung sold a penthouse condo that was just above 3,000 square feet at his Luna site for $2 million.

Building permit numbers released Thursday by Statistics Canada reflect the new found optimism of high-rise developers.

While the overall value of permits in the Toronto area fell by 9.3 per cent in September over August, the bulk of the decline was in the non-residential sector, which includes industrial, commercial and institutional building.

Developers took out $721.6 million worth of permits, compared to $796 million according to the federal agency.

The big gain was in the residential multiple unit component, which includes condominium building. It was up 19.5 per cent from the month before.

There were more new condo sales in the third quarter than the first two quarters combined, according to research firm Urbanation Inc.

Developers such as Au-Yeung and Ritchie have had to fast-track projects as a result.

"We are noticing that investors are returning because the interest is very low in the bank and even though the stock market is more liquid, it is still very volatile," said Au-Yeung. "There is also the fear of inflation. They are hoping that property prices will go up as the money gets devalued."

And in March, condos similar to the Parade 2 project would have sold for $480 per square foot. On Thursday, they were going for an average of $550 per square foot.

Year-to-date building permits are down by 27.5 per cent compared to the first nine months of 2008.

While Toronto-area construction intentions declined, Canada-wide permits increased 1.6 per cent to $5.1 billion.

This is the second consecutive monthly increase in Canada, most of that from strength in the residential sector.

The overall value of residential permits increased 9.4 per cent to $3.2 billion.

The value of permits increased in seven provinces, with Alberta, (up 13.8 per cent), Quebec (up 10.7 per cent), and Ontario (up 5.7 per cent) showing the most significant gains.

So, when can we expect Signature to be announced?

wow thats going to take a lot work to build those buildings

Looking good!

I am waking you up :

by Jasonzed

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November 29th, 2010

from today
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:)

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:)

Canadian cities are really booming.

Expanded view:
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Gorgeous building! That CN Tower is just butt ugly though. But apparently that's sacrilegious to say in Canada so i'll just say it. It's a pretty ugly design but it has the height i suppose. Either way, the rest of the skyline is gorgeous!

Yesterday

from today
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By Jasonzed

January 16th, 2011


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by Jasonzed

Yesterday

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by Jasonzed

Nice, it's a big project.

By Jasonzed


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By Jasonzed

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By Jasonzed

thx
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For those interested, here are pics from my PDI in parade tower today.

http://is.gd/Qg7VdA

By current


From Western Hospital March 14:
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By Jasonzed

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http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5108/5619069557_e45b47655f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgwgallery/5619069557/)
Primary City ~ widescreen wallpaper 1920 x 1080 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgwgallery/5619069557/) by Jason Wighton (http://www.flickr.com/people/jgwgallery/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5269/5769508385_2ffe552fa8_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sniderscion/5769508385/)
Orderly Flow (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sniderscion/5769508385/) by sniderscion (http://www.flickr.com/people/sniderscion/), on Flickr

By Jasonzed


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------------

I've been updating Urban Toronto with pictures of the bridge being built across the railway corridor, and was going to post them here too but couldn't find a thread. I guess this is close enough.

Lots of work has been going on in the past week or so:

The footings for the bridge have officially been installed. The metal that you see in the earlier pictures was there to simply reserve a hole for the footings. Two large tubes of metal were delivered and lowered into the holes, and the cover was then removed. They have also surrounded the footings with concrete blocks. Lots of equipment has been delivered to the site, and work on the intersection of Front and Portland Street has also started.

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by Jasonzed

from today
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by Jasonzed

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Update from UT

The pedestrian bridge - Puenta de Luz designed by Chilean artist Francisco Gazitua - is fully installed now but not opened to the public yet.

By drum118 on UT.

September 9-10, 2011

Watching the 600 Ton crawler move about was fun since it been years since I have seen one this size moving the final section like nothing at all.

As for the Bathurst & Fort York connection, it not going to happen until a year or 2 after the Strachan Ave grade separation is completed and money to do it. That will put it about 2016-17.

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Portland Bridge 75 ton section being handed off by 600 Ton Crane to 350 Ton Crane for final lift
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350 Ton crane lifting 75 ton section into place
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by Jasonzed

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Very Cool! I love the design.

By jasonzed

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii108/jasonzedd/Toronto/20120108018.jpg

the next 3 towers have been announced for this project, and the last 2 of them have begun excavation already.

Lumen, 30 floors

http://www.urbantoronto.ca/sites/default/files/imagecache/display-default/images/projects/5280/urbantoronto-5280-16416.jpg

Spectra, 39 floors

http://www.urbantoronto.ca/sites/default/files/imagecache/display-default/images/projects/2833/urbantoronto-2833-8039.jpg

Quartz, 41 floors

http://www.urbantoronto.ca/sites/default/files/imagecache/display-default/images/projects/1713/urbantoronto-1713-5124.jpg

update on parade:

images courtesy of Konte in the toronto subsection;

the bridge is being prepped to be lifted into place. rumor has it that it will be lifted into place in june.

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its forming such a magnifficent skyline by itself <3

:)