The top 10 unbuilt projects in Toronto

[Travis007]

http://www.blogto.com/toronto/lists/...ts_in_toronto/

By: Derek Flack, November 23, 2010.

Descriptions, and explanations are available on the article website.


Spadina Expressway



Ballet Opera



Eaton Centre Towers



Eglinton West Subway Line



Harbour City



Project Toronto




Metro Centre



Queen Street Subway




Cambrai Avenue and Vimy Circle



Island Tunnel (Project still alive)

[Travis007]

For those interested in learning more about unbuilt Toronto projects, check out a book called "Unbuilt Toronto: A History of the City That Might Have Been" by Mark Osbaldeston. It offers detailed descriptions for past visions for grand public buildings, landmarks, skyscrapers, subways, etc.

[Innsertnamehere]

the only one i REALLY hate on that is the project Toronto.. that would have ruined this city. that is one of the worst unbuilt projects in Toronto, if not the absolute worst.

[allurban]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

the only one i REALLY hate on that is the project Toronto.. that would have ruined this city. that is one of the worst unbuilt projects in Toronto, if not the absolute worst.

now that I look at Project Toronto - I realize that instead of a pyramid and tall cylindrical building, we go the tripod-like CN Tower and rounded Skydome.

And instead of floating habitats (they're meant to look like they are floating in the harbour, right?) south of the Gardiner, we got condos south of the Gardiner and along Queen's Quay West.

Cheers, m

[monkeyronin]

Are these supposed to be the top 10 projects we're happiest to have never seen built? Because aside from the last 3 (and the Eglinton West subway), the rest are all terrible.

[HipHopCanada]

@Cambrai Avenue and Vimy Circle

WOW! That would have looked spectacular. I guess we could thank the Great Depression for that?

This one takes the cake though:

In 1928, Eaton's announced plans for the largest retail and office complex in the world to be constructed on the site, featuring 5,000,000 square feet (465,000 square metres) of retail space and a 38-storey 1920s era skyscraper. Just as the war had intervened a decade earlier, however, the Great Depression curtailed the grandiose plans for the site.

Is that ever unfortunate. Hopefully I didn't make any of the forumers depressed after posting that.

[vancouverite/to'er]

Vimy Circle and College Park Tower would've really expanded the financial district feel outside the CBD.
Cambrai avenue office proposal would rival Chicago's river bend. What a shame...
On a more practical note, there's MARS II lol

Anyone else notice how only the clock tower has been preserved in the concrete city hall proposal? How repugnant!

[allurban]

Originally Posted by vancouverite/to'er

Vimy Circle and College Park Tower would've really expanded the financial district feel outside the CBD.
Cambrai avenue office proposal would rival Chicago's river bend. What a shame...
On a more practical note, there's MARS II lol

Anyone else notice how only the clock tower has been preserved in the concrete city hall proposal? How repugnant!

sort of like in hong kong where they only preserved the clock tower of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Station at the foot of Tsimshatsui in Kowloon.

Looking at some of those proposals, I believe that elements of them have been built.

Metro Centre is now City Place (and look at the original design for the CN tower, wow!!).

The Eaton Towers were built, though with different designs (which is good, because Toronto already has enough similar towers) & different locations - and Eaton Centre does not occupy the entire block and Old City Hall has been preserved).

The East Bayfront is being constructed now, piece by piece (rather than one giant project).

The Toronto project tho...I don't know what to say about that. The 1928 Eaton Centre makes me think of Buffalo City Hall.

Cheers, m

[Travis007]

The Ballet House reminds me of something that might be designed for the Illuminati Headquarters. I`m so glad the Eaton Centre Towers Proposal was built to different plans. The towers look awkwardly large and totally disregards the existence of Old City Hall. Our iconic Eaton Centre with glass atrium would have been probably just the Eaton`s store, without room for other shops.

[Nouvellecosse]

I'm glad that old City Hall was saved of course,but I can't help but think it would be nice if such tall buildings could be approved for other places in the vicinity. Nowadays it seems like that part of the skyline is stunted due to all the NPS shadow hysteria.

[allurban]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I'm glad that old City Hall was saved of course,but I can't help but think it would be nice if such tall buildings could be approved for other places in the vicinity. Nowadays it seems like that part of the skyline is stunted due to all the NPS shadow hysteria.

By the time most people are in NPS, the sun is shining from the south (and later the west). Those spaces are already occupied by buildings (Sheraton, Osgoode Hall, Canada Life tower) so there's not much that can be done.

Personally, I think the Sheraton looks nice but it is too large & wide & blocks the sun - a set of taller, narrower buildings on that site would have been more appropriate.

But to the north, northwest, and northeast of NPS there is a lot of room for change.

Frankly, I think that Trinity Square (the building, not the square) could be taken down and rebuilt higher without causing too much of a problem. The Ryerson building could have a tower and maintain the existing building as a podium with the same shopping, and replace the parkette inside with a roof garden & terrace.

There is a project going into the southwest corner of Bay & Dundas but I don't know how tall it would be.

Other than that you have the parking lots north of the Coach Terminal. In the future, the site of the terminal itself might be built on - as there is a 'plan' to move the Coach Terminal to Union Station or Yorkdale (or both).

Cheers, m

[ScrapeTheSky]

Originally Posted by Travis007

http://www.blogto.com/toronto/lists/...ts_in_toronto/
Queen Street Subway

I like this map of it. Pretty cool.

[InTheBeach]

But those surface routes would have been a disaster for some critical neighbourhoods.

[allurban]

Originally Posted by InTheBeach

But those surface routes would have been a disaster for some critical neighbourhoods.

why? They would have been what we call "LRT" today, all converging on the 4 tunnel portals - and we have tunnel portals today (St. Clair E & W, Spadina, Queens Quay) - they aren't robbing those areas of their urbanity.

Demand for streetcars used to be insane on some routes - Bloor St. used to run 2-car trains of PCC streetcars every 2 minutes in the decade before the Bloor Line was built. Queen was not quite as busy but it was a lot crazier than it is today.

The Queen streetcar subway would have been a great idea provided that they did not rip up the streetcar tracks downtown and used the subway as a 'cross-town express' for streetcars.

Of course, they were planning to rip up the tracks but hopefully that part of the plan would have changed in the same way that it was changed in the 1970s - by people advocating for their streetcars.

Cheers, m

[Travis007]

Rendering of what University Ave/Queen Street could have looked like if Vimy Circle was built.

(Rendering courtesy of Spacing Magazine)

image hosted on flickr

[allurban]

Originally Posted by Travis007

Rendering of what University Ave/Queen Street could have looked like if Vimy Circle was built.

(Rendering courtesy of Spacing Magazine)

image hosted on flickr

Absolutely beautiful.

But still, I'd like to see what it would look like at the height of afternoon rush hour. At least the Queen Streetcar would not be impeded.

Cheers, m

[htpwn]

Originally Posted by Travis007

Rendering of what University Ave/Queen Street could have looked like if Vimy Circle was built.

(Rendering courtesy of Spacing Magazine)

image hosted on flickr

Talk about a depressing rendering. That would have looked great.

[Ashok]

Originally Posted by Travis007

Rendering of what University Ave/Queen Street could have looked like if Vimy Circle was built.

(Rendering courtesy of Spacing Magazine)

image hosted on flickr

wow!!!! That looks amazing!

[urban 2.0]

Originally Posted by Travis007

Rendering of what University Ave/Queen Street could have looked like if Vimy Circle was built.

(Rendering courtesy of Spacing Magazine)

image hosted on flickr

... my god, that's beautiful! ... I want that on my wall.

I wish Harbour City was built.

[mborrett]

Originally Posted by urban 2.0

... my god, that's beautiful! ... I want that on my wall.

I wish Harbour City was built.

Thanks!
I'm the illustrator who did this image.

As for the building on the left, I imagined the buildings on the circle were not completed together but over time. Admittedly I was really crunched for time and as much as I would have preferred an older more elaborate building, it would have been too time-consuming to model (I used a combination of 3D and 2D).

As for wanting it on your wall, I'm planning a run of posters. Anyone interested can contact me through my website:
http://mathewborrett.com/

Cheers!