***Waterfront Development Thread***

[isaidso]

I work in Liberty Village and have to say its astonishing how poor the planning was. They actually built a strip mall in there! I'm not familiar with Darling Harbour, but it all sounds quite good. I do prefer big city scale mixed in with pedestrian friendly design though. Darling Harbour sounds like they do the 2nd part well.

[Travis007]

East Bayfront: Bayside Phase I, Waterfront Revitalization, Toronto

http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/uploa...g_nov_22_1.pdf

[Filip]

Wow.. Now that is a disappointment!

Winter garden = gone! Interesting offset cube by the lake = gone! No use of warmer materials.. Everything is glass.. I'm very disappointed in WT and Hines right now.

[isaidso]

Agree. Are they trying to put us to sleep with these designs? If we're trying to transform Toronto into a global show piece, we have to do much better than this. When Vegas is building more sophisticated and remarkable buildings than Toronto you know we need things to change. The 'go to' architects and planners we're relying on just aren't delivering.

Enough with the niceties, these people have to go.

[icemachine]

What a terrible traffic plan - Should have made it predominantly one way streets with a parking/standing lane along the lake front in order to encourage pedestrianism.

[KGB]

I hope our Docklands area ends up looking like this, but we'll likely not be blessed with large scaled buildings built right up against a canal system like here in Canary Wharf. Can you imagine boating down a canal lined with large scaled buildings like that? Just great; bring back Olympia & York!

The irony is that Canary Wharf is what made them go away in the first place.

Big gambles are not likely to be seen here. Plus, the whole East Bayfront/Portlands development is 10 times the size of Canary Wharf.



KGB

[Mollywood]

http://www.thestar.com/news/transpor...to-humber?bn=1
More islands on Toronto's western waterfront? Maybe? It could be interesting.

[icemachine]

That would be nice, with a WW streetcar line running along the Lakeshore it could really make that area a great part of the city

[Mollywood]

There were some pretty nice boats on the harbour this weekend.
[/QUOTE]

[Mollywood]

It's time for Toronto to embrace its waterfront. Now we have a new event to help do that and it's located at SUNNYSIDE!

Fire On The Water (Sunday Aug 25th - 2pm to Midnight.
http://fireonthewater2012.wordpress.com/

[Taller, Better]

I agree, Molly..... half the people who live in this city have probably little or no idea of what the waterfront is like here.

[lezgotolondon]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I hope our Docklands area ends up looking like this, but we'll likely not be blessed with large scaled buildings built right up against a canal system like here in Canary Wharf. Can you imagine boating down a canal lined with large scaled buildings like that? Just great; bring back Olympia & York!

image hosted on flickr

by Tony

I love canary wharf, but I think that in the case of Toronto only the inner docks should have tall buldings, and no more than 150m.

Imho Toronto should improve its existing core of skyscrapers and build not big tower in the desert(suburbs) surrounded by houses.

The other waterfront porject is nice!

[Mollywood]

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

I agree, Molly..... half the people who live in this city have probably little or no idea of what the waterfront is like here.

I went to Sunnyside last Saturday. It was sunny and a beautiful day. There were about 25 people swimming in the Sunnyside pool. Guess how many people were swimming in the Sunnyside Beach? ZERO! Nobody seems to swim in the water and few were even on the beach but there were crowds of people walking on the boardwalk. It's almost like we don't even have a beach there. Way more people hit the sand and even go into the water, in The Beaches.

That's one of the reasons why I think Sunnyside Beach needs a redesign and a clean up. Parts of the beach are not in great shape. Sunnyside Pavilion is in bad shape and needs a renovation and an upgrade. It could be so much better than what it is. The Joy gas station is a pretty cool building, yet it sit there unused.

Our beaches have so much potential and I just hate to see it wasted. Sure, it will take investment money but I'm sure it would be very profitable for the city in the long run.

It's times like this, I wish I was rich. I'd persuade the city to let me bring a stylish, beautiful beach complex to this city. We have a really good waterfront (in spite of what some say) but with a little love, it could become so much better.

On my wish list would be;

- a great curvy beach wall, just wide enough to sit on
- public showers
- a huge water tank built into the beach (so basically hidden) containing clean/heated water to swim in (yes, a fake heated lake with mild, clean, calm water)
- fun cafes, colourful snack shops and restaurants with 2nd floor patios to enjoy the view (lots of big windows and open window concept)
- a fun touristy beach shop selling bathing suits, towels, tanning lotion, water, drinks, snacks, tourist stuff
- umbrella and chair rental shop
- water ski & sporting goods rental shop
- a large beach bandshell like in the CNE for nightly shows and dancing under the stars
- paddle boat rentals
- organize more festivals and events on the beach
- a water ferry that goes from downtown to The Bluffs, the Beaches, Centre Island, Ontario Place, Sunnyside and the Etobicocke waterfront
- a year round tropical greenhouse that contained restaurants and a year round swimming attraction
- more art, beautiful benches and a few really nice water fountains and I'm all set to go. lol

I think a small, boutique hotel might be nice, near Sunnyside, especially if it mixed private and public uses. (think a huge resort style pool with public access)

That's my Toronto beach dream!

[Taller, Better]

Probably I am a bit weird, but I actually love Sunnyside the way it is. I love to go there and relax and I don't need to be entertained while doing so. I like a bombardment of entertainment at Yonge/Dundas, but the lazy beach at Sunnyside is perfect for me, and even better if I sit and have cold beer at the pavilion patio! I agree that it is underused, but to some extent that is just because many people are too effing lazy to get off their butts and check out our waterfront. I don't swim, but that is not because I think the water is dirty (it is not), but because I don't like swimming at the best of
times and the lake is way too cold for me!
























I'd like to see the Pavilion professionally restored, but I'm afraid renovations would more likely just ruin its 1920's feel in an attempt to make it
more "Contemporary".

[Mollywood]

Taller, come on, you don't think this building needs some basic repairs, a clean up or a paint job? So at what point would you do basic upkeep? How long will it be until this place starts falling apart, if there is no attempt to maintain it? A building can only take so much neglect before it crumbles to the ground.

What about the second floor? It sits there mostly unused. You don't think it could be put to better use as a restaurant, night club or something? I think this structure, like many others in Toronto, is not living up to its true potential. Right now, it's not a main destination but I think it could be. (and should be)

I guess we all have different standards for what we think is acceptable or preferable. (on postering, cleanliness, street poles and building maintenance) I can appreciate a little bit of grit, like Kensington Market but if a city has a little too much grit, it just begins to look like a decrepit place that nobody cares about. I guess it's different strokes for different folks.

[Taller, Better]

Originally Posted by Mollywood

Taller, come on, you don't think this building needs some basic repairs, a clean up or a paint job?.

As I said:

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

I'd like to see the Pavilion professionally restored, but I'm afraid renovations would more likely just ruin its 1920's feel in an attempt to make it
more "Contemporary".

I don't like the butcher job at the 1920's dance pavilion down the road, and "renovations" scare the beejeebers out of me when private ownership takes over from the City.
Yes it needs restoration, and yes the second floor should be used for more than private events but I do not want this turned into a dance club or an Outback restaurant.

[Mollywood]

I hear a lot of people say that no one swims in Toronto's beaches. I guess that's not true.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ1x4...mVD5GxzlWb-IQQ

And NO, I don't want to turn Sunnyside Pavilion over to a private business for a Jack Astor's or something like that. Of course, I want to keep it owned by the city.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by lezgotolondon

I love canary wharf, but I think that in the case of Toronto only the inner docks should have tall buldings, and no more than 150m.

Most of those Canary Wharf buildings are under 150m so I guess we're in agreement. I love how the buildings are right up against the canal. The juxtaposition is what makes it wonderful.

[monkeyronin]

A few recent renderings of the West Don Lands:










And some construction pics from UT:


By someMidTowner on UrbanToronto


By someMidTowner on UrbanToronto


By TOCondoGarden on UrbanToronto

[Taller, Better]

Nice! Will be quite an exciting little hood!