***Waterfront Development Thread***

[camel_trainer]

Good to hear it. I'll feel better when I can count the floors, though.

[Martinsizon]

Plucking a jewel from lakefront drab
Nov. 20, 2006. 06:11 AM
CHRISTOPHER HUME
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...=1163976614158

It's the architects who get all the attention, but more than ever it's the landscape architects who deserve it.

Nowhere more so than on Toronto's sleeping beauty of a waterfront. That became wonderfully clear this week when the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp. handed over its annual general meeting to four of the planet's leading landscapists, remarkably, all of them working in this city.

By the time they're finished, this quartet will have transformed the waterfront, and with it, Toronto.

About time, too.

While most eyes have been focused on the so-called Cultural Renaissance — we'll see about that — the TWRC has quietly assembled a team that could make this city's waterfront the envy of the world.

Of course, given the petulance and lack of sophistication of all three levels of government, anything could go wrong between now and then. But if these practitioners are allowed to do what they can, the results will be a splendid renewal of the relationship between Toronto and Lake Ontario.

The four — West 8 (Rotterdam), Field Operations (New York), Claude Cormier Architectes Paysagistes (Montreal) and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (New York) — are responsible for hundreds of hectares of prime real estate, much of it now a post-industrial wasteland. To them, that's nothing new. Indeed, much of the rebuilding of cities this century is all about reclaiming disused shipyards, abandoned harbours, old factories and the like.

Toronto has no shortage of sites, especially on the waterfront, much of which has sat empty for decades. But done intelligently, these derelict properties could become the saviour of the city in the years ahead.

The possibilities of these modern man-made landscapes are vast. Even a small scheme like Van Valkenburgh's 16-acre Don River Park will anchor a new neighbourhood of 6,000 residential units. Located on the west side of the Don, south of King St. at the east end of an extended Esplanade, the facility will include open lawns as well as sports fields, a marsh, playground, trees and an urban prairie. More than that, the space will be a local park and a city icon despite being cut off, mostly from the south and east. Situated atop a berm now being built to stop flooding, it will begin construction next year.

The biggest of the four projects, Lake Ontario Park, extends 37 kilometres along the shoreline from the R.C. Harris Filtration Plant west to Cherry Beach and the tip of the Leslie Street Spit. Though big at 965 acres, it is long and thin. It will encompass a variety of conditions and features from sandy beaches to thickly treed stands.

"It's all edge," said Ellen Neises of Field Operations. "There's no interior."

Though the master plan won't be ready until early next year, she talked at the meeting about "transects and outposts," ways of moving through the landscape to a wide variety of zones and destinations. The idea is to create a signature park for Canada as well as Toronto. The potential, she said, is enormous.

To the north, Cormier's 46-acre Commissioners' Park will be an essay in the contemporary urban landscape. Using the idea of camouflage, he has devised an approach that allows for an overlay of dedicated spaces — playing fields — with a more "naturalistic" sensibility.

Cormier also worked on HtO, the innovative urban beach now taking form at the foot of Simcoe St.

The fourth firm, West 8, was represented by founder Adriaan Geuze. He and DTAH of Toronto won the competition to redesign the central waterfront last summer. Their proposal will narrow Queen's Quay from four lanes to two and add thousands of trees to the area. It also focuses on the slipheads, which will be expanded and bridged.

The scheme was tested in a 10-day trial last August. Most visitors thought it a success. Work on the central waterfront will start next summer.

Though most of the attention here has been lavished on projects like Frank Gehry's redo of the Art Gallery of Ontario and Daniel Libeskind's addition to the Royal Ontario Museum, the truth is that their works are instantly familiar. By contrast, the landscape never repeats itself; every park is unique. With cities needing renewal more than new buildings, this is good news.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christopher Hume can be reached at chume@thestar.ca

[Taller, Better]

Good article. Now if he could only resist writing weekly articles screaming about the fact Toronto is a big fat loser for not having finished this project already like they have in other cities (that get federal support).... enough already. Constructive criticism is more important than weekly whingeing. This project will not be finished overnight. Also, regarding his snide comments on the "so-called Cultural Renaissance", why doesn't The Fume stick to what he knows about?

[InTheBeach]

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

I suppose one byproduct of being in the middle of a huge building boom is that some people just get blase about the whole thing and see everything as just average looking. I think Murano and Spire are exciting and sleek projects.

Spire looks great IMO. Murano is promising for sure.

But most of this stuff is "just average looking". And then there is crap (like most things near the lake)

That said, the bar has certainly been raised.

[yin_yang]

spire = cityplace

murano does look cool from the renders, i admit. the met looks sharp too with the black glass. the others skimped on the green stuff which has been overused.

[InTheBeach]

Originally Posted by yin_yang

spire = cityplace

Not to my eyes. I can't stand cityplace. The only thing these towers have in common is their height IMO. I love the different colours used in spire. When I first saw them, I thought it would be cheesy, but it works for me.

[camel_trainer]

Ugh. Let's not start the same old debate about Cityplace. I think it might just be a cool neighbourhood when it's all done. And it's not all done yet.


[Note: See what I did there? Using Jedi mind tricks, I actually just started the same old debate about Cityplace without anyone knowing it. It's easy once you know how.]

[Canadian Chocho]

I'm just a Padawan.

[p5archit]

..this thread took a turn for the worse...

Where do things stand now with regards to the waterfront plan? Is the West 8 plan still a go and if so, when should we expect to see more detailed plans?

Also, considering that the test they ran this past summer was such a huge success, will we see the gradual implementation of that plan?

What the fuck is going on with this project?

I think it is rediculous, that such a prestigious project gets so little attention. There should be an update from Cityhall at least weekly or bi-monthly touting this project- getting people interested and excited about the changes that are going to happen and take place over the course of the next decade and half.. We are not aware of any progress and at the rate we are going right now, we can expect nothing to happen, except for developers to move in.

Come on lets get with it..

p5

[phunky]

i totally agree. there should be a lot more excitement around it, but really... the plan kinda sucks. it needs to be much more extravagant. the plan that won is BOOORING.

[Canadian Chocho]

I liked Foster.

[globetrekker]

Is anyone going to the public meeting the TWRC is holding on January 23rd to talk about the process and phasing?

[ONEILLT]

Canadian Chocho, I love these 'renderings' any time. Thanks for posting.

[p5archit]

I would go- if I knew where and at what time..well, also if it doesn't cut into my work. Do you have more details?


p5

[globetrekker]

Originally Posted by p5archit

I would go- if I knew where and at what time..well, also if it doesn't cut into my work. Do you have more details?


p5

Upcoming Public Meetings
Lake Ontario Park Master Plan
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Radisson Admiral Hotel, 249 Queens Quay West


Central Waterfront Promenade and Re-design of Queens Quay
Tuesday, January 23, 2007,
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Radisson Admiral Hotel, 249 Queens Quay West

More information on these meetings is included below.





TWRC Launches Innovative Design Competition for Toronto’s Lower Don Lands

TWRC, (in cooperation with Toronto and Region Conservation and the City of Toronto) is very pleased to announce that we are seeking input from the world’s most talented design and engineering professionals in developing a bold new concept for the Lower Don Lands area.

TWRC will select five teams through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to participate in an eight-week design competition. Teams will be asked to develop design concepts for the naturalization of the mouth of the Don River, the extension of Queens Quay Boulevard and two public transit lines, and the completion of the eastern portion of the East Bayfront precinct plan.

At the end of the competition, design submissions will be showcased in a public exhibition in April. A jury of distinguished design and arts professionals will select the preferred concept for further development in conjunction with environmental studies, and ultimately for production of det ailed landscape designs for the re-naturalization of the mouth of the Don and completion of a master plan for the redevelopment of the surrounding areas.

Stay tuned for further details on this exciting project.





TTC-TWRC Transit Environmental Assessment Studies for West Don Lands and East Bayfront Underway


The Terms of Reference for the West Don Lands and East Bayfront Transit EA’s are complete and we expect provincial approval in the next few weeks, following which, two separate EA’s will start for each of the new transit lines.

These EA’s will determine the specific transit infrastructure that is needed to support development in the West Don Lands and East Bayfront. Both EA’s will be complete by the end of the year. TWRC’s goal is to have transit available as people start to move into the new communities. To view the Terms of Reference, please visit our website at: http://www.towaterfront.ca/dynamic.p...=447f45e904642

Community consultation will continue to be an integral part of these EA processes. We expect the first Publi c Information Centres for both projects to be in February, so please watch for meeting details.









Central Waterfront Promenade and Re-design of Queens Quay

TWRC is now starting work to implement the continuous water’s edge promenade and re-design of Queens Quay between Bathurst and Parliament Streets based on the design by West 8 + DTAH, which was selected during TWRC’s design competition for the area.

Community consultation continues to be integral to this project and TWRC is holding a public meeting on January 23rd to talk about the process and phasing for the project and to obtain community input. The meeting will take place from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Radisson Admiral Hotel, 249 Queens Quay West. Members of the design team and representatives from TWRC will be there to answer questions.






Lake Ontario Park Draft Concept Plan to be Unveiled

Last spring, TWRC launched the Lake Ontario Park Master Planning process, to guide the future implementation of Lake Ontario Park. We are very pleased to report that the Lake Ontario Park design team led by Field Operations, is now ready to unveil their draft concept plan for this exciting city-wide public space amenity.

This draft plan will be presented at an upcoming Lake Ontario Park public meeting being held on January 17th from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at the Radisson Admiral Hotel (249 Queens Quay West). The meeting will begin with an Open House from 6:00-7:00 p.m., followed by a presentation and facilitated discussion.

Also, as part the Open House, we will be providing the community with an update on the status of the Port Lands Transitional Sports Fields.

We look forward to seeing you on January 17th!







Sherbourne Park Design RFP Released

TWRC continues to lead revitalization efforts with parks and public space initiatives, with the recent release of the Sherbourne Park Design Request for Proposal (RFP).

This 3.7 acre public waterfront park, located at the foot of Sherbourne Street will be one of the most important public spaces to be built in the East Bayfront Precinct, and will be a key catalyst to redevelopment in this area.

The goal of this RFP is to seek a design team that will bring a spirit of creativity and innovation to the design of Sherbourne Park. We are anticipating having a design team on board towards the ending of February and expect public consultation for this project to begin shortly thereafter.

For more information on this exciting project, please visit: http://www.towaterfront.ca/dynamic.p...nd=44efb7e4157 b4&third=45773ad1ddae1

[p5archit]

Cheers- thanks for the information. I hope to be able to make it...

p5

[globetrekker]

Originally Posted by p5archit

Cheers- thanks for the information. I hope to be able to make it...

p5

You're welcome.

[kettal]

I think it would be pointless to remove Gardner Expressway, because the train tracks will just continue being a barrier just the same.

The best solution to the waterfront barrier problem would be to move the waterfront. Toronto has been doing it for 100 years, so once more wouldn't hurt.

Just extend the land 100m or so into Lake Ontario, don't build any streets on it, and it can be beautiful.

[Canadian Chocho]

A rink of their own

Women's and girls' hockey could get a boost if new waterfront project gets the go-ahead, by Mary Ormsby
January 13, 2007
Mary Ormsby
Sports Reporter

The Leaside girls hockey teams play out of 16 different arenas across Toronto because access to affordable ice is so scarce.

Local women who have been the core of Canada's national team frequently leave family, jobs and school behind to train in Calgary. And cheaper, more plentiful suburban arenas to the west are tempting the elite Toronto Aeros junior women's team to leave town.

All the evidence suggests area arenas have long underserved the GTA's approximately 10,000 female hockey players. But a solution could take shape next week when local officials consider a proposed $30 million four-pad arena for the waterfront.

Not only would the development be the GTA's first largely taxpayer-funded arena in more than a quarter-century, it would be the first with a rink dedicated exclusively to female hockey.

The plan, to be discussed Tuesday by the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Committee, features an Olympic-sized surface that would be used as a regional training centre for the women's national teams and to stage international competitions. Two other ice pads would be regulation size and one would be dry for sports like box lacrosse.

Toronto's Vicky Sunohara, an Olympic gold medallist at the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, said female players are desperate for the facility.

"It's pretty amazing they're going to have one pad for women," said the 36-year-old Sunohara, who leaves for a week-long national training camp Sunday in Calgary.

"I still hear about so many (girls) teams and leagues who have a tough time getting ice and they get put on some crazy ice times and playing in the not-so-great arenas so this is great news for women."

Ted Ashwin, general manager of the Aeros, agrees.

"I'm either going to have to move out of the city to find ice that's appropriate to our level of play," said Ashwin of his program that produces GTA players for U.S. hockey scholarships, adding, "Or, I'll need help in finding the right spot."

The waterfront committee, which received $20 million for sports infrastructure from the federal government in 2004, will discuss the results of a feasibility study. The following day, Wednesday, there will be a public forum on the plans for Lake Ontario Park, an area bounded by the outer harbour between Cherry Beach and Ashbridges Bay and including Tommy Thompson Park.

No arena site has been decided, but sources say Unwin Avenue near Cherry Street is a location under discussion, possibly directly across from Lake Ontario Park but not in it.

"It's a no-brainer," said Brenda Librecz, general manager of the city's parks, forestry and recreation department of taking the user stress off the city's 50 indoor arenas by catering to the booming women's game.

"The city wins in getting an ice rink that will be available to the community, we donate one pad completely to female hockey. ... This is a win-win situation for the objectives of the waterfront in drawing more people to the port lands as a destination."

But not everyone is as quick to embrace hockey as a perfect addition to the coveted waterfront.

"If you're going to be coming down to a new park, you don't want to be running into a huge concrete building as the first thing you see," said city councillor Paula Fletcher, who worries a building with a parking lot will detract from the beauty of the greenbelt. "An arena isn't exactly the most attractive building."

Fletcher said she would fight any plan to ensure an arena "is not stuck onto or into the park" but said a blending of sports needs with park needs is possible.

"I think we have to plan holistically and we'll find a place for everything," said Fletcher, who will attend Wednesday's public forum.

Should the waterfront corporation decide to proceed with the arena, the $10 million funding shortfall could be made up with a blend of government and private sector resources, a spokesperson from Mayor David Miller's office yesterday

Once such example of a private-public partnership is the planned $29 million practice facility for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Marlies in the west end.

Financing is coming from Maple Leaf Sport and Entertainment and the Lakeshore Lions. During non prime time hours, the city has access to ice at below-market rates, with ice time reserved for the Etobicoke Dolphins girls hockey league.

Librecz says it has been 26 years since an arena was built with taxpayer funds. A pair of Scarborough facilities – Malvern and Scarborough Arena Gardens – were erected in 1981. No arenas have been built in the city's core since the 1970s.

Librecz says studies show demand on city arenas continues to grow, especially with more adults playing the game, and more facilities are needed, not just to make ice available but to provide it at a lower cost than the pricey private arenas.

The Leaside Wildcats girls program, for instance, uses private arenas for 45 per cent of its ice time to give its 732 players on 47 teams a place to play. Jordan Grant, Leaside's volunteer director of strategic ice acquisition – yes, that's his title – said the typical city rate for ice is $147 an hour whereas the league pays up to $334 per hour at private rinks.

"That's the killer, the cost of the ice,'' said Grant, who "scrounges" ice at so many arenas to find bargains since Leaside Memorial Arena, a city facility, can't alone service its youth boys and girls programs. There is also a preliminary city proposal to expand Leaside to two pads.

Fran Ryder, the executive director of the Ontario Women's Hockey League, commended the proposed waterfront arena as a public validation of female hockey.

"Ten years ago it would have been beyond belief that an arena would cater exclusively to women," Ryder said. "But the women's game is growing, awareness is growing and it's all good for the game."

[Tuscani01]

Originally Posted by kettal

I think it would be pointless to remove Gardner Expressway, because the train tracks will just continue being a barrier just the same.

The best solution to the waterfront barrier problem would be to move the waterfront. Toronto has been doing it for 100 years, so once more wouldn't hurt.

Just extend the land 100m or so into Lake Ontario, don't build any streets on it, and it can be beautiful.

You know what... I never thought about that. It would be a cool idea too, but that would cost a hell of a lot of money.