***Waterfront Development Thread***

[Jackhammer]

Lake Ontario Park -Public Meeting January 17, 2007:

The plans are in and I am impressed. This park will be a jewel. The park will incorporate everything from new and upgraded beaches, pedestrian walks, naturist havens, recreation facilities and new ferry docks. A lot of thought and detail has gone into these plans .... so much that I am unable to summarize the entire project. If you are interested the pdf for the plans can be viewed at http://www.towaterfront.ca/dbdocs//4...8fb3e75804477f.

However, a picture is worth a thousand words ... so below is a few thousand words that lay this project out.

THE PARK:




THE VIEWS:




DOCKS:


BEACHES:




RECREATION/CULTURAL:





NATURE:

[p5archit]

Couldn't agree with John Barber more. The fact that we allow this type of back-door deals to continue is just preposterous. Although I will admit I kind of like the ships docked at Redpath, makes for an interesting juxtaposition with the city in the background. However, it is completely true, that if we wish to get the Waterfront started, we will need to make some major changes and the removal of both Redpath and the airport will show that we are ready for those changes.

p5

[Taller, Better]

I'm very much liking the looks of this park.. would be a true addition to the waterfront!

[p5archit]

Thanks Jackhammer for posting those images- gotta say that these certainly do look pretty damned good. I just wonder if this will ever get done? That is a lot of space to cover, not to mention the amount of clean-up required for almost 75% of the project area..I hate to be negative, but I certainly hope we can pull this off...I would be a shame if this just becomes another city pet-project which collects dust in some corner office.

Imagine though how absolutely stunning that park would be? I already use the present incarnation of this park for riding and running in the spring/summer, and I already love it- this will make it superb!

p5

[phunky]

wow those pictures of Lake Ontario park are amazing!

my only concern is that it shows people walking in sand dunes. usually those sand dunes are home to birds and their eggs. i hope they have areas that are closed off to pedestrians. because if we had a park like this it would definitely attract a lot of people.

[Taller, Better]

Originally Posted by phunky

the last two paragraphs really stand out to me. glad that someone else recognizes this.

Everyone in the entire city is keenly aware of it - but it all comes down to money.

[Marcanadian]

Wow that's huge! I'm excited for it.

[Jaye101]

I don't understand how someone can possibly say Toronto has no vision.

[DrT]

Is the far eastern end of the park the RC Harris Water Filtration Plant?
Aren't they doing some work on the grounds there already?

I would like to see a pedestrian bridge connection to the Toronto Island Park from the western end of Lake Ontario Park to enable continuous access between these two parks. Is that in the plan? ( I can't seem to open the pdf file, froze my computer).

[humanscale]

I don't believe that a pedestrian bridge between Lake Ontario Park and Centre Island is in the current plan.

[phunky]

Originally Posted by humanscale

I don't believe that a pedestrian bridge between Lake Ontario Park and Centre Island is in the current plan.

No it's from Lake Ontario park going over to the Beach. To bypass the filtration plant.

[phunky]

Originally Posted by DrT

Is the far eastern end of the park the RC Harris Water Filtration Plant?
Aren't they doing some work on the grounds there already?

I would like to see a pedestrian bridge connection to the Toronto Island Park from the western end of Lake Ontario Park to enable continuous access between these two parks. Is that in the plan? ( I can't seem to open the pdf file, froze my computer).

Go to adobe's site and update your adobe reader to version 8.

[phunky]

Originally Posted by Jaye101

I don't understand how someone can possibly say Toronto has no vision.

Toronto has LOTS of vision. Problem is that's how it remains most of the time. A vision. Nothing comes to fruition. A lot of people are hoping that that is goign to start to change soon. And I hope so too!

[valantino]

Toronto's track record as far as visions are concerned is pretty good. And as far as the waterfront is concerned, we had visions but never something as concrete as the one currently under construction (25 years ago, it was a declining but very active industrialized intermodal hub)

[InTheBeach]

Most of that park is there today. Some of those pictures are real. So, some of this vision is borrowed. What they are planning around the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant looks great.

My only beef with all of this is the name. Lake Ontario Park?

Doesn't roll off the tongue.

Anyone out there have some better ideas?

I like personally like "Reefer's Paradise".

But let's face, most of us will always say The Beach(es), The Spit, Cherry Beach (who the hell calls it Clark Beach?), Woodbine Park...

[ChivDevil]

This new park looks like it will be fantastic. I like the year-round actvities and the overall nature-and-humans living together theme of it. It seems like it will be a great new park for Toronto!

[phunky]

Will this park be a provincial or national park? It should be if it's not going to be.

[Martinsizon]

We're attracting the best
Feb 03, 2007 04:30 AM
Christopher Hume
http://www.thestar.com/article/177807

Toronto is fast becoming a meeting ground for some of the best landscape architects in the world.

That ground is located on the waterfront, where at least 12 major projects – parks, beaches and whole neighbourhoods – are underway.

The latest project to be launched, the $65 million Lower Don Lands Innovative Design Competition, has attracted a gaggle of internationally renowned practitioners. The shortlist, released yesterday, includes five firms chosen from the 29 who entered. They are:

Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, New York, with acclaimed Toronto planner, Ken Greenberg. MVVA is already familiar with Toronto's waterfront through its work at Don River Park, now under construction.

Weiss/Manfredi Architects, New York, much admired for the recently opened Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, an exquisite waterfront project that has many lessons for Toronto. Local partner is highly respected DTAH.

Atelier Girot and Landscape Morphology, Paris, who have worked throughout Europe.

Hargreaves Associates, whose San Francisco project, Crissy Field, transformed a military airstrip into a waterfront park. Their local Toronto partner is the Hough Group.

Stoss Landscape Urbanism, Cambridge, Mass., with Brown & Storey, the small Toronto architectural practice best known for Yonge-Dundas Square.

Organized by the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp., the competition is a complicated one.

"It's the spot where the West Don Lands, the East Bayfront and Docklands all connect," explains TWRC vice-president of development, Chris Glaisek.

"It's the hole in the doughnut. It's a very complex site with various competing demands: naturalizing the mouth of the Don, redeveloping private lands including the old Victory silos and The Home Depot property, and everything east of Cherry St.

"The firms have been asked to come up with an integrated strategy that deals with transit, roads, social and recreational needs.

"We want to pick a team that's creative and visionary, but that also has a demonstrated ability to work with technically complex projects."

The teams have been invited to an orientation session on Friday. They will have eight weeks to prepare their submissions. The winner will be announced April 30.

[phunky]

ooh can't wait to see what they come up with!

[Mo Rush]

wow...this is a really exciting development..lets hope toronto can get its act together..and make this a reality