Author Archives: TOblogeditor

New mayor’s budget cuts could affect elements of Nathan Phillips Square revitalization project

November 2010: New skate pavilion and concession stand takes shape

No cash for tourist kiosk or restaurant? The two-year, $42.7 million revitalization of Nathan Phillips Square at City Hall is chugging along, but two of the project’s most appealing features might not get built because of budget cutbacks announced yesterday by Mayor Rob Ford.

According to an article in today’s Globe and Mail, the mayor’s budget cuts mean “a planned tourist booth for the corner of Bay and Queen Streets likely won’t be built. Neither will a restaurant for the square, unless the city can find a partner to share construction costs.”

The plan to revitalize the 40-year-old square, which for years has looked worn, tired, dowdy and downright tacky in many places, has been controversial since it was originally proposed to and debated by City Council. Ford had been vocal about his opposition to the project and its cost while he was a city councillor, as well as throughout the mayoral election campaign last year. The good news is that his proposed 2011 budget doesn’t take money away from the program, so most of the revitalization work should continue as planned. However, there won’t be any cash to cover cost overruns.

The most visible revitalization progress to date has been the ongoing construction of a new skate pavilion and concession stand, replacing the hideous concrete structure that previously stood next to the square’s summer water fountain / winter ice skating rink. Also, the Peace Garden has been completely removed (it will be relocated to the western side of the square).

A two-level restaurant proposed for the southwest corner of the square would have been a highlight of the refurbishment program, as would a tourist information kiosk planned for the southeast entrance to Nathan Phillips Square. Undoubtedly, both would have drawn more tourists and residents to the square; however, it’s been obvious for some time that our new mayor isn’t the least bit interested in making Nathan Phillips Square a more welcoming, enjoyable place for either tourists or taxpayers to visit.

Below are some pics I shot in November of building progress on the new skate pavilion and demolition of the Peace Garden, as well as artistic renderings of the tourist booth, restaurant and skate pavilion. More renderings, along with full project details, can be viewed on the city’s Nathan Phillips Square Revitalization website.

Construction progress of new skate pavilion and concession stand

Peace Garden demolition and removal

Rendering of new skate pavilion and concession stand

Rendering of restaurant proposed for square’s southwest corner

Rendering of proposed tourist information kiosk

Rendering shows location proposed for tourist info kiosk

Snow wonder: When will digging start at One Bloor?

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November 20 2008 view of snow-covered One Bloor condo tower site …

…and on January 9 2011 — over two years later — little has changed

Bloor Street blahs: I’m getting increasingly anxious for construction to start on the One Bloor condo tower. Every time I pass the One Bloor building site at the southeast corner of Yonge & Bloor, it bugs me to see a big empty lot — a site that the media and real estate agents for years have described as Canada’s “premier” and “most prestigious” address. If it’s such a hot and important spot, what’s taking developer Great Gulf Group so long to get shovels in the ground? C’mon, guys, get going already!

Actually, Great Gulf is getting there — and digging should start soon. Back in November, the company applied to the city for a permit to begin work on the building’s foundation. Meanwhile, it’s preparing to open a spiffy new condo sales centre in the Xerox tower right next door. So things are moving along, though seemingly at a snail’s pace to impatient people like me.

I know I won’t be the only one cheering when hoarding is installed around the site and excavation equipment finally begins breaking ground — there’s a lot of building and skyscraper fans who can’t wait to watch a tower soar into the sky here. But exactly how tall will it stand?

The excavation permit application refers to a mixed-use highrise tower with 67 residential floors, 2 commercial floors (including a “p1 level commercial concourse”) and six underground parking levels. That suggests the developer is set to build a 69-storey skyscraper.

Personally, I’d prefer to see a much taller tower — something closer to the 80 storeys envisaged for the ill-fated condo + hotel + retail complex originally proposed and sold for the site. (For those who either don’t recall or aren’t familiar with the dramatic recent history of the 1 Bloor Street East site, the Toronto Star describes crucial events in this story from July 18 2009 and this follow-up article from August 21 2009, while The Globe and Mail offered an even more detailed account in this story from September 17 2009.)

Heck, I wish One Bloor would go even higher — if Melbourne, Australia can build a 91-storey skyscraper (the Eureka Tower), why can’t we? Hasn’t Canada (i.e. Toronto) traditionally held bragging rights to the tallest building in the Commonwealth?

I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that Great Gulf ultimately hikes the height of One Bloor to make it the tallest condo in Canada, but I won’t hold my breath just yet.

Below are several more photos I’ve taken of the One Bloor site, along with pics of Great Gulf marketing billboards featuring artistic renderings of their tower design. Additional renderings as well as more details about the project can be viewed on the project website, onebloor.com.

Museum House rises above its namesake on Bloor

Yorkville heritage buildings in jeopardy?

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Days numbered? A developer has submitted a rezoning application for permission to construct a 9-storey office structure on the site of these elegant brick buildings on Yorkville’s Sultan Street, one block south of Bloor Street.

The mansions, with street addresses of 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 Sultan Street, and 11 St. Thomas Street, currently house offices and a specialty book shop. They sit kitty corner to the tony Windsor Arms Hotel; the tall white building behind them, to the right, is the 29-storey luxury condo tower One St Thomas Residences, which opened in 2008.

I love this peaceful little enclave tucked behind the busy Bloor-Bay intersection, and hope the city doesn’t give demolition approval. (No word yet on whether that’s what the developer plans, or if it will try to incorporate the brick buildings into their office project instead.) The buildings apparently have heritage designation from the city.