Personally, I think this would be a great site for a proper planetarium. I know somthing is being planned for the U of T but this site is infinity times better. Just my opinion.
It would be nice if at some point this limited park space could be integrated, via railway decks, with pre-existing parks to the north and south. (Thinking especially of Garrison Common/Fort York) It would be much less costly than Raildeck Park (RIP) and deliver more bang for the buck since the...
Personally, I think that--in an ideal universe--all of the anthropological/world civilization stuff would be exhibited separately in its own museum. A repurposed Old City Hall might be the ideal place, where it could be effectively partnered with the long gestating Toronto/Ontario history museum...
Well, two cultural amenities the city is sorely lacking is a decent modern art gallery and a planetarium. I'm just dreaming here, but the Hearn could easily fit them both!
It's really a shame that the developers didn't try to achieve something like "The Well" with this project. The potential was definitely there: huge local population, direct connection to The Path, proper mix of commercial and residential, and the absence of anything similar in the area. Really...
With the growth and exponential advancement of virtual reality, A.I. content, as well as Egames, I wonder how much longer traditional live sports can rely on gate admissions to keep them viable? Esp. baseball which seems to be one of the least enticing spectacles for our dopamine addicted...
I really hope this one doesn't get VE'd to death; some of the detailing, esp the arches, are very nice and help this project blend into the surroundings, despite its height.
It's too bad that Galen Weston and others of his ilk (someone mentioned Drake downthread) don't mind being public pariahs. In the old days robber barons burnished their public images by donating much of their fortune to publicly beneficial civil projects among other things. These days they seem...
There must be some local billionaires willing to toss a few crumbs at a worthy cultural project that showcases the very city they've been profiteering from these past few difficult years. (Not singling out any particular individual or individuals, of course.)
I always thought that Timothy Eaton Sq was the easiest and most obvious name. And they could've put that famous bronze statue of him (with the toe rubbed out) somewhere just to provide a "there" meeting place and a selfie backdrop.
There's still tons of empty land around York U which is also conveniently close to 3 subway stops. Downsview Park is another option. Of course McGill is a very downtowny University but there just isn't much space to claim anywhere near the core. Unless, say, occupying an entire skyscraper...
I reckon you answered your own question. I would add ease of maintenance to that. To me the West 8 design is kind of a dumbed down iteration of the proposal that everyone liked. At least there's not a whole lot to VE out when it's actually being built. They can even keep some of the picnic...