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Bush honeysuckle (diervilla) is a great native alternative to spirea; real underrated shrub that deserves to be used more often. No landscaping plan is complete without some Karl Foerester reed grass either lol

I was and still am hesitant about the mint green, but I complain about a lack of colour so here we are.

Yea, ok I'm starting to like this. I have been reserving judgement until it really started to take shape. They've used the mullions in a way that looks intentional and adds visual depth to the facade, giving it an almost structural look. It's in stark contrast to the often cheap, plasticky and...

Yes, I do love me some neon. It would be really Instagrammable too, and I mean, isn't that what's most important these days? lol

I think what's worse is now it's just a basic mechanical penthouse plopped on top, whereas it was previously incorporated into the architecture of the building. The watering down begins. I'm still holding out hope this turns out well though.

Smaller retail units should be a focus in this part of the city. While it's no love lost for an anti-urban strip mall, Lawrence supports an especially vibrant collection of restaurants and my worry is that will be lost as these plazas are redeveloped. Although I've never tried Coffee In, for me...

As long as it's not EIFS lol. If there's one thing I dislike more as a facade material than window wall (spandrel and mullion heavy specifically), it's EIFS. Unfortunately the state of architecture these days has come down to us hoping that "at least it's not as bad as ____". I do like Picasso...

Actually yes, you're right I did mean that since I put "by the time OL opens". Sometimes I forget what I've said even just a day later lol

Well, seeing as we were just talking about it, here are a couple of snaps of the old rail ROW and Meadow Way, including the eroding bank. Not much seems to have been done with it but as mentioned, one day it will put the transmission tower footings at risk. Still a ways to go though...

I was including Sheppard there, for some reason I thought it was older than 2002... But yea, that's kind of what I was touching on. It's almost too late now, we've fallen so far behind on building transit that we might never see an urban, non car-dependent GTA outside of select parts of Toronto...

Is it so bad for people to want higher quality or more imaginative architecture? It's just one dreary, grey window wall rectangle after another around here. This tower is meh at best. I guess that's good enough?

It absolutely should, in fact the entire GTA should be crisscrossed by subways and higher order transit by now. We'll have added what, 1 new subway line in 30 years by the time the OL is done? Two if you count Eglinton, if it ever opens... As a result much of the GTA might have tall towers but...

Personally I'd rather not see many excessively lit buildings, if anything we should be striving to reduce light pollution. Save it for a handful of important buildings; i.e. prominent historic buildings, CN Tower. We've got this one now with its goofy Hong Kong-esque lights, one or two are fine...

Interesting, all this time I had no idea I was walking on an old rail line. I work around here so I often go for a stroll along the creek channel and up to the hydro corridor; it's a brief respite from the concrete wasteland that is the Golden Mile. I have to say the meadow restoration work...

I sure wish the TTC preserved/still used those pavers between the tracks. I believe they were actual stone setts (likely granite?) in many cases too, not just plain old brick. Every so often old buried stretches are unearthed during roadworks offering a neat glimpse into the past.

The granite is a nice material but like everything modern in this dreary city, it's grey and barely stands out from the surrounding concrete. It's probably a big waste to trash all that stone but using a warmer colour would be an instant improvement; add some seating and you're getting close...

No doubt the cast iron and general intricacy of the structure comes into play, but based on some cursory research into lead paint removal costs I was coming to a similar conclusion and falling far short of $1M. Either way, if it's done right and the money is justified I have no issues, I'm just...

Alright so the City is broke and the refrain is often more taxes, but I've always said I'd like to see govt's spend their (our) money more effectively before raising taxes. Is $1M reasonable for lead paint removal? I'm open to being wrong but that figure seems astronomical, which is not uncommon...

Huh, I'd never come across this project thread before. I am actually shocked at the quality of masonry used here, like actual sandstone. When was the last time something was built in Toronto with real sandstone??

Gorgeous photos as always!