Ryerson: Master Plan

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I know I'm sounding alarmist about this, but I hope you understand my concern.

Oh I do. In fact my main concern is how Ryerson will be able to accomodate the look and feel of the current Yonge Strip with narrow, deep storefronts that's being the norm. That's something large scaled developments are not good at handling.

Beyond that, I wouldn't worry much about the street level going institutional - money talks, and Ryerson can use the money provided by retail opportunities.

AoD

 

[Conrad Black]

Wasn't the whole point of TLS and the development of Yonge/Dundas Square to create an environment that would encourage and hopefully sustain a healthy critical mass of retail that would be able to revitalize a dying retail strip?

Shabby and sleazy yes but hardy dying. That's the charm of this strip. Ryerson moving in will bring in a new modern building which means more chain stores. Don't we have enough of them in the area (TLS/Eaton Centre/Path etc.)? Keep Ryerson off of Yonge Street.

 

[Tewder]

Shabby and sleazy yes but hardy dying. That's the charm of this strip. Ryerson moving in will bring in a new modern building which means more chain stores. Don't we have enough of them in the area (TLS/Eaton Centre/Path etc.)? Keep Ryerson off of Yonge Street.

Conrad: I understand you may not be a fan of the chains but if we're going to have them wouldn't they be better suited to the Yonge/Dundas area than to Queen West, Kensington Market, Front St/St. Lawrence area, the Distillery, or the side streets of Yorkville say? As with Roy Square the clock is ticking for a lot of those little 'charming' places on Yonge as the demand for better and larger retail space rises, but which chains would you turn away? An Apple store? A Simon's department store? A Target or a Crate and Barrel??

 

[urbanvillageboy]

Urbanvillage:

Yonge and Bloor Streets are Toronto's prime retail strips, and Yonge/Dundas is a prime nexus of this. Wasn't the whole point of TLS and the development of Yonge/Dundas Square to create an environment that would encourage and hopefully sustain a healthy critical mass of retail that would be able to revitalize a dying retail strip?

Part of the purpose was to replace a nasty looking retail area that had stores that looked like they were out of the Third World. This is part of the ongoing process of reviving, rehabilitating and re-aesthetizing (not a real word but I like it anyway) an otherwise ugly and rundown street. The area had become an ugly embarrassment when TLS and Dundas Square were built.

Arguing this point with you appears to pointless because you don't seem to recognize that any great street has multiple purposes- now we have Dundas Square with various activities( not all "retail") going on, the billboard circus around it, and soon a streetscape crawling with young university students who will add diversity to the crowds milling around. A successful street ain't all or nothing, sweetheart.

 

[JasonParis]

Urbanvillage: Yonge and Bloor Streets are Toronto's prime retail strips, and Yonge/Dundas is a prime nexus of this.

Bloor & Queen are Toronto's prime retail streets. Yonge gets the leftovers for the most part.

 

[Edward]

^ The Eaton Centre is on Yonge isn't it?

 

[JasonParis]

Fair enough, but I don't really consider the Eaton Centre part of the street-level shopping experience we are talking about on here.

 

[spaced]

Ryerson holds an annual 'Design Exchange'. Its a campus event ad.

The Design Exchange is a museum of design as well. (http://www.dx.org/museum/museum.html). And there has been rumours that they're looking to move out of the financial district (which they should, imo, it get lost in the current location). And seeing that sign there make me think that Yonge could be a good location.
Too bad it's only an affiliation with ryerson. Thanks for the info.

 

[Tewder]

Part of the purpose was to replace a nasty looking retail area that had stores that looked like they were out of the Third World. This is part of the ongoing process of reviving, rehabilitating and re-aesthetizing (not a real word but I like it anyway) an otherwise ugly and rundown street. The area had become an ugly embarrassment when TLS and Dundas Square were built.

My point precisely...we agree.

A successful street ain't all or nothing, sweetheart.

I think I've just been bitch-slapped
Oh well, room for all points of view...peace.

 

[Tewder]

Bloor & Queen are Toronto's prime retail streets. Yonge gets the leftovers for the most part.

It's true that Yonge Street's glory has faded over the years, but isn't that really the whole point of the revitalizaton of Yonge/Dundas?

 

[JasonParis]

For sure, but I'd still say that Queen and Bloor are our main shopping streets (if you take the Eaton Centre out of the equation).

 

[adma]

And up until the last generation or so, you might as well have removed Queen from the equation, too...

 

[JasonParis]

And if you go back another generation, King Street would have been your shopping drag of choice.

 

[Edward Skira]

And up until the last generation or so, you might as well have removed Queen from the equation, too...

Not if were in the market for used appliances

 

[yyzer]

Posted on 02/05/08
Written by Adrian Morrow

(The Eyeopener) - Ryerson could soon acquire some new land and buildings on Dundas Street, thanks to a partnership with the city.
The school has been in talks with the City of Toronto to combine Ryerson’s old business building on Victoria Street with the buildings next door, which are owned by the city.
“It’s too important a property to let it sit for decades,†said President Sheldon Levy. “The city has been a very good partner.â€

Ryerson wants to either renovate or replace the old business building, and the city wants to replace the building next door, which currently houses Toronto Public Health and Hakim Optical.

By combining their properties, the school and city could build a new development with more space for both, Levy said.

City councillor Kyle Rae, who represents the neighbourhood on city council, likes the idea of teaming up with Ryerson.

He speculates that the school’s health programs could benefit from being in the same location as Toronto’s public health offices.

“It would be a great fit. There could be a real synergy there,†he said.

Ryerson has been talking with the city about the potential development for the last three years, Levy revealed, and recently the talks have sped up.

Currently, the two sides are waiting for a developer to come on board.

“We’ve got a good history, that if we’ve got a third party that makes it a good development for Ryerson, that makes it good for the city, we would be able to (move forward).â€

The plan would fit well with Ryerson’s Master Plan, a 20-year blueprint for how the school will grow. In a demonstration image from a draft version of the plan, Ryerson’s architects envisioned two towers, more than 20 storeys tall, replacing the old business building and the city’s property next door.

Susan Sperling, spokeswoman for Toronto Public Health, works in the city’s building on Victoria Street but doesn’t know of the city’s plans.

She said that the department doesn’t often work with Ryerson’s health programs, except when they take on students as interns.

This isn’t the first time that Ryerson has partnered with the city with the help of Kyle Rae.

Last summer, the two put in a joint bid to purchase the old Sears property directly to Ryerson’s east. The partnership was so effective that both were able to assemble their bid rapidly.