Toronto Ïce Condominiums at York Centre | 234.07m | 67s | Lanterra | a—A

just to recap the proposed heights:

office - 31 storeys - 156.9 m (514.7 ft)

Res 1 - 55 storeys - 185.8 m (609.58 ft)

Res 2 - 65 storeys - 216.8 m (711.28609 ft)

Whew! :eek:
 
Whoa - Fantastic!
This is a strong, but elegant proposal. Lots to like about this one, not the least of which is the unapologetic height of it. Finally!

Looking at the height of the main towers, I wish that the proposed office building immediately north of this, as well as Telus, both had height increases. If we're pushing the city right up to the lake, let's really make it a city and not just timid infill.

Another plus - the complex will also hide the ungainly back end of the Waterclub condos.
 
I like it, but I wish the podium was a bit larger. I think in 20 years Bremner, as a street, could be as much a tourist draw as Yonge or Bloor and I wish the planners would take this into consideration by mandating street level design that would be amenable to touristy draws (destination restaurants and shopping, galleries, etc).
 
I agree. Everyone is getting hard nipples about the height (can I say 'hard nipples'?) but the one story podium (along York anyhow) is nothing to get excited about.
 
whatever said:
I like it, but I wish the podium was a bit larger. I think in 20 years Bremner, as a street, could be as much a tourist draw as Yonge or Bloor and I wish the planners would take this into consideration by mandating street level design that would be amenable to touristy draws (destination restaurants and shopping, galleries, etc).
Click to expand...

I completely agree! Bremner should be a real entertainment street. It should be absolutely lined with restaurants and bars, considering it links SkyDome, the ACC, and the Convention Centre and is right adjacent to the financial district. Unfortunately, the city has had no real requirements for street level retail and all we're getting is narrow condo base retail that's barely big enough for a Subway.
 
It's hard to tell exactly how this will look from Bremner, but we do know that they are proposing retail for the western half of the Bremner face. There is also a peanut shaped retail unit along the York Street frontage at the Bremner corner inside the building's lobby. (Hard to know how much presence it will have from the street.)

The look of the podium is a bit of a mystery too based on these line drawings, but we know there will be a canopy at 12 metres at the Bremner side which angles gradually down to 7 metres at the south side of the complex. That continuous diagonal could be rather eye-catching.

Next - the rather wildly designed ground floor Site Plan gives a little more indication of the irregular rounded shapes of the residential towers: this section could be fascinating. The office tower itself seems to de rather nondescript.

Finally - who knows if the approvals will be quick here or not? Planning has some serious concerns in regards to the development's inconsistencies with the stated objectives of the local area plan, so the ride for this development may not be as smooth as some are predicting. Whatever happens, this is going to be interesting...

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I remember hearing about this back in late Oct./early Nov. From what I heard they were having discussions about putting up a 65-storey office tower, and local groups such as the Queens Quay BIA were against it.

I do think that the most important thing is to have street-level retail/restaurants along Bremner. There is so much potential along this stretch to make it a destination unto itself. It could be "Entertainment District South" (or at least a more clever name). Throw up a stage at Roundhouse Park for mini-concerts or rallies as well.

But more restaurants are a must. I go to a lot of Jays games each year and the area is seriously lacking places to eat. St. Louis' is good, but it's small and often packed during game days. I wonder when the retail at the base of Infinity will actually have tenants. I don't even recall seeing any "availble to lease" signs.
 
I love the relationship between the two residential towers. I love the relationship between the two residential towers and the office tower - which cleverly echoes the proportions of the TD Centre towers to the north. And I adore the big, angled cup holder tray that they all appear to rise out of. Serve it up!
 
Height may not be the issue, but more or less street presence and as mentioned the ratio of office to residential. If they increased the height of the office tower and were able to make the taller tower a residential office split, maybe the city would allow it.
 
I don't see why the city shouldn't approve this without any significant changes? MLSE' buildings are approaching these heights and they had no trouble getting approved, so I think this should have no major issues.

That said, I don't like the idea of 1 story podium either, and I hope that either the city or aA notices that this is not going to work. Otherwise, this looks like it could be quite a nice looking project- I like the prospect of having some actual cylindrical towers in/close to/ around the core.

p5
 
Just think of the condo's lovely views north...directly into somebody's office. Or if you are a bored office worker you can kill time staring into the apartments across the way, hoping to see something a little interesting.

Because so many condo units appear to have northern views of (nothing more than) an office building (because of its slab shape), and so many offices have close intimate views of so many apartments, the development certainly is odd in certain ways.
 
Mmm...urban porn...

The condos remind me, potentially, of the Eaton Centre towers, but with balconies. Makes me wonder what the tallest building in the world is with wrap-around balconies.

I agree that a 1-storey base could be disastrous.

Why couldn't something like this have been proposed for the Infinity site, too? It's infinitely inappropriate in comparison.
 
so across the street is maple leaf square... with telus tower just across the street from that? is'nt there a office tower proposal on the west corner of york and bremner?
 
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