Toronto Aura at College Park | 271.87m | 78s | Canderel | Graziani + Corazza

Short of doing a complete interior demo and bringing in a large anchor tenant for the retail down there, there is nothing that will save Aura's concourse level retail or draw in better retailers. The entire thing was poorly conceived (sort of like the whole Aura tower).
 
Great shot/ view toronto geek. I cannot wait for them to be on. Tacky or not they look so good, and add 'lipstick' to this lipstick shaped 'pig'. I hate that expression but the tower really does look like lipstick.

pucker up
When those lights are on I fall in love


the mall really is terrible but I recommend the cell phone repair shop there
 
Wonderful. Just what nobody needs. Oddly enough, the cell phone repair shop tried to rip me off to fix my cell for $135, where I found a different place to fix it for $55.

Nonetheless, if I'm not mistaken, I thought it was somewhere from unit 66 to 64 that said there will be a potential PATH extension of some sort, connecting to future development (385 Yonge).
 
They might as well just convert all that retail into a giant gym, or a massive underground storage for residents at this point. Both of those would be far more useful then the current wasteland down there.
 
Amare said:
They might as well just convert all that retail into a giant gym, or a massive underground storage for residents at this point. Both of those would be far more useful then the current wasteland down there.
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Consolidating all those retail condos would be complicated, and the link to College Park is a convoluted disaster. But the developer laughed all the way to the bank, I'm sure.
 
Bayer said:
the link to College Park is a convoluted disaster.
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To the point that I don't really even consider it "officially" linked to the College Park complex. It feels more like some kind of emergency exit you really shouldn't be using.

It's disheartening to realize our largest projects tend to be the most ill-conceived (example: Trump, Aura). With ,ore examples to come unfortunately.
 
freshcutgrass said:
To the point that I don't really even consider it "officially" linked to the College Park complex. It feels more like some kind of emergency exit you really shouldn't be using.

It's disheartening to realize our largest projects tend to be the most ill-conceived (example: Trump, Aura). With ,ore examples to come unfortunately.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, what newer projects are you referring to?
 
Cladding and interior retail aside, it's actually a striking landmark that makes the city more interesting. The fact that "at least it's not a box" is a tired cliche, but this tower's greatest asset is its unique profile--from the muscular setbacks to the cylinder and the distinctive double-curved spire. The profile gives it a confident, powerful and metropolitan look like a landmark American tower. Most Canadian skyscrapers (including landmark skyscrapers) are restrained and conservative.
 
Err nonsense: I've seen better-looking silos in Perth County :D There's nothing to this shape other than pure economic benefits: max the profit/sq ft. An 80 storey CASA-style balcony tower would've been a more sophisticated solution.

But OTOH, Aura's basement is one of my secret fave hangouts: the bathroom is usually clean and empty, the food court is slowly catching on and the shops have this underground Kensington vibe without the pretense.
 
I think it has a great profile too.
The basement reminds me of that weird flea market mall in Mississauga. If we are talking about Kensington market.... I'd have to say that there is no comparison. Kensington is full of personality and has some amazing shops... There is a very different vibe and target audience at the aura basement... Maybe more like a dentist office meets the galleria
 
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