Toronto Corus Quay | ?m | 8s | Waterfront Toronto | Diamond Schmitt

July 20th Updateq

The east, north and west sides, respectively

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.

 
Does that Eastern Construction sign at the foot of the Jarvis slip indicate that work might be starting soon on Sugar Beach? I was walking by on the weekend and noticed that they seem to have cleared most of the detritus that was lining the quay away...hopfully site prep so they can begin contstruction.
 
OldManKensey said:
Does that Eastern Construction sign at the foot of the Jarvis slip indicate that work might be starting soon on Sugar Beach? I was walking by on the weekend and noticed that they seem to have cleared most of the detritus that was lining the quay away...hopfully site prep so they can begin contstruction.
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Waterfront Toronto said that construction on both Sugar Beach and Sherbourne Park was starting in July so I think the answer is 'yes'.
 
Dude, take a pill.

simuls said:
This building is so wrong for the waterfront I can't even begin to vent my anger. It hurts. It actually, physically hurts.
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It sounds like you need a laxative more than an Aspirin, though. The building is just fine and the boardwalk, Sugar Beach, Sherbourne Park, the bikepath, etc., etc., friggin' etc. are the parts of the waterfront that matter, and all of that gets partially paid for by putting Corus there.

QQT used to be a wasteland at the Harbourfront, and Waterfront Toronto has learned from that mistake with the boardwalk and finger piers, and it's now a great place to go for a pint or a meal and people watch. Assuming WT carries the boardwalk/waterfront plans through (and there is no reason to believe they won't), Corus will be the same -- a resto/bar that spills out toward a lively boardwalk. It's not like they're planting an office building at the entrance to Sydney Harbour fer chrissakes -- they're rehabilitating a friggin' parking lot.
 
When it opened in the mid-'80s QQT had twice the retail it has now, but the entire second floor of shopping closed ages ago despite the increasing popularity of Harbourfront. The concept of waterfront-as-mall, with happy consumers waddling from one retail experience to the next - located in the lobbies of office and apartment buildings along the Quay - may not be as appealing as some hoped.
 
I was really pretty worked up about this building when the plans were released. It bothered me for so many reasons: its banality, its break with the spirit of the ballyhooed waterfront plans, the lost opportunity it represented.

But I rode down to check out the works last week, and you know what? It's not a bad-looking building. It kind of looms over the wasteland around it; Sherbourne park at the moment is so many piles of dirt. Let's see what happens next.
 
Most people live on a lonely island,
Lost in the middle of a foggy sea.
Most people long for another island,
One where they know they will like to be.

Ballyhoo may call you,
Any night, any day,
In your heart, you'll hear it call you:
"Come away...Come away."

Ballyhoo will whisper
In the wind of the sea:
"Here am I, your special island!
Come to me, come to me!"

Your own special hopes,
Your own special dreams,
Bloom on the hillside
And shine in the streams.
If you try, you'll find me
Where the sky meets the sea.
"Here am I your special island
Come to me, Come to me."

Ballyhoo,
Ballyhoo,
Ballyhoo!
Someday you'll see me floatin' in the sunshine,
My head stickin' out from a low fluin' cloud,
You'll hear me call you,
Singin' through the sunshine,
Sweet and clear as can be:
"Come to me, here am I, come to me."
If you try, you'll find me
Where the sky meets the sea.
"Here am I your special island
Come to me, Come to me."

Ballyhoo,
Ballyhoo,
Ballyhoo!

- apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific
 
I don't really understand the site plan. Why is the building so far back from the street? What is going to be between QQ E and the building?
 
simuls said:
This building is so wrong for the waterfront I can't even begin to vent my anger. It hurts. It actually, physically hurts.
Click to expand...

I feel your pain. I also wished for better (with the design review) and feel like we just got a big kick to the head. It hurts! Sorry but "It's just fine" doesn't cut it with me. A night in the sack with Lilly Allen might be "just fine" but who would take that over a Jessica Alba? Yes, we know, "not every building needs to be iconic" but how about just one? Is one iconic building on our waterfront just too much, for our painfully ordinary city? Maybe I'm just a little too big for my britches and need to go where people actually expect quality. (London, Paris, NYC) Some of you guys are so happy to live with second rate, and that's your right but some people aspire to more.
 
CSW2424 said:
I don't really understand the site plan. Why is the building so far back from the street? What is going to be between QQ E and the building?
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I beleive that there is actually another lot availalbe for development between Corus Quay and Queens Quay East.

Hopefully George Brown does something bold next door (in the same vein as their fantastic new hotel/hospitality builidng) that will tie the Jarvis - Sherbourne stretch together. With two parks, this could really end up being quite the space in 1o years' time, even without an iconic building.
 
Ballyhoo may call you,
Any night, any day,
In your heart, you'll hear it call you:
"Come away...Come away."

( Insert image of latest art museum in Boston, or Chicago, here )
 
Torontovibe said:
I feel your pain. I also wished for better (with the design review) and feel like we just got a big kick to the head. It hurts! Sorry but "It's just fine" doesn't cut it with me. A night in the sack with Lilly Allen might be "just fine" but who would take that over a Jessica Alba? Yes, we know, "not every building needs to be iconic" but how about just one? Is one iconic building on our waterfront just too much, for our painfully ordinary city? Maybe I'm just a little too big for my britches and need to go where people actually expect quality. (London, Paris, NYC) Some of you guys are so happy to live with second rate, and that's your right but some people aspire to more.
Click to expand...

But if a night with Lilly Allen were to increase your chances of a night with Jessica Alba, would you take it then?

The area where Corus is being built is a huge wasteland. Attracting business to the area in its current state is difficult because people can't see the potential in the area as it is. Corus may be just an 'ok' building, but what it will do for the area is by far its biggest achievement. It will prove that the area can be a great place for business. Once all is said and done, other businesses will see that the risk Corus has taken will have paid off, and people will be lining up to be part of development on the waterfront. Im sure the people following Corus will want something that stands out, and from there we should be getting much better buildings.

If you are a nobody, you have no chance to spend a night with Jessica Alba... but once you spend a night with Lilly Allen, you are suddenly in the spotlight. Your chances with Jessica have just increased! The land where Corus sits would never have been able to attract a Jessica. Instead, it attracted a Lilly with help from the city (in terms of concessions). Jessica will soon follow, as will Angelina Jolie... God I cant wait for Angelina!
 
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