Toronto Five St Joseph | 160.93m | 48s | Five St. Joseph | Hariri Pontarini

I love the glass entrance in the photos above. What an excellent project this is. We need much more of this kind of development/restoration in the city.
 
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I know that FIVE doesn't loom to large in either of these, but you can be a long way down Yonge, and those balconies still stand out amidst the visual cacophony (amped up this weekend by Buskerfest)!

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What I don't understand about the Yonge St storefronts are those recessed alcoves. They don't lead to doorways or serve any other purpose that I can see. If they leave them as is they're going to become impromptu homeless shelters during the winter months.
 
whatever said:
What I don't understand about the Yonge St storefronts are those recessed alcoves. They don't lead to doorways or serve any other purpose that I can see. If they leave them as is they're going to become impromptu homeless shelters during the winter months.
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Actually they will be shelters during the summer too. I see it happening every morning on my way to work walking down Yonge St. I wondered why they did that too. Perhaps it is for future proofing if they were to convert those spaces from one large one to several smaller ones. Each divided space would need the recessed alcove for its own entranceway.
 
whatever said:
What I don't understand about the Yonge St storefronts are those recessed alcoves. They don't lead to doorways or serve any other purpose that I can see. If they leave them as is they're going to become impromptu homeless shelters during the winter months.
Click to expand...

That's a social-services issue. Should we get rid of public parks because they provide a place for homeless individuals to sleep and live?

Inset storefronts are a great benefit to the variation and texture of an urban streetscape. It's a shame more projects from the 2000s boom don't make use of them.
 
whatever said:
What I don't understand about the Yonge St storefronts are those recessed alcoves. They don't lead to doorways or serve any other purpose that I can see. If they leave them as is they're going to become impromptu homeless shelters during the winter months.
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They were mandated by Heritage Preservation Services.
 
modernizt said:
That's a social-services issue. Should we get rid of public parks because they provide a place for homeless individuals to sleep and live?

Inset storefronts are a great benefit to the variation and texture of an urban streetscape. It's a shame more projects from the 2000s boom don't make use of them.
Click to expand...

Actually, no, this is an urban design issue. Inset storefronts are going to attract the homeless, or worse it's an easy spot for a mugger to wait. Anecdotally, I've been jumped exactly once after spending my entire life in this city, and it happened on Queen East when two guys popped out of exactly that kind of alcove.

I'm not at all suggesting that the city change its design guidelines to reflect my personal experience, but urban design should take into account the realities of the spaces we create and how they're going to be used. How, exactly, are these spaces going to be used, if not as shelters? If they have to be there as a nod to the heritage features I'd like to see full-height ornamental gates installed to block them off, perhaps in a black wrought iron?
 
I agree with you. It's a design issue. Saying it's a social services issue or asking if we should get rid of parks (too!) is a straw man argument. You aren't being politically incorrect here; at least I haven't taken it that way to offend anyone who needs a shelter or place to sleep at night. We feel for those people. But this is a safety issue. Period.

p.s. Sorry for your experience. My friend just got jumped last week on Yonge St after 4 years living here in peace. So I understand where you are coming from.
 
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