Toronto Forma | 308m | 84s | Great Gulf | Gehry Partners

MetroMan said:
...The first phase will be the East tower that will house OCAD with condos above. The West tower will be sold and built next. The gallery is independent of both.
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I remember quite clearly at the last community meeting that the representative speaking of behalf of Gehry's architecture firm confirmed the opposite - that the west tower would be developed first due to that site's particular role in relation to the whole project (e.g. entrance to the main parking garage), and the east tower would be essentially phase II. More was said about why the Anderson Building portion had to be worked on first, but I don't recall the specifics.
 
Thanks for the update SLOCRO. My info was old.

Either way, the museum is being treated as a separate project though part of a master plan. The preliminary box placeholder we've seen is not likely anywhere near what will happen. I'm sure both Gehry and Mirvish will want the museum to be something special. For Mirvish, it'll house his collection. For Gehry, it's an opportunity to do something really cool in Toronto. Gehry is most well known for his low rise buildings, not skyscrapers.

I also imagine that there's a possibility to update the Princess of Whales Theatre like he did with the AGO. Mirvish agreed to keep the theatre but unless the building's facade and interior are being designated heritage, there's nothing preventing Gehry from gutting the place and making it his.
 
MetroMan said:
From what I've seen, the gallery and the condos are separate projects. Even more so now that the Princess of Whales theatre and warehouses are staying put. The first phase will be the East tower that will house OCAD with condos above. The West tower will be sold and built next. The gallery is independent of both.
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SLOCRO is correct; it's the other way 'round now, the West Tower is going up first.
So since the museum will be treated as a project on its own, there's reason to believe that it could be subjected to fundraising. If that does well, who's to say that it won't increase in size to the original 60,000 sq/ft? Gehry has done some creative conversion projects. It's completely plausible that we could get something like this:

Blow the top off the warehouse, restore its brick, build a beautiful skylight with a centre courtyard and galleries hosted on rooms in the perimeter.
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Sorry, that's completely implausible because the Eclipse White Wear Building where the gallery is going is narrower than that Berlin atrium you've referenced, let alone having any rooms around the perimeter.

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Source: Google Street View

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cd concept said:
Since there's a debate whether to tear down the wearhouse part of the new development. Maybe they should refurbish the facades keeping the outside looking historical. Then gut the insides creating an atrium on the inside that's four to five storeys high equivalent to the buildings. Make the original modern entertainment idea of the cloth like podium on the inside of the atrium for people to enjoy. Keeping the windows clear on the outside of the buildings so you can view what's inside of the wearhouse atrium. You got the best of both worlds ! P.S. The Alexander theater is to stay untouched !
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There is no debate about that, not any longer. It's all settled; the façade of the Anderson building will stay, while the Princess of Wales and the Eclipse White Wear Building both stay intact. The rest comes down.

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MetroMan said:
I also imagine that there's a possibility to update the Princess of Whales Theatre like he did with the AGO. Mirvish agreed to keep the theatre but unless the building's facade and interior are being designated heritage, there's nothing preventing Gehry from gutting the place and making it his.
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The Princess of Wales has been designated now, it was part of the agreement worked out with the City. It's a perfectly fine theatre, no need to spend any more money on it anyway. The Frank Stella work in there has significance.

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Yes, the debate is done and dead. It serves nothing to keep rehashing it here. Now it's time to embrace what will unquestionably be the most significant project of our era in this city. The actors are in place, the plan is in development and we just sit back and wait for the story to unfold. Very exciting!
 
Because of the significance of this project to the city and to my neighbourhood, I'm having a hard time taking it for granted. I'm afraid of a couple of things: a) Gehry isn't a young man. These things take time and at 85 years of age, he doesn't have much of it. b) How long can the market sustain so much growth? Will they make it to sales in time and will it get completed or will we have to wait another 5 years if the bubble pops?
 
Tewder said:
Yes, the debate is done and dead. It serves nothing to keep rehashing it here. Now it's time to embrace what will unquestionably be the most significant project of our era in this city. The actors are in place, the plan is in development and we just sit back and wait for the story to unfold. Very exciting!
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Saddens me that a condominium with an attached cultural amenity would be considered the most significant project of our era. It isn't the only project headlined by renowned international players either. I think you are grossly overstating the team being in place. True there are enough actors in place but, they are still missing the key piece for the show to proceed; a seasoned developers with access to large equity streams.

Maybe I've become jaded by those I hang around. None of them take this proposal seriously.
 
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Sounds like this thing is still a couple years away from sales. Which means it probably won't start construction until 2019 at the earliest. I personally hope they get a reputable builder on board , otherwise even with the best dreams and intentions they simply might not even get built.
 
maestro said:
Saddens me that a condominium with an attached cultural amenity would be considered the most significant project of our era. It isn't the only project headlined by renowned international players either. I think you are grossly overstating the team being in place. True there are enough actors in place but, they are still missing the key piece for the show to proceed; a seasoned developers with access to large equity streams.

Maybe I've become jaded by those I hang around. None of them take this proposal seriously.
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Well I didn't really think my post would be so deconstructed, it really wasn't all that serious a statement. If it's hyperbolic, possibly, yours is more than a little reductive. Let's take a look though:

- The shear scale. This isn't just a 'condominium with an attached cultural amenity'. This spans more than an entire city block of urban fabric in the downtown entertainment district and includes multiple buildings on site.

- The scope. The overall project is conceived as more than just a 'condominium with an attached cultural amenity', clearly. In addition to the condos and retail it retains two live theatres - that are listed heritage buildings - and adds an art museum and an educational facility. The city would be lucky to have any one of these additions, never mind all. This is an embarrassment of riches!

- The addition to the public realm. Not only does it add new buildings and density it retains some notable heritage structures and preserves pre-existing urban fabric, while adding a new pubic space conceived for John Street. This is a city-building scheme!

- The wow factor. This is Gehry and Mirvish teaming together. Enough said.


So please tell us what makes you 'sad' about any of this, or why you find it ordinary. I'm taking it at face value, by the way. I confess I do not have the expertise or industry knowledge to assess whether it is or isn't likely to proceed as it's being presented.
 
I need to be updated on what's going on in this project. Is one of the towers going through sales and going to be built ? If so which one .
 
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