Toronto Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Toronto | 203.9m | 52s | Lifetime | a—A

They are redeveloping the retail facing Bloor St., but it would be exceptionally difficult to tear the building down considering the top 15 or so floors are condos. I don't think I've ever heard of an example of someone buying out every single unit in a condominium to make way for a new development.
 
You're kidding me! That building on Bloor? I love that building!

The bottom 6-10 floors are all office space btw.
 
Or *was*. Though they either are or were going to convert even that into condo space IIRC...

No they still are all office space - it's all for lease now from what I recall though, not sure who the previous tenants were.
 
There are a number of issues with the design of Renaissance Plaza. The biggest one is probably the generic grey cladding. Brutalism meant a lot of attention was paid to the concrete surface's texture and patterns but this building's concrete panels are uninspiring. It's a building that seemed to aspire to leave Brutalism behind and is almost Postmodern in design with those setbacks towers the top and concrete piers in the midrise section which rise beyond the first roof line almost like many an Art Deco tower. Unfortunately, that cladding is very dull.
 
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Methinks the Ren Plaza facade treatment--concrete, bay windows, etc--was paradoxically meant to "relate" to the Four Seasons behind it (they were both by WZMH, after all)
 
Many inner-city churches had huge losses in attendance during the 70's and 80's with the move of the middle-class to the suburbs. There are many cases of churches resorting to extreme measures to stay alive, some churches just resorted to selling their properties to developers. Which is why you will find condos in beautiful old buildings that were once churches. Im sure the Anglican church at Bloor and Ave is still there and operating only because they sold their air-rights to the Renaissance developer.

The Toronto Star just did a great piece on the same subject.
 
I'd love to see a re-clad of the Renaissance building. It meets the street so awkwardly and it makes the entire area seem uninviting and uncomfortable.
 
10 September 2010:

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VERY interesting angle you got there current! ^^^ Not only because four seasons will be the complete center of that view, and it will be taller than any building in that view, its because of the different architecture found along bloor. Four Seasons is an all glass blue tower, while the buildings along bloor retain a beige/classic look to them....

I'm sure Uptown would fit in to this shot! (where the new four seasons will be!) :D
 

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