vegeta_skyline
Senior Member
Love the cladding on these.
Toronto One Park Place | 96.01m | 28s | Daniels | Hariri Pontarini
- Thread starter AlbertC
- Start date
someMidTowner
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
junctionist
Senior Member
The community looks great with those old Dickinson towers among the new towers. If you save those photos and show them to people in 20 years, interchange, I think they'll wonder why those towers were demolished.
DtTO
Active Member
^ Are you sure you're not arguing for red brick in general? I'm glad they're not keeping the Dickinson towers, simply because of their positioning in relation to the street(s).
It's definitely time for red brick to rise again in this city, and it's quite unfortunate from an architectural heritage point of view that all of these will be lost. I have been told several times now though that the cost to bring any of them up to code is simply beyond the ability of TCHC to shoulder. I have not been in any of them to get a feel for unique layouts, but apparently no one living in any of them has raised a stink about them coming down either: no one is begging to live in a refurbished version of them.
Without a white knight on the horizon, or if you prefer a just-as-likely leprechaun with a pot of gold coming to the rescue (it's not in their character), there's no way that the money is going to be found to save one of the Dickinson towers. If there were some magical fund in hand to bless the citizens of Toronto with civic gumdrops, and if I were hired to administer the doling out of such, I'd be spending it on rail transit improvements first, and there'd not be the money left when it came to trying to save one of these. Maybe someone else would put these on a higher priority… but where is the real cash to come from?
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Without a white knight on the horizon, or if you prefer a just-as-likely leprechaun with a pot of gold coming to the rescue (it's not in their character), there's no way that the money is going to be found to save one of the Dickinson towers. If there were some magical fund in hand to bless the citizens of Toronto with civic gumdrops, and if I were hired to administer the doling out of such, I'd be spending it on rail transit improvements first, and there'd not be the money left when it came to trying to save one of these. Maybe someone else would put these on a higher priority… but where is the real cash to come from?
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UrbanFervour
Active Member
Why couldn't the side streets have been redrawn to align with the existing towers? Must all streets be on a North/South Grid? I agree with the poster above- these towers add texture and history to the neighbourhood.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
It's not just a matter of realigning the streets - there is the matter of cost, positioning of various amenities/community facilities, and that the entire redevelopment scheme is partly funded through the sale of the land. Absent dedicated funds for retrofitting the building, it isn't difficult to see why preservation isn't a priority.
AoD
AoD
junctionist
Senior Member
No, their original Modernist architecture compliments the contemporary buildings perfectly. Amidst all the 90 degree angles of the new district--in the architecture and the new street grid--the angular position of the tower is refreshing to see. One building should be preserved as heritage. There's nothing wrong with them; if former residents didn't like them it's because they weren't maintained well.
janschot
New Member
Catherine Nasmith reports that despite earlier plans to save one of the Dickinson towers, the community wanted it gone due to bad memories within the community: http://www.builtheritagenews.ca/show_news.cfm?id=789&t=1#.U34X9vldX4M
Thanks for posting that janschot! Amongst the various physical failings, I have heard that the dangerous stairs that are mentioned in the story are both too narrow and too steep and do not conform to today's code. While the article states that "its physical failings could be fixed", I've have been told on multiple occasions that the fix would cost quite a bit more than could reasonably be recouped.
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AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
i42:
I've heard that not only would it cost a lot - but it would also wreck the heritage value of the building.
AoD
I've heard that not only would it cost a lot - but it would also wreck the heritage value of the building.
AoD
junctionist
Senior Member
It probably could be renovated in some way that makes economic sense. Without any study or report, we just have hearsay from people who want to demolish it. Never mind that the old residents don't like the building for fixable defects like no elevators to the laundry or vermin. You could always fix it up and find a new generation of residents who would love it. Even if they got rid of the two storey units, the facade would still be significant--there's nothing like it in the city.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
junctionist:
The report by ERA/aA is available on the City of Toronto Planning - Regent Park Phase 3-5 site:
http://www1.toronto.ca/city_of_toro...ty_planning/files/pdf/regentpark_heritage.pdf
AoD
The report by ERA/aA is available on the City of Toronto Planning - Regent Park Phase 3-5 site:
http://www1.toronto.ca/city_of_toro...ty_planning/files/pdf/regentpark_heritage.pdf
AoD
Torontovibe
Senior Member
When I was walking along Dundas Street, in Regent Park, I noticed people in the new park, so I figured it was open early and walked over to take a look. The fences were up with big signs saying danger and no entrance but yet the playground area was full of kids and adults. I figured maybe the playground area was open so I walked around the pool to that area and discovered that it too was fenced off with the no entry signs.
It seems that everyone entered in one area where the fence was moved and since it was full of about 200-400 people, breaking the rules, I figured why not take a look around. I have to say, it looks pretty good and if the crowd there today is any indication, it will be the most crowded park in Toronto. It was quite crazy today, there were kids playing on the construction tractors and jumping in holes. It was actually quite dangerous, with half built structures all around and open pits but none of the dozens of parents seemed to mind.
It's gonna be a madhouse once this place actually opens.
It seems that everyone entered in one area where the fence was moved and since it was full of about 200-400 people, breaking the rules, I figured why not take a look around. I have to say, it looks pretty good and if the crowd there today is any indication, it will be the most crowded park in Toronto. It was quite crazy today, there were kids playing on the construction tractors and jumping in holes. It was actually quite dangerous, with half built structures all around and open pits but none of the dozens of parents seemed to mind.
It's gonna be a madhouse once this place actually opens.
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