Toronto Pinnacle One Yonge | 345.5m | 105s | Pinnacle | Hariri Pontarini

For the first time ever, I'm thinking "just build it now, get the shovels in the ground and build it all at once". I know that is impossible, given that the units must sell first.

The development is about the skyscraper designs now. That's ok with me, in this instance.

This design has an up-to-date, with-it vibe, and the heights are appealing for the foot of Yonge. Gang, this would be a superb bit of city-building as is. Love it.
 
Transportfan said:
It looks like Yonge and QQ are getting their curb lanes removed. I think that makes the street look ridiculous.
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Don't read too much into the lane painting on that site plan, that's all just an "artist's impression". None of that has been finalized yet anyway, and some turning arrows in particular do not make any sense.

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AlvinofDiaspar said:
The other question is - what/where will the PATH bridge connect to? There is almost nothing on the other side of Gardiner/Lake Shore.

AoD
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The PATH bridge will go to CIBC Square. CIBC Square is getting a Yonge Street access to its parking garage/loading docks between 18 Yonge and the Rail Corridor. A PATH connection will be built over that, bridging Yonge, continuing a bit east, then turning south under the Gardiner.

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This podium.

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I'm generally happy with the design direction they are going in here. But I do wonder why the public square is being planned for the northwest corner. Who would want to linger in a place with the looming presence of the Gardiner and little else of interest? The square will also lie in the shadow of the tall buildings - at least in the morning/early afternoon.

Why not instead have a public square on the southeast corner? If I understand correctly, there is to be a park across the street, which would seem to me to be a much more inviting location.

The only line of thinking I can follow is that a public square would help to draw people into the site who are coming south on Yonge.
 
Why are you assuming that there will be little of interest? It's quite possible that if the City does launch a design competition for the space, we could end up with something compelling there. Certainly that's the hope of the DRP.

In terms of practicality, the City owns the land the public square is planned for. I don't know how quickly the Lake Shore/Harbour changes can be made to the road network in the area, but it's possible that the S-curve won't be able to be eliminated "immediately" (however long a scope of time that is), dependent to a degree on the length of time it takes to redevelop the LCBO Lands to the east I assume. With that unknown, I imagine that Pinnacle would not be too interested in swapping land with the City.

You are right that the City views the square as a way to draw people into the site from Yonge, and then into the new north-south passageway through the middle of the block, which s important to the success of the development here. That then also puts them closer to the new neighbourhood to the east.

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agoraflaneur said:
I'm generally happy with the design direction they are going in here. But I do wonder why the public square is being planned for the northwest corner. Who would want to linger in a place with the looming presence of the Gardiner and little else of interest? The square will also lie in the shadow of the tall buildings - at least in the morning/early afternoon.

Why not instead have a public square on the southeast corner? If I understand correctly, there is to be a park across the street, which would seem to me to be a much more inviting location.

The only line of thinking I can follow is that a public square would help to draw people into the site who are coming south on Yonge.
Click to expand...

My hope is that the lower Yonge Transportation EA is followed and the Bay & Jarvis ramp overpasses will be removed from Yonge street opening up another 15m or so, giving more room so the public space doesn't feel squished against the Gardiner.
 
Thanks i42, now I understand the logic behind the square placement. If it could put timelines in jeopardy, depending on the elimination of the S-curve is not something I would want to do if I were Pinnacle.

I really hope a design competition will yield something compelling enough to make people want to linger and entice them to explore the site. I look forward to the ideas that come forward.
 
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