Toronto PJ Condos | 156.96m | 48s | Pinnacle | Hariri Pontarini

Here is a summary from last night's planning meeting:

David Pontarini from HP Architects was there to present the details of the development. The entire ground coverage of the site is 1400 square meters. A triangular piece of 500 sq/m on the corner of Adelaide & John will be designated as a public space component.

The podium is will cover the remaining 900 sq/m of the site, and planned as 5 storeys. The podium shows the usage of brick with depictions of black or red. Along the base will be a series of arches similar to HP's Context King West design. Retail spaces will be lining the base of the podium to further animate the streetscape.

The landscaped public space looked impressive and will include water features, trees, plants, and seating. This plaza will also line up diagonally with the Pinnacle phase I public square across the street. The phase one public square will have similar features, and showed potential retail spaces for cafes/restaurants lining the interior. OCAD will be operating a large public screen on the wall of the heritage building (the one that was moved prior to construction) facing the courtyard and will show different works of artistic media. Overall, the two public spaces created by these two developments will have a strong retail and cultural contribution to the city.

The profile of the entire building reminds me of the "L Tower" before its boot got removed. The tower will rise atop the podium, and will take up 640 sq/m portion of the entire floor plate. The renderings shown during the presentation were still preliminary but the tower did look very sleek and streamlined. A good improvement over phase one in terms of design.

Here are some photos I got of the building plans. I apologize for the bad quality as they were taken with my camera phone.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/roxxstarr/7262359116/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/roxxstarr/7262360018/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/roxxstarr/7262360556/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/roxxstarr/7262360816/
 
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I think Vu was more Aspen Ridge's fault than HP's. In any case, the screen to which Travis refers is visible in this render for the first phase (Audrey Hepburn):

splash_page.jpg
 
I love how they make those public spaces appear all lively and bright when they'll be the complete opposite. These areas are going to be in shade probably 70% of the time.
 
Jayomatic said:
I love how they make those public spaces appear all lively and bright when they'll be the complete opposite. These areas are going to be in shade probably 70% of the time.
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Would they be though? The only really tall tower immediately south of that space would be Festival Tower. Pinnacle I & II's shadows will be cast north of that space.
 
The first phase of Pinnacle was supposed to have an angled corner as well before it got dumbed down - why should we believe the same Cheapening won't happen with this one?
 
Towered said:
The first phase of Pinnacle was supposed to have an angled corner as well before it got dumbed down - why should we believe the same Cheapening won't happen with this one?
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The question should be why does the city allow developers to do it? Once a design is presented to the city and approved, developers should not be able to change it. If they want a change, they should have to go through the approval process, all over again. It's ridiculous what developers are allowed to get away with.
 
Torontovibe said:
The question should be why does the city allow developers to do it? Once a design is presented to the city and approved, developers should not be able to change it. If they want a change, they should have to go through the approval process, all over again. It's ridiculous what developers are allowed to get away with.
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Developers don't have to specify the details in their plans like like cladding systems or anything of that nature to the city. So it's virtually impossible to keep them from changing their plans on details like those. There's not enough planners and building inspectors these days to stay on top of said changes anyway.
 
City Planning has never gotten beyond a Preliminary Report, and it's not at the OMB, so it would appear that Pinnacle is not pushing it.

It's no secret that other developers are (mostly*) having a hard time moving suites in this area, with Menkes having to rebrand and relaunch 87 Peter, Great Gulf having pulled Tux for the time being, and the rumoured sale of King Blue to a Chinese developer. There's a ton on offer in the area, so until the market for the existing product shows an uptick, it probably doesn't make sense for Pinnacle to invest a lot here.

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*The only condo in the area to do quite well of late has been Smart House, and that might not even be seen as being "in the area" despite it being only a couple blocks away on Queen.
 
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