Toronto Richmond Adelaide Centre: EY Tower | 188.05m | 40s | Oxford Properties | Kohn Pedersen Fox

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It is good this tower has been delayed so long, as the newly redesigned structure is far superior, even if only the shorter version of it is built.
 
I would say that the older tower was more interesting, then again, maybe it's only since I saw it first and saw more of it; confirmation bias at work. However, I would like to see some more renderings of this project before making any judgements, but this new design does look promising.
 
Application: Sign Permit Status: Not Started

Location: 100 ADELAIDE ST W
TORONTO ON M5H 1S3

Ward 28: Toronto Centre-Rosedale

Application#: 12 261669 SGN 00 SP Accepted Date: Oct 12, 2012

Project: First Party New

Description: To erect and display one non-illuminated wall sign (for the purpose of advertisig and promoting a new development to be located on the premises), 10.16 metres wide by 15.65 metres long, at the westerly-facing building wall, between the first and sixth storeys. **Oxford Properties** **Evolve for Tomorrow**
 
Looks like they're going for the taller version of the tower:

Application: Zoning Review Status: Not Started

Location: 100 ADELAIDE ST W
TORONTO ON M5H 1S3

Ward 28: Toronto Centre-Rosedale

Application#: 12 283390 ZPR 00 ZR Accepted Date: Nov 22, 2012

Project: Non-Residential Building New Building

Description: Proposal to construct new office building, 42 storey with 5 levels of parking.
 
Yay! Is the 42 story version the second one they proposed that is around the same height as the Bay Adelaide Centre? or is it the one just under 200m?
 
Anyone remember this dude?

http://www.moneyville.ca/article/1062109--toronto-s-core-losing-jobs-to-condos

When Iain Dobson sees another condo or condo-hotel springing up on prime downtown land just steps from the subway, he becomes more convinced than ever that Toronto is risking its own future by trading off jobs for people.

Toronto is reaching a tipping point — a shortage of development-ready land for new office towers at the same time thousands of new financial services jobs are projected for downtown and more companies are looking to return to the city core from the suburbs, says Dobson.

The former commercial brokerage executive and co-author of a report for the Canadian Urban Institute warns that Toronto has allowed construction of so many condo towers on what were meant to be office building sites, there is only enough development-ready land for about 4 million square feet of new office space left in the downtown...
Click to expand...

I believe it's the condo boom that has spurred the boom of new office buildings as businesses want to locate in locations convenient for their employees and clients to access. Office developers are using land more efficiently (taller buildings) due to the limited space available. It's a great thing this Iain Dobson wasn't King of Toronto since he probably would have halted all new condo developments as he waited, for a very long time, for offices buildings to rise.

“The 416 region has become the bedroom community for the 905 regions,†says Dobson.
Click to expand...

Ha!

A little off topic, but Scarborough Center is a wasteland. Planners back in the day masterplanned an auto-oriented community and reserved significant amounts of land for office use. That didn't work out to well. Hopefully Scarborough's "master planned downtown" will be a lesson learnt to guard against the next Iain Dobson that advocates keeping land vacant near subway stations so office buildings will magically appear.
 
innsertnamehere said:
Yay! Is the 42 story version the second one they proposed that is around the same height as the Bay Adelaide Centre? or is it the one just under 200m?
Click to expand...

Check out the front page story published this time last year with renders of both proposals: http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2011/12/oxford-properties-100-adelaide-w-be-28-or-44-storeys

Last year that they were talking about either 28 or 44 storey versions. Seems like they've taken two floors off the current proposal, but nevertheless it will be the taller and more impressive version of the two.
 
fedplanner said:
I believe it's the condo boom that has spurred the boom of new office buildings as businesses want to locate in locations convenient for their employees and clients to access. Office developers are using land more efficiently (taller buildings) due to the limited space available. It's a great thing this Iain Dobson wasn't King of Toronto since he probably would have halted all new condo developments as he waited, for a very long time, for offices buildings to rise.

A little off topic, but Scarborough Center is a wasteland. Planners back in the day masterplanned an auto-oriented community and reserved significant amounts of land for office use. That didn't work out to well. Hopefully Scarborough's "master planned downtown" will be a lesson learnt to guard against the next Iain Dobson that advocates keeping land vacant near subway stations so office buildings will magically appear.
Click to expand...

The large amount of condo construction is only making up for the severe imbalance of office space created in the 1950s-1960s in downtown cores across North America when compared with residential space. The idea was that if planned properly, people would live in what were perceived to be superior suburban areas and drive to jobs in downtown cores, and life would be better. It was a flawed ideal. The condo boom is just restoring downtown's balance, and it would take a sustained boom over several decades to create an imbalance on the other side of the scale of residential space. Surely, all the people in downtown condos won't work downtown, but there's nothing much that can be done about that when employment opportunities exist across this metropolitan region. The only thing we can do is guard against creating a large imbalance of residential space relative to employment space.

I have to defend Scarborough City Centre though, because it has some great parts around Albert Campbell Square where it's walkable, dense, and mixed-use. It was planned that way. It has a good sense of place, not a wasteland. If you walk further north, then you get some wasteland, but the parking lots and strips malls will probably be redeveloped. It could be a substantial urban neighbourhood in future with proper development, like Mississauga City Centre which isn't much different from Scarborough City Centre at the moment. Corporate Drive is shaping up nicely, with this attractive main street streetscape with commercial space in the podiums of condos.
 
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Call me crazy, but I wish they scrapped the Oxford Twin-Towers proposal and had Norman Foster design something on this site (also taller). Kinda like how Hearst Tower implemented an old facade for its base, I coulda seen some crazy cool design here rather than the semi re-hashed new world trade center proposal Foster designed back in the day planted in Toronto.
There's nothing wrong with the current design of 100 Adelaide, but I just wish that dark hearst tower glass was used here with the silver steel beams exposed,

But ya, excited to see something go up here.
 
It wouldn't be very iconic since the city is obsessed with shadowing over NPS. Besides, I really like both designs we've seen thus far. I'd be happy with either one.
 
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