Toronto St Lawrence Market North | 25.3m | 5s | City of Toronto | Rogers Stirk Harbour

Actually it DOES as it is VERY complicated and usually not allowed to have multiple contractors on same site.
not quite convinced on that.

if this is truly a building of significant civic intent (which it should be, but city of toronto has not treated it that way given its track record) you allow the by-laws and temporary closures of right-of-ways to make the construction staging and sequencing between two different sites work. you manage the schedules of the projects to allow them to happen concurrently (not hard since this project has been under construction for like 10 years? and some plaza hardscaping should take no more than 10 months). ive worked on projects that share construction sequencing strategies with a neighboring site, its not impossible. heck, just look at the the towers currently going up at the foot of Parliament St that are literally a few feet from each other.

why does it seem like our collective standards are just too low? strive for better
 
not quite convinced on that.

if this is truly a building of significant civic intent (which it should be, but city of toronto has not treated it that way given its track record) you allow the by-laws and temporary closures of right-of-ways to make the construction staging and sequencing between two different sites work. you manage the schedules of the projects to allow them to happen concurrently (not hard since this project has been under construction for like 10 years? and some plaza hardscaping should take no more than 10 months). ive worked on projects that share construction sequencing strategies with a neighboring site, its not impossible. heck, just look at the the towers currently going up at the foot of Parliament St that are literally a few feet from each other.

why does it seem like our collective standards are just too low? strive for better
I 100% agree that this whole project has been mismanaged by the City from Day 1 and there is lots about that and for some of the legitimate reasons why it took so long (an obligatory archaeological assessment) higher up this thread. Of course this assessment should have been expected in very historic part of the City so there was NO excuse for the huge pause that this caused! Avoiding having multiple contractors doing different projects with different 'managers' working on adjacent projects simultaneously is generally avoided for reasons of liability and supervision. In this case, the Market guys were actually using part of the Park for staging and/or working above it.("It wasn't my guys who left the gates open, it was yours" and all that.) If the Market had finished in spring 2024 the PFR project on the Park would have started in summer 2024 and be drawing to a close now.
 
Honestly, if they would pave the ground with something nice, rejuvenate the trees in some way and get a working fountain in there (plus a bunch of benches) it would be a massive improvement. And good lighting at night.

They don't need to do much here, it just needs to be a basic square/lane where people can sit and eat lunch or an ice cream from the market.
Don’t forget tables. Accidentally spilling food or drinks while standing in the open or sitting on a bench isn’t fun after all.
 
No photo but I heard today that what looks like a small stage at the north end of the North Market is actually a box with a plexiglass lid that contains a section of the much discussed "Porcupine Drain'. The City's tribute to 'history".
From west side - Market Lane
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Walking past the Market yesterday we noticed that the terrazzo flooring has been washed and polished and that there are 'dotted lines' inset (?) into it. They are in many locations and I guess might be the outlines of earlier walls??? Ideas? A couple highlighted below but there are more, in and off photo.

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Just thinking about these after seeing more recent pictures. Are these historical in nature? Like the positioning of a former structure on the site (pre Great Fire of 1849)?
 
No photo but I heard today that what looks like a small stage at the north end of the North Market is actually a box with a plexiglass lid that contains a section of the much discussed "Porcupine Drain'. The City's tribute to 'history".
I can only imagine how intensely underwhelming it will be to see the drain that cause the epic delay because it was so historically important.
 
I can only imagine how intensely underwhelming it will be to see the drain that cause the epic delay because it was so historically important.
In fairness, the delay was caused by the requirement to carry out a full archaeological investigation as they found 'stuff' when they started to excavate. What is so scandalous is that anyone was surprised that 'stuff' was found - this is a site that has been occupied by buildings and markets since the 1700s. It would have been very strange if they had NOT found evidence of that. Because they were not prepared, the City had to look under the couch cushions for $$ to do this work, had to hire consultants and then assess the results. The porcupine drain was really the only 'displayable' item they found.
 
The red elevators really stand out at night on the Jarvis side. It’s a real shame they didn’t paint the ventilation pipes red as was originally designed and approved. It would have added a nice splash of colour to the Market street side.

View attachment 614204

would have been awesome if they had left them exposed, seeing them move up an down really add extra dynamism
 

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