Toronto TeaHouse 501 Yonge Condominiums | 170.98m | 52s | Lanterra | a—A

Tomorrow's meeting (Oct. 18) is cancelled & will be rescheduled.
 
If they chop this or the 460 Yonge project too much you know they'll just walk away from the table and hit the OMB to get what they want so I can't see any further "chops" happening here.
 
I hoepe they do chop this one. Just disappointing overall. There is a part of me that just wants to accept the boxes like many on this forum have but thats what I like to call deveopers "lowering our standards" so that they can make cheap shit with high returns.

At the end of the day, its a business, so what makes the quickest and easiest buck? Two twin boxes. (BUT WAIT...they get a bit bad-ass and make em different heights! Now if that isn't radical thinking then I dont know what is.)
 
Critique said:
I hoepe they do chop this one. Just disappointing overall. There is a part of me that just wants to accept the boxes like many on this forum have but thats what I like to call deveopers "lowering our standards" so that they can make cheap shit with high returns.

At the end of the day, its a business, so what makes the quickest and easiest buck? Two twin boxes. (BUT WAIT...they get a bit bad-ass and make em different heights! Now if that isn't radical thinking then I dont know what is.)
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This post couldn't be further off the mark.
 
I agree, this project was very disappointing and inappropriate for the site. I believe the site is ripe for development but just because you can build 60 storeys, it doesn't mean this is the right spot for it. And the podium was a huge step back in terms of retail opportunities for Yonge. The project should be trying to maintain retail opportunities, but when you're building too much on a small site, you end up needing to use most of the ground floor for ramps, loading, two lobbies, etc.
 
The working group for this project, while unable to sway the developer to change their ultimate goals (make massive profit above all else), has had some very positive impacts on the design, specifically the podium.

The last updated rendering I saw showed a podium that was very different than your typical aA modernism; it was a brown-ish brick, with canvas awnings projected out from the retail storefronts, and a scale that was much more appropriate for Yonge Street. It was more articulated and also had a much warmer, humane feel than the cold, sterile podium design ideas proposed before.
 
I hate to be that person who is spreading shady rumours that I can't back up with proof but I have a friend who is on the working group and he showed me a pic. Obviously I am not allowed to have a copy, let alone post it.

I imagine we'll get to see updated renderings for the public somewhat soon though, hopefully within a couple months.
 
The towers have hardly changed at all from what I saw and what he had to say. They are still two glass towers that are very much in the vein of Murano.

The podium is what I got a good look at and I thought it was actually very pleasing and much more appropriate for Yonge Street than earlier iterations. I'm actually really excited to see the chosen renderings soon to refresh my memory, but I liked what I saw.

The negativity is subjective. I think the project is so clearly about profit-profit-profit that it hurts, and I think the city requires way too much car parking in projects like these, especially when it's so close to transit. However, I think the podium could be something to be positive about, especially when you take into consideration that it's been given a work-over by a public working group. That's a small victory to be happy about!
 
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SP!RE said:
The towers have hardly changed at all from what I saw and what he had to say. They are still two glass towers that are very much in the vein of Murano.

The podium is what I got a good look at and I thought it was actually very pleasing and much more appropriate for Yonge Street than earlier iterations. I'm actually really excited to see the chosen renderings soon to refresh my memory, but I liked what I saw.

The negativity is subjective. I think the project is so clearly about profit-profit-profit that it hurts, and I think the city requires way too much car parking in projects like these, especially when it's so close to transit. However, I think the podium could be something to be positive about, especially when you take into consideration that it's been given a work-over by a public working group. That's a small victory to be happy about!
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I think at the end of the day, it is how the podium is designed that really matters. Whether it is 40 stories or 60 stories, it has minimium impact on the streets.

The first 2 or 3 floors matter most. I hope it will not be a clunky one that people just pass by for 10 years without ever noticing what is inside. It should have a decent distance from the Yonge st, with some sort of small greenery or sculpture in the front to add some element of beauty. Inside the podium, I hate to see something like a large BMO etcs. Introduce some retail less generic - not clothing, but maybe home improvement, a cafe, bookstore, and restaurants (Yonge needs some quality restaurants!), something you can immediately see from outside, instead of being a shopping plaza so that people would want to step in without even realizing there is a giant condominium on top of it.

However from what we know so far, and the number of parkings available, it doesn't look very promising. The podium is simly too big and should be separated to two, creating some space for people to walk through in between. Addtionally once it is constucted, all the small buildings on the other side facing it will look totally out of place.
 
I was rethinking my vision for this site today. A simple mass'n proposal--a single 65-70s tower with a red brick podium. Sort of inspired by CKW. It's a big tower--roughly the same number of units as the twin tower Lanterra proposal. Big can look BIGish.:) I notice on the map this is the garden district. So why not put some hanging gardens on the terraces?

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Yonge Street is changing--perhaps it's time to embrace height where appropriate? (I have a feeling the trashy hotel etc to the south of this site will be hitting the demolition pile within a decade.)

The majority of the nimbies live in that ugly '80s condo on Maitland, right? Well my proposal helps to keep their view as much as possible. Re: the height of the red brick facade not relating to its neighbours. Think Queen & Bathurst--the Burroughs building or Spadina--do 5-10s century old warehouses look silly next to 3-4s retail shops? Nope. Cool so this is what you're getting.:D

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I know several of you like it--thx. It's "restrained" which isn't really my style....
 
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