Toronto Waterlink at Pier 27 | 43.89m | 14s | Cityzen | a—A

My take on Pier 27 is that although there isn’t anything groundbreaking in its design, it will be a vast improvement over all other central waterfront buildings in the city. Could it be better? Of course… but it seems as though there will be plenty of space given over for pedestrians – as there should be for such a prime location – and the condo itself will be interesting and attractive when completed. We could wait around for another two or three decades for some government to give the city money for a landmark of some kind (such as a “world-class†park or museum) or we could start something on our own, which is ultimately what I think would be more beneficial for the central waterfront and the city as a whole. I for one am tired of waiting around for successive governments and agencies to continue making promises and not delivering – it’s time to put some shovels in the ground and start cleaning up, organizing, beautifying and breathing new life into so much wasted waterfront land.
 
I completely agree with you in the fact that it's better than a parking lot and something is finally being done at the foot of Yonge;however, as a recent resident of the harbourfront area I was expecting little bit more than a condo project. It seems that either than the Queens Quay building, the harbourfront boardwalk and several restaurants along it there really isn't much else. It's a real shame because Toronto has such a long stretch of water's edge. What I am excited about is the future projects like the East Bayfront, West Donlands, and Portlands that will make a difference. Hopefully they will be completed before I die of an old age.
 
If Clewes doesn't cooperate, the city could "easily" turn this waterfront property into "near-waterfront" property by extending a wide pier into the lake or even adding land and building their public use there.

I do like the suggestion that the Yonge St. pier should resemble the usage of Navy Pier in Chicago.

I would love to see an institutional building here instead, but with great architecture and cooperation with Waterfront Toronto to make the base public/pedestrian friendly, Pier27 is probably the best we could have asked for.
 
Its likely that a hotel/condo proposal on such land would be worth considerable more than the current buildings, allowing for substantial cost recovery
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We're talking a minimum of 10 RoCP towers for any substantial cost recovery. - problem with condos is that the sum of the individual units are worth so much more than the buildings themselves
 
rp07 said:
I completely agree with you in the fact that it's better than a parking lot and something is finally being done at the foot of Yonge
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Given a choice between this project and the parking lot, I'd rather see the parking lot stay for now.
 
Unless this land is given over to the people- which is not going to happen it seems, this is perhaps about as good as one could hope for in terms of a private residential venture. I rather suspect that if the project is cancelled it will just sit as a parking lot for ten years with the very real possibility of an inferior private development taking its place anyway. Just wondering, is there a realistic alternative to this at this point?
 
West 8

I know I've mentioned this before, but does anyone have any idea when and if the WEST 8 project is going to happened? It's been more than a year since they won the design competition with such media hoopla and yet I haven't heard any news since then. Anyone?
 
brettrobinson said:
Because the parking lot is so attractive?:confused:
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Because this is a poorly-conceived project that we will undoubtedly regret, while the parking lot can be built on in the future when we, hopefully, have a better idea of what makes a well-used waterfront.

I don't think we even have to make that choice, though. Surely the city, considering the massive amount of money the developer will be making on this project, could demand real mixed-use at the base and a square that isn't just a front yard for high-end duplex condos.
 
waterfront: Central Waterfront

rp07 said:
I know I've mentioned this before, but does anyone have any idea when and if the WEST 8 project is going to happened? It's been more than a year since they won the design competition with such media hoopla and yet I haven't heard any news since then. Anyone?
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I've been wondering the same. I sent an e-mail to Waterfront Toronto about three weeks ago asking that very question but got no reply. In fact, Waterfront Toronto has updated the look of their website and their name but the content of the site is the same as last year and nothing new has been added in terms of projects being undertaken during 2007. It doesn't instill confidence in terms of anything actually getting done in the way of public amenities.Personally I wish they would cut down on the design competitions and actually build something with the West 8 project being the priority, given its central location.
 
Toronto's new condo architecture is a fine example of how designers have become re-engaged in providing an increasingly design-savvy public with innovative solutions to spatial challenges. Phase one of this development is clearly one of those projects. "Mixed-use" shouldn't require that every building have an identical homogeneous mix of uses: that would be boring and predictable. We can have a group of condos next to an office building, next to a park, next to a ferry dock, next to a shopping centre with condos above, next to a theatre, next to a pond that doubles as a skating rink in the winter, next to an outdoor ampitheatre, next to an outdoor market, next to a restaurant, next to a hotel, next to a marine police building, next to a park, next to a condo, next to another park, next to a condo, next to a school ... which is more or less what we've already got down there. When all are linked by a wide promenade we get true mixed use.
 
The problem is that this is a very large group of condos, built as a cohesive project, with virtually no other uses. Next to these condos is a universally-reviled residential complex on one side, and a sugar refinery on the other. This isn't the kind of mixed-use neighbourhood that will attract people.
 
But the waterfront is a mixed use district and it does attract people. It has certainly attracted plenty of people who want to live there, and now more people will have the opportunity to do so, in some fine new buildings. The city is full of huge swaths of land that aren't mixed-use and have "virtually no other uses" but they are swell places to live. And the public is equally free to pass through - as they will be here, according to the quotes Clewes gives.
 
I know, and I would be thrilled to have buildings like these in the Port Lands or the western waterfront. My problem is with locating a single-use condominium project at the foot of Yonge Street, running for several blocks along the water. I just don't understand how people can think that's a good idea.
 
Clewes says that you'll still be able to see the water from Queen's Quay...that's a subtle prediction that no one will be walking along the water's edge here, especially if Queen's Quay is turned into a grand boulevard. Of course, the "lavishly landscaped grounds," along with railings, lampposts, garbage cans, etc., will surely prevent people from seeing the actual water from the road, but no one is ever concerned with that.

And why would people want to stroll around the base of these condos? Some will stroll simply because a path has been created for them, but they will stroll anywhere. With the hotel and ferry terminal to the west and Redpath to the east, there really will be few visitors, and those that do will feel like they're trespassing (perhaps less so if the promenade is well designed, but more so if the public areas are mostly grass since they will be the townhouses' front lawns). Maybe Clewes is "right" but all we're doing is giving up on the waterfront, piece by piece. We're getting another Harbour Square.
 
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