West Don Lands

[syn]

Looks like they've made a lot of progress since spring 2007 .

 

[catcher_of_cats]

Still a very long way to go towards completion. At least they have 'clean' muck now as opposed to contaminated muck.

 

[Johnny Kay]

Did they leave huge holes in areas so the excavation dirt would have some place to go? Because the massive hole next to King is just next to the first development site, which will be level to King.

 

[DSC]

It will be interesting to see what happens with the West Don Lands development because the first development partners announced by Waterfront Toronto are Urban Capital/Redquartz. Redquartz is an Irish development company (http://www.redquartz.com/redquartz/index.html) with close ties, as far as one can tell from their website - to the Anglo-Irish Bank which was recently nationalised by the Irish government amid cries of 'scandal". ("In early January Anglo Irish Bank was nationalised and trading suspended with closing share price of 22 cent -- a fall of over 98pc from its peak.") Redquartz lists three active projects - not WDL - on their website, in all of them the funding came from Anglo Irish Bank.
Urban Capital is a Canadian firm with projects like Boutique Condos on Simcoe and 18 Yorkville.

 

[Urban Shocker]

The expressway is becoming less of an elevated eyesore and more of a surface road as the berm gradually rises to kiss the underbelly of the beast. Perhaps that's the alternative to taking it down or burying it - huge amounts of infill south of Front, transforming the ground floor entrances of existing buildings into basement entrances.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

US:

That's what Foster's scheme for the waterfront called for.

AoD

 

[SunriseChampion]

Less of an eyesore, perhaps, but hardly any less of a physical barrier, unfortunately.

 

[Johnny Kay]

Less of a physical barrier even, more of a "there's nothing worth walking towards at the East Bay Front (yet).

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

The Berm Park/Distillery District

Less of a physical barrier even, more of a "there's nothing worth walking towards at the East Bay Front (yet).

I disagree -- by the time they build the first buildings south of King/Queen at River, there will be a big park and an open bike/walking route to DD. How they deal with walkways under the flyover will be critical on how the WDL homeowners connect with their park. Looking forward to seeing how it all fits together.

 

[SunriseChampion]

Less of a physical barrier even, more of a "there's nothing worth walking towards at the East Bay Front (yet).

What do you mean? It's my way of getting to Cherry Beach from all points north.

 

[Johnny Kay]

I was only being cheeky. Though I'm not a huge supporter of seeing the Gardiner coming down. And Riverdale Rink Rat, you're talking about the DVP Richmond offramp, not the Gardiner. Are they planning on taking that down too?

 

[UserNameToronto]

And Riverdale Rink Rat, you're talking about the DVP Richmond offramp, not the Gardiner. Are they planning on taking that down too?

When the Gardiner comes down, more traffic will spill onto Front/ Adelaide/ Eastern/ Richmond. There's a Toronto Star article where Miller agrees with planners who expect the flyover to see increased volumes, which may require expansion to compensate.

As a Corktowner I'm OK with more traffic--rush hour traffic will be really slow, which is OK because I'm not a car commuter. The deadliest streets in Corktown must be Eastern and Shuter, precicely because they lack traffic and thus motorists drive fast. More and slower traffic may be good for local businesses too.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

Of course I'm talking about Richmond

I was only being cheeky. Though I'm not a huge supporter of seeing the Gardiner coming down. And Riverdale Rink Rat, you're talking about the DVP Richmond offramp, not the Gardiner. Are they planning on taking that down too?

They haven't been filling up below the Gardiner. And they're not taking down the Richmond flyover. I'm referring to US's post but talking about Richmond instead of Gardiner.

There's a good point that Richmond and Eastern will be busier with the Gardiner gone as some people will change their routes. Just another reason to sell the house in Pickering and move to WDL...

 

[SunriseChampion]

They haven't been filling up below the Gardiner. And they're not taking down the Richmond flyover. I'm referring to US's post but talking about Richmond instead of Gardiner.

There's a good point that Richmond and Eastern will be busier with the Gardiner gone as some people will change their routes. Just another reason to sell the house in Pickering and move to WDL...

There're a tonne of reasons to sell the house in Pickering and move to WDL and this has got to be near the bottom of the list.

(or maybe it's just me who hates living in P-Town)

Maybe a bunch would use Bayview and Rosedale Valley to Jarvis and Church as well, not to mention straight to Bloor/Danforth. That's the way I roll when I'm driving downtown from the east (when I'm not coming down Kingston Road). When I'm driving in the city, I like driving in the city, if you know what I mean.

Johnny Kay: don't mind me, I'm just really, really, really in love with Cherry Beach....I took that personally

 

[Johnny Kay]

However MTown, come to think of it, with or without the Gardiner the only way you're getting to Cherry Beach is by crossing the Keating Channel at Cherry Street, so it doesn't really make a difference. But it certainly would be nice to have the East Bay Front and WDL connected more fluidly.