Discussions continue on the pros and cons of city densification, but vertical development is happening in Toronto and sometimes it feels that there's no stopping it. Condo construction is the biggest sector, spurring debate on smart growth and how to live beyond the push to cram more people into ever-smaller spaces. UrbanToronto covers all the major architecture and development projects in the GTA. Here are some of the most popular news articles, Forum discussions, and dataBase listings over the last month.
News
The biggest story this past month was the release of a revised design for the mammoth Mirvish+Gehry development on King Street West, a project already largely in contention for its sheer scale and density. Spurred by the lamenting of some for the site's disappearing century-old warehouses and the Princess of Wales Theatre, the architect's latest iteration reveals huge wooden posts about the exterior of the new tower podiums that are a nod to the post-and-beam construction of the district's heritage buildings.
1. Updated Plan for Mirvish+Gehry Ups the Wow Factor
2. Metrolinx Working on Massive Georgetown Rail Corridor Expansion
3. Ten York: A Tower Evolves at Toronto's Front Door
4. Redevelopment of St. Lawrence Market North in Limbo
5. A New Park Opens in the West Don Lands: Meet Corktown Common
6. Newly Pedestrian-Friendly Market Street Ready for Foot Traffic
7. Neighbourhood Responds to Lanterra Condo and Park Proposal
8. Demolition Starts at Loblaws' Lake Shore Site
9. Oxford Renames 100 Adelaide West as the Ernst and Young Tower
10. CN Tower and the Ripley's Aquarium Race to Summer Openings
Forum
Talk of Mayor Rob Ford's antics wasn't quite at the forefront this past month as it was in May, having generated UrbanToronto's fastest growing thread to date. Instead, the focus returned to large scale condo developments, such as some of the city's 75+ storey landmark towers climbing skyward, namely Aura at College Park and One Bloor East, whose construction recently popped above ground level.
2. Aura: Residences of College Park III
4. Southcore Financial Centre & Delta Toronto
6. Ïce Condominums at York Centre
8. One York Street & Harbour Plaza Residences
10. Ernst & Young Tower / Richmond Adelaide III
dataBase
The UrbanToronto dataBase is a repository for architectural renderings, project information as well as floorplans, and it is growing steadily with each new entry in the GTA.
Readers chimed in to check out the new Park Towns development, a collection of 50 townhomes planned for Bayview and Sheppard, now in the pre-construction phase. Other projects of interest continue to be some of Toronto's largest proposals, such as Menkes' 3 tower complex at York and Harbour Street, and the Union Station revitalization, now set for completion in 2016.
1. Park Towns Bayview and Sheppard
2. One York Street & Harbour Plaza Residences
4. Union Station Revitalization
6. Corktown Common (was Don River Park)
7. 2221 Yonge
9. L Tower
10. NY2 Condominiums