[WaterlooInvestor]

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[WaterlooInvestor]

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[Cambridgite]

Excavation has begun.

Lord help us all.

[kitchener-lrt]

It looks like something from the show George Shrinks (a show that I used to watch, long ago :P).

[rapid_business]

So any chance the real project will look nothing like this?

[kitchener-lrt]

At least it's more high density in K-W!

[rapid_business]

Forget high density when it has no street interaction and looks like absolute sh*t. I'm sorry, I'd rather have the equivalent number of suburban houses built out the far west end then crap like this polluting our city centre and remaining as an eyesore for the next 60-odd years. Design like this should have died with the Berlin wall in '89 along with the rest of the Soviet empire. There is no excuse for this abomination.

[Cambridgite]

Design like this should have died with the Berlin wall in 89 along with the rest of the Soviet empire.

:haha: :haha: :haha: :haha:

I wholeheartedly agree. :)

[Waterlooian4Life]

looks like excavation began today on this piece of shit

[rapid_business]

Fingers crossed for something that shows a little better then what is posted above.

[Cambridgite]

looks like excavation began today on this piece of shit

Why, god, WHY?!?! :tantrum:

[WaterlooRegioner]

It may look bad, but I still consider it a step up from what's the norm around the universities. Around the universities, especially on king you have many older homes that are rented by students and have landlords who let the places becomes slums. You often see trash, beer cans etc. on the lawns and the houses themselves get very little maintenance. With a large apartment like this and a development company that has their reputation on the line you are given the blessing of landlords who actually care to some degree and will more thab likely keep up the lawn and maintenance much better. You are looking at this question...would you rather have decrepid old single homes or better maintained high density living space that looks ugly? I go with the latter, ugly vs. ugly except one is cleaner than the other. Plus you can't deny the benefits of high density in general. I'm not saying I like this project at all, but I'm just looking at the bright side.

[rapid_business]

I'm going to have to disagree with you. With the decrepit single homes rented as you described, at least there was the chance that in the future a better project could be integrated here. In the future when Waterloo adopts design control guidelines as dictated by the provincial planning act and as practiced by such cities as Vancouver, recently Edmonton and potentially Toronto very soon.

What you have now is a structure that will last for 40 years+ that will be an eyesore on a major node and area of future intensification. I say screw density when it doesn't interact with the street well, and will be the future ghettoized building of King Street. I don't have any tolerance for sh*tty design. It's nothing more then developers cheaping out and the city letting then get away with it. Look to the new Laurier residence two blocks north of this. 1000 times better, and something that will age well.

Now if you want to talk materials, we could about the stucco. Stucco belongs on single family homes... and even there it's showing age already. Never... I repeat...NEVER on a high-rise building. It looks sooo tacky when it's done.

Anyways... the bright side? sure density I guess... The only bright side I can see is that someone buys it off Shembri and revives the old design. Or, that in 10-15 years from now, it's rettro-fitted with a new exterior, windows, the whole 9. That's about it.

[advance62]

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[jcollins]

Small detail...but we can change this from Proposed to U/C...I noticed the footings have started to go in for the foundation.

[rapid_business]

And this thread should be merged with the other one that was started recently.

[waterloowarrior]

And this thread should be merged with the other one that was started recently.

which one? if you mean 323 King Street, they are two separate projects.

[rapid_business]

I see. That's even worse. :( Oh well...

[WaterlooInvestor]

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[WaterlooInvestor]

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[myfaceisonfire]

My lord that's one fugly building. It already looks rundown in the render, I can't imagine that it's going to age well :(

[WaterlooInvestor]

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[Cambridgite]

Uh oh...:eek:

[WatDot]

They are working on the 8th floor now (July 24th).
Pretty quick I guess since they are using pre-fab slabs. Too bad this is not exciting news. :haha:

[WaterlooInvestor]

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[waterloowarrior]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3044/2890339975_f394a7191f_b.jpg

[KWnGTA]

yuck!

[WatDot]

I know the boards' feeling on stucco... but this one is terrible. I've seen some that are ok, but this is disgusting!!!

[notmyfriends]

What are you talking about? There are like at least 4 different colors involved!

[WatDot]

What are you talking about? There are like at least 4 different colors involved!

haha. I hope you don't study "drinking accidents" as closely! :haha:

[koops65]

I took this pic recently. It's just as ugly in person and up close as the renders suggested it would be...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3121/3262542139_849712eac2_o.jpg

The stone on the bottom couple of floors is a nice touch, but it just isn't enough to offset the rest of the building. Hopefully the X-Flats next door to this isn't an even larger version of the same crap.

[notmyfriends]

ZOMG, it's 5 colours!!!

[Duke-Of-Waterloo]

The stone on the bottom couple of floors is a nice touch

Are you kidding me? :yuck:

I wonder how this monster has affected 45 Degree's sales...

Oh yea, just to add: I heard that Schembri/Jamesway have sold this building to help finance the Westmount Grand. I drove by it yesterday and it looks like it will be starting soon.

[Cambridgite]

The stone on the bottom couple of floors is a nice touch, but it just isn't enough to offset the rest of the building. Hopefully the X-Flats next door to this isn't an even larger version of the same crap.

I actually saw a sign put up by the X-Flats sign and it has a picture. It's pretty tall and looks like a 1970s office building. It's an improvement over that stucco blocks though. I'll try to take a picture this coming week.

[WatDot]

I actually saw a sign put up by the X-Flats sign and it has a picture. It's pretty tall and looks like a 1970s office building. It's an improvement over that stucco blocks though. I'll try to take a picture this coming week.

That sign is actually south of the X-flats right? I believe that's just someone trying to sell the last few remaining houses on the West side of that street block. Nothing has been approved for right there... they are just giving people "rough ideas" of what they can build I believe. An ugly idea at that... but whichever.

[myfaceisonfire]

I think the telephone pole helps this picture

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3653/3435739478_f321e2f052_b.jpg

Looking north up King
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3410/3435733052_bb55a6ab79_b.jpg