[borgo100]

Isn't great to live in a city... where folks actually want to live in the city??


is that sarcasm? or are you for real?, is'nt the city poor and has crappy transit and other stuff

[Big Daddy]

With respect to the 1 Bloor Project - I liked the original design much much better. This new design is simply another boring Toronto box - I don’t see anything inspiring about the architecture of this building at all. Yah yah yah so its taller than some of the others – big deal, its boring. I dont blame the Architect of course, his design skills are closly governed by the meatheads at city hall who don’t want to see anything dramatic in this city and by the jerks who provide the financing in this boxville, who likewise refuse to entertain anything that doesn’t look like everything else.

[koops65]

is that sarcasm? or are you for real?, is'nt the city poor and has crappy transit and other stuff

I would argue that everyone living in any particular city, including Toronto, has their own view on how 'great' the city is. An unemployed bum living on the street might feel that its a crappy city, while a multi-millionaire living in his condo in the sky might feel on top of the world. Or maybe their feelings might be reversed. Its all in the eye of the beholder...

[Jackhammer]

is that sarcasm? or are you for real?, is'nt the city poor and has crappy transit and other stuff
You're kidding right?

Downtown Toronto has more life than most cities in the world and is certainly second only to New York from a North American perspective.

The city may be under financial pressure and the transit system over loaded. However, it is quite obvious there is a draw to downtown life that most cities would envy.

[Jackhammer]

"I hope its not reduced" certainly implied it




I think its quite clear something tall will be built on the sales centre site but probably not the same Signature Tower we've all shared a few laughs about. However the notion that some part-time construction worker would know the future plans for Cityplace is a tad ridiculous. I doubt the general contractor hired by Concord Adex to hire the dozens sub-contractors needed to get the building built on time and budget would have the foggiest idea (not that he would care to know in any regard)


It's will remain a vison (at least for me) until I see some sort of confirmation on Concord's intentions regarding 'the phallus' that satisfies me
Agree. The site will not be ignored. However, what will end up there I'm sure will have little similarity with previous designs. The builders intention was for Signature to be the tallest residential building in Canada.

Even under a strict definition of residential building they would probably need a height increase over what is likely to be approved for ROCPIII.

[caltrane74]

In it's Yorkville Context

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/wyliepoon/1beba2.jpg

[caltrane74]

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd313/paul451/Bay%20and%20Adelaide%20center/DSC_1206.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd313/paul451/Bay%20and%20Adelaide%20center/DSC_1205.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd313/paul451/Bay%20and%20Adelaide%20center/DSC_1208.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd313/paul451/Bay%20and%20Adelaide%20center/DSC_1207.jpg

pics of HVAC going in on BA- pics courtesy of paul451 on UT

[LordMandeep]

anyone know what is going on with....

Burano
The L tower
James Cooper Mansion
EQ3
Coutoure or countore??

[Jackhammer]

I don't know about the others, but L Tower is just cutting through the red tape. The thing is all but sold out and only because the developer has held back some suites. Shouldn't be too long before we here something.

[borgo100]

I would argue that everyone living in any particular city, including Toronto, has their own view on how 'great' the city is. An unemployed bum living on the street might feel that its a crappy city, while a multi-millionaire living in his condo in the sky might feel on top of the world. Or maybe their feelings might be reversed. Its all in the eye of the beholder...

i guess your right, every city has there problems

[Canuck]

anyone know what is going on with....

Burano
The L tower
James Cooper Mansion
EQ3
Coutoure or countore??

- Sales at Burano have been very strong. Should have a public release soon (if it hasn't already).
- L Tower has had strong sales too. Both projects are moving forward and I'd expect both to start construction spring-ish next year.
- Don't know what's going on with James Copper Mansion.
- EQ3 is starting sales.
- Couture is building a sales centre. Thus far all we know is it will be similar in size to the nearby X Condo.

[LordMandeep]

thanks...

[caltrane74]

Bay Adelaide in a bit of scale to humans.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9663/inscalefg4.jpg

[Yue Yi]

With respect to the 1 Bloor Project - I liked the original design much much better. This new design is simply another boring Toronto box - I don’t see anything inspiring about the architecture of this building at all. Yah yah yah so its taller than some of the others – big deal, its boring. I dont blame the Architect of course, his design skills are closly governed by the meatheads at city hall who don’t want to see anything dramatic in this city and by the jerks who provide the financing in this boxville, who likewise refuse to entertain anything that doesn’t look like everything else.


I liked the first design for 1 Bloor Street East but the new one is much much better! I dont know how City Hall would have anything to do with the change?

All I do know is with the quality of architecture and urban design we see on this thread, it is easy to see why Toronto has one of the most progressive planning departments of any city I know.

[caltrane74]

city planning, keeps Toronto from looking like Las Vegas...

or Shanghai, or Dubai..(etc, etc)

[Big Daddy]

...I dont know how City Hall would have anything to do with the change?

I have spent 25 years acquiring approvals for commercial projects all across the GTA and many areas of Canada - specifically out west - and I can tell you negotiations for approval of a project of this size are huge. City hall has an entire team of "Urban Planners" who's job it is to ensure the buildings are "suited" to their neighbourhood etc. etc (and they absolutely do tell developers what height and/or what type of materials and finishes would help to get the project approved). And all projects must make financial contributions (cash in lieu of parkland for example if the site doesn’t provide for park space or not enough park space, or cash for schools) these items are used by the city as "chips" when the developer negotiate for such things as density improvements etc. In fact the city rubs its hands when a deep pocketed developer comes knocking on the door. They will make it as difficult as they can for the developer to extract as much cash as they can. These “negotiations” go on all the time. Building a building taller is not impossible – just extremely expensive. Many developers make concessions on height or location or design simply because they cannot afford the city’s “requirements”. Believe me, the city plays a big role in the design of these projects.

[Maldive]

his design skills are closly governed by the meatheads at city hall who don’t want to see anything dramatic in this city and by the jerks who provide the financing in this boxville, who likewise refuse to entertain anything that doesn’t look like everything else.
10-01-2007 08:16 PM

Hey Big Daddy... here's a draft of one half of a compilation render I'm working on.... I'm sure you see dead people (nee boxes) but out-of-towners with nothing going on in their city may get a kick out of some of these:

http://www.upside-down.ca/maldive/renderdraft1.jpg


^SPECIAL NOTE: please do NOT re-post or link without permission. UPDATED RENDERS CAN BE VIEWED HERE:http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=139288

[CHAPINM1]

:previous: OMG! Great job!!!!!

[Yue Yi]

To make a great City one needs the collaberation of a strong development industry, talented architects AND progressive and skilled planners and urban designers. The first two deal with buildings individually. City planners deal with buildings individually and collectively. Those amazing projects that are on this thread have all gone through a planning process whereby buildings have been improved. Although the examples above are quite diverse archtecturally, they all work with their surroundings to frame and create great public spaces and great streets.In many cases these new projects create new public spaces and enhance the public realm. This is where Toronto, in my opinion, succeeds beyond cities like Dubai or Miami, where the buildings in those cities just don't seem to work together.

[Big Daddy]

Thanks, you make your point - I do get frustrated when I see good projects sidelined by or negatively altered by political forces. (ROCP 3 for example)

Your compilation is very nice, you do good work. I hope all of these projects make it.

[Maldive]

^Well, close to 100% of them will make it because they are being "made" right now (u/c) or ... in the case of condos and condo/hotels like L Tower and Shangri La... have sold enough to begin construction. If you click on the link below the pic you can see more (very early draft with many more projects to come).

[lawsond]

that is truly an awesome compilation of towers.
in defense of big daddy though, there is a compulsion in toronto to build a little too conservatively.

-towers that are juuuust under 1000 feet. why? whyyyyyyy? make it a thousand people! it's like they're afraid of that number.
-massing towers so they don't stand out. trump tower will be almost invisible - for example - on the city skyline.
-hiding amazing architecture. alsop's floating box is very cleverly hidden. some might say "good thing"....but not me.
-penny pinching...look at what frank gehry designed on a shoestring for AGO. it looks like an airport terminal. or the opera house. OMG. it is to weep.

on the whole though, the city is going in a better direction. i just think big daddy has legitimate frustrations.

[koops65]

Its OFFICIAL! Trump Tower begins!
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20071012/donald_trump_071012/20071012/?hub=TorontoHome

[Yue Yi]

[QUOTE=Big Daddy;3108188]Thanks, you make your point - I do get frustrated when I see good projects sidelined by or negatively altered by political forces. (ROCP 3 for example)

You can't be serious! ROCP3 (residences of College Park 3) a good project? Looks like to most ordinary of the lot. I'm sure wherever it is today in its design, it is far better by being positively "altered by political forces". However, I will say it is far superior to ROCP 1 and 2 which, in my opinion are the worst buildings to appear recently on the T.O. skyline. The tops look goofy and the cladding looks soooo cheap!

[TOBoy]

Maldive: Just a note that the top far right tower is Luna not Murano.

I must say those look awsome, and some I have never seen before. Great job!

[Maldive]

Yeah i haven't fixed all the typos.... you can tell that I copied "Murano" and pasted on Luna. thanx.

[Big Daddy]

You can't be serious! ROCP3 (residences of College Park 3) a good project? Looks like to most ordinary of the lot. I'm sure wherever it is today in its design, it is far better by being positively "altered by political forces".

In a utopian world, political interference or "design process" is supposed to ensure that buildings meet certain criteria in terms of materials and aesthetic design and to make sure it "fits" into the neighbourhood for which it is planned. Unfortunately this process has been hijacked in this and most other major cities as a method of acquiring money or services or land (or other favours) from a developer in exchange for approvals or height bonuses etc. I remember one project in particular where we were told in no uncertain terms what we would be required to do in order to get our project approved (including providing a “cross access agreement” across our site to a neighbouring site to improve their access – owner was a close friend of a prominent politician – and change the appearance of our project so it more closely resembled another project up the street etc etc).

I agree many of the projects approved in Toronto seem to be just boxes of slightly different colour or height but don’t put so much faith in city hall to produce superior design. I have yet to see a project or neighbourhood improved by this process despite its original good intentions. I have however seen many projects rendered infeasible, too expensive or aesthetically mundane. Better to ask yourself how some very bad projects seem to get approval so easily – or to ask yourself to who are these people connected?

[caltrane74]

Maldive amazing work!....

thanks

[Maldive]

Yer welcome.

It's time to light a fire in this forum... and that fire is Toronto... a city with more exciting projects underway than ever before in the history of this country.

Or North America for that matter.

[Big Daddy]

... and that fire is Toronto... a city with more exciting projects underway than ever before in the history of this country.

Your right - I moved to Toronto 30 some years ago and at that time I could name each and every building downtown - forwards and backwards AND I knew every new project that was being planned. Now, my God, I can’t begin to keep track of all the proposed buildings that are going up - Maldive's little project brought that home in spades. I too am amazed to see all the buildings that are going in and the vast majority are well in excess of 40 floors. Truly an interesting time to live here - the skyline has changed dramatically already and there’s much more coming! (although, I do wish some of them had more architectural flair........but maybe that’s just me)

[Yue Yi]

Maldive, you do fabulous work and I agree with you 100% . This is an amazing time to live in Toronto. There is so much going on yet the new buildings not only make great skyline impressions, but they also work together to make great streets and public spaces. This is a city that is being improved at every level. In terms of the architecture, I think it is very progressive yet we have a very composed skyline. If every building screamed for attention, we would have a city like Shanghia or Dubai. Having been to both of those places I can tell you my prefernce by far is to have the city we have here.

I applaud the planners, architects, urban designers and the development industry for contributing to this great city.

[Skorji]

I applaud the planners, architects, urban designers and the development industry for contributing to this great city.

I agree. The way cities like Dubai and Shanghai are developing; they look out of scale, and do not function as well as downtown Toronto at the human scale. Better to fill in the missing pieces of the skyline before doing anything too outrageous, and that’s exactly what is happening. Toronto will have its day to construct the flagship projects we are seeing go up in other major cities like Chicago, New York and Dubai (let’s not forget, the CN Tower in its day was one). It is all a matter of time and for the time being, I'd much rather see what we're actually doing right now. The city, planners, architects and urban designers should give themselves a pat on the back.

[Maldive]

Here's an advanced "draft" compilation render I put together (consists of existing renders, renders adapted by me and renders created by me based on elevations/available info)

Ignore typos/errors... it's in progress... there are many, many projects I'm not interested in including so this is by no means complete.

Good snapshot though.



http://www.upside-down.ca/maldive/rendersrev1.jpg


http://www.upside-down.ca/maldive/rendersrev2.jpg

[rapid_business]

Maldive, it looks great! Now I hate to ask, but how about a map with number corresponding to different projects? Or would anyone else be up to this challenge? The Calgary thread has something like it, and it is stellar in terms of getting a sense of how a building will impact the skyline, but more specifically the streetscape in relation to the neighborhood it is built in.

Anyone skilled in this area and would be up for it? (or has it been done already, and I'm posting for no apparent reason but ignorance?)

[caltrane74]

ROCP approved at 245 Meters.

Biggest strictly condo building in Canada.

[Maldive]

RAC3 and 151 Front W (2 office projects) are alive and moving to approval!

And it's 80 degrees F... life is good today.

[Skorji]

Maldive, could you just clarify for me what RAC3 is? Thanks.

[Canuck]

Richmond-Adelaide Centre III.

[Big Daddy]

Richmond-Adelaide Centre III.

I'm not familiar with this one either - any other info.?

[Canuck]

I'm not familiar with this one either - any other info.?

http://www.urbantoronto.ca/showthread.php?t=1010

[pwrshift]

Maldive ... please email me. Your renderings on the Toronto future skyline are fantastic and an editor friend of mine may want to 'purchase' use of one for his February cover illustration on a Condo-Hotel feature, if you make them available. :cheers:

Brian


Yer welcome.

It's time to light a fire in this forum... and that fire is Toronto... a city with more exciting projects underway than ever before in the history of this country.

Or North America for that matter.

[JanneClaude]

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee140/laserboy_TO/couture.jpg

[Big Daddy]

I didnt realize until just now that the 1 Bloor tower will trump Trump.
(286.0m vs 281.9m)

[Big Daddy]

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee140/laserboy_TO/couture.jpg


Wow, yet another straight, rectangular undistinguished residential building in Toronto – a landmark in the making to be sure – gag! You know, If you took 20 floors off this building you'd have just another apartment building....like the last 4 or 5 hundred apartment buildings before it. But because its 44 floors we go "ooohh, ahhhh". I’m sure the architect of this little masterpiece must be very proud.

I think “architect” in Canadian means one “who designs buildings that will keep the rain off its occupants”.

[Big Daddy]

I agree.....The city, planners, architects and urban designers should give themselves a pat on the back.

Yeah right, here's another of their little gems:

http://www.thestar.com/article/270659

[rapid_business]

/\ wow.... what a gem!

[Skorji]

Yeah, I certainly don't agree with what is being done there.

[Canadian74]

I didnt realize until just now that the 1 Bloor tower will trump Trump.
(286.0m vs 281.9m)

Are you sure about 1 Bloor's height?
286m is great though! :banana:

[Big Daddy]

Are you sure about 1 Bloor's height?
286m is great though! :banana:


I can only speak to what was approved - neither building has completed construction yet. Look here...

http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?cityID=12&statusID=3

[Maldive]

Maldive ... please email me. Your renderings on the Toronto future skyline are fantastic and an editor friend of mine may want to 'purchase' use of one for his February cover illustration on a Condo-Hotel feature, if you make them available.

Brian


Thanks for the props... sorry to be late getting bck to you. I sent you a PM with my email address. Cheers.

[Dale]

hehe

[TOBoy]

I actually follow alot of the projects in Miami, and while many of the renderings depict great looking towers, the finished product is not always that great.

1 Bloor East going for 275 metres:

From the Post:

Psychics out, condos in on Bloor
Neighbourhood makes way for 80-storey tower
Peter Kuitenbrouwer, National Post
Published: Tuesday, October 30, 2007

They have given notice to the Egyptian Psychic Reader on Bloor Street, along with Felix & Norton, the newsstand and Harvey's. City Optical, after 15 years at the corner of Yonge and Bloor streets, will be gone by Jan. 31. The Naval Club, which has occupied its brick home on Hayden Street for about 70 years, is moving to Dan-forth and Coxwell avenues. On Yonge Street, the Foreign Exchange Centre, Toby's, Pop-eye's, the Falafel House, the Shoe Company, the Biryani House: everyone must go.

Bazis International, the powerful Kazakhstan-based development company, is preparing to bulldoze what amounts to an entire neighbourhood in the heart of Toronto, and replace it with One Bloor, which the company calls a "whisper-thin" 80-storey condominium tower and "boutique" hotel.

The psychic reader, who was smoking a cigarette when I walked in, just shrugged her shoulders.

Yes, that's what they call it. A few doors down, about 25 people bustled inside 33 Bloor St. E., the new sales centre for the tower, hanging pictures of floor plans and laying out a red carpet for Mayor David Miller, who was arriving in the evening.

In the middle of the chaos stood Michael Gold, president of Bazis in North America, wearing a black V-neck sweater and jeans.

He led the way to Lettuce Eatery, a soup and salad bar just a bit east. Roy Varacalli, a partner and design architect for the building, came in holding a television remote in his hand.

"One of the TVs broke," he explained. "So I went and bought a new one. I didn't want to leave the remote there --I was afraid someone would lose it."

He rested the remote on the restaurant table and, as he and Mr. Gold shared a salad wrap, they talked about their vision for what Mr. Gold calls "the most famous street corner in Canada."

"Everything is tall, everything is thin, everything is contextual," Mr. Varacalli said.

Bazis aims to break ground in a year and complete "One Bloor" at the end of 2011.

Mr. Gold, born in Leningrad, grew up in Toronto and then married into one of the richest families in Kazakstan. Bazis, he says, is now the largest builder in that former Soviet republic, and has construction projects in Thailand, Dubai, Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Caspian Sea.

Now they want to invest in Toronto.

"We believe that Toronto, compared to the world market, is undervalued," Mr. Gold says. "It is safe, it is a melting pot of different cultures. It is welcoming to us."

There is the small matter of the building's height. Bazis says it has approval from city council to build 227 metres (substantially higher than the 134 metres for the Hudson's Bay building across the street and 149 for the CIBC building, which is kitty-corner). The builders, however, want to go up 275 metres.

"This would be probably dealt with by the committee of adjustment," Mr. Gold says. "That's something we're working out with the city."

Corwin Cambray, the city planner for the building, was unavailable yesterday for comment.

Will there be a mess? Bazis promises to do most materials deliveries at night, but still will take up a lane of permanently clogged Bloor Street for three years (yikes!).

Will it all be worth it? In its official plan approved a few years ago, the city aimed for "intensification" along its mass-transit lines; this corner, the subway's busiest crossroads, is arguably the best place to intensify.

However, Bloor station is already nuts at rush hour, and there is no Central Park around; where these people will walk their dogs remains a mystery.

The developers say the city is supportive, and even pressed them to acquire the remaining piece of the half-hectare block: the Shoe Company building, which Scotiabank finally sold to Bazis recently.

"There's 11 cultural institutions within a five-minute walk," Mr. Varacalli raves, mentioning the Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario.

No word on whether the Brass Rail strip club, which is just a one-minute walk down Yonge, is one of the other nine.

pkuitenbrouwer@nationalpost.com

© National Post 2007

[Mister F]

I think some US people here ARE jealous of Toronto; It is right up there with or above NYC, Chicago and Miami... Let's just call those the most active cities for construction and all be happy for each other....
Well if we're talking about North America, Mexico City is right up there too.

[Tom In Chicago]

Please refrain from city vs. city posts. . . I hate wading through childish BS when looking through these Highrise Development threads. . . thanks for your understanding. . .

[lawsond]

and now for something completely different.
a dirigible floating above the bank of commerce building in 1930!
at the time...the tallest building in the birtish empire...


http://gencat.eloquent-systems.com/webcat/systems/toronto.arch/resource/ser71%5Cs0071_it7921.jpg

[Big Daddy]

Please refrain from city vs. city posts. . . I hate wading through childish BS when looking through these Highrise Development threads. . . thanks for your understanding. . .

I completely agree, can we stick to buildings please?

[rapid_business]

and now for something completely different.
a dirigible floating above the bank of commerce building in 1930!
at the time...the tallest building in the birtish empire...


http://gencat.eloquent-systems.com/webcat/systems/toronto.arch/resource/ser71%5Cs0071_it7921.jpg

That is so freaking cool! :tup:

[lawsond]

^^^
thanks.
just wanted to get us off the city v. city thing.

[caltrane74]

Maldive ... please email me. Your renderings on the Toronto future skyline are fantastic and an editor friend of mine may want to 'purchase' use of one for his February cover illustration on a Condo-Hotel feature, if you make them available. :cheers:

Brian

Maldive, gettin' paid yo!!

[Maldive]

Not a dime yet Cal... you know how it goes... I love you, I love you... but I have a boyfriend.... can I call you next week?



......

Anyway, here's a consulation prize that even a great sax player will choke on:

- approximately 150 changes... new buildings, new designs, new heights (Trump shorter, 1BE taller), new stuff all over the place.

Most u/c.


http://www.upside-down.ca/maldive/futuremed.jpg




And here's a link to a big one for those of you who know what's really goin' on (NOTE: you might have to reload/refresh your browser to see the new render):


http://www.upside-down.ca/maldive/futurebig.jpg

[koops65]

Looks fantastic Maldive! Well done... thanks!

[Canadian74]

Didn't knew 1 Bloor was so far from the main cluster. I don't think it will have any impact on the skyline...

[Big Daddy]

Wow, nice work Maldive! I don't know how you do it - but keep doing it.

[Maldive]

Canadian74

Didn't knew 1 Bloor was so far from the main cluster. I don't think it will have any impact on the skyline...

^ its location is exactly why it will have a massive impact on the skyline... nearly twice the height of buildings in the area.

Thanks Big Daddy. Glad you enjoyed.

[Maldive]

...
BTW, here's a project key of the additions to the base photo (first pic), for those not familar with Toronto developments:


http://www.upside-down.ca/maldive/key.jpg

[caltrane74]

Didn't knew 1 Bloor was so far from the main cluster. I don't think it will have any impact on the skyline...


When ROCP 3 and 1BE are complete the east or west view of the Toronto skyline will be something along the lines of looking at Manhatten from New Jersey

Or Hong Kong City from Kowloon.

Toronto skyline will be massive. - Don't just get the lake perspective in your head. The most impressive views of the Toronto skyline are from the east and/or west where the it's size becomes mind boggling.

[lawsond]

that is just an AMAZING picture of the future/almost present skyline of this city.
and to think that two of the tallest...Trump and Bay Adelaide are barely visible from that vantage point.
incredible work sir.

[Skorji]

And we're looking probably just 3-5 years down the road for all of these projects to be finished. Just imagine what could happen if the boom continues as it has... or what impact 3.8 million people moving to the GTA in the next 20-25 years will have. It blows my mind.

[dtgeek]

sir.

Madam...

But yes, amazing rendering. :worship:

[tdawg]

great job on that rendering. mad photoshop skills.

[Big Daddy]

So....Maldive is a Madam?

Funny how you get a picture of someone in your head.....

[OrientExpress]

Awesome job, what are the two buildings left of Telus. Have they been proposed.

[Canuck]

Awesome job, what are the two buildings left of Telus. Have they been proposed.
I think it's one building - 18 York.
http://www.urbantoronto.ca/showthread.php?t=636

[caltrane74]

Yay Steel
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd313/paul451/Bay%20and%20Adelaide%20center/DSC_2122.jpg

More steel and what looks to be a third crane, second mobile one.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd313/paul451/Bay%20and%20Adelaide%20center/DSC_2126.jpg

Some Forms
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd313/paul451/Bay%20and%20Adelaide%20center/DSC_2129.jpg

Signs that show that the sidewalk is probs going to be closed during the erection of the steel.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd313/paul451/Bay%20and%20Adelaide%20center/DSC_2127.jpg

Some of the hoarding was taken down, I assume this has to do with the sidewalk closing signs and the steel.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd313/paul451/Bay%20and%20Adelaide%20center/DSC_2130.jpg

Its really sweet to see the building at ground level, no-more hole.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd313/paul451/Bay%20and%20Adelaide%20center/DSC_2131.jpg

The final, nice november day in TO.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd313/paul451/Bay%20and%20Adelaide%20center/DSC_2135.jpg

paul on UT!!

Thanks for the update guy!!

[Maldive]

Great to see that Aura (RoCP3) has been green-lighted by the City and OMB at the requested 75 storeys.

An 800 footer at Yonge and Gerrard will seem incredibly tall and create a lovely peak in the north south skyline between the financial district and Yonge/Bloor.

[JanneClaude]

The Race for Canada's Tallest Residential Building:

Trump International
57 Floors, 925 ft.

http://www.upside-down.ca/sdphotos/ttrender.jpg

One Bloor East

80 Floors, 912 ft.

http://www.ghettoshots.net/david/Photos/107/WebFullSize/1_Bloor_East_3.JPG

Aura

75 Floors, 804 ft.

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/7629/1auradc8.jpg

Signature Tower [CityPlace]

714 ft. 69 floors

http://chartattack.com/ut/Signature.jpg

Shangri-La - 704 ft. 65 floors

http://www.ghettoshots.net/david/Photos/107/WebFullSize/Shangri-La_2.jpg

Ritz Carlton Hotel [Simcoe Place]
684 ft. 53 floors

http://chartattack.com/ut//Ritz_Carlton_2.jpg

Four Seasons Hotel [Four Seasons] - Approx 686 ft. 55 floors

http://www.ghettoshots.net/david/Photos/107/WebFullSize/Four_Seasons_2.jpg

The L Tower [Hummingbird Centre] - 673 ft. 57 floors

http://www.ghettoshots.net/david/Photos/107/WebFullSize/L_Tower.jpg

[koops65]

The skyline will be even more fantastic than it already is in 5 or 6 years...

[borgo100]

CANADA'S TALLEST!!! all in toronto...

[Big Daddy]

Re: Aura,...

[Big Daddy]

Aura

75 Floors, 804 ft.

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/7629/1auradc8.jpg



Re: Aura,...Now that’s beautiful architecture - vastly superior to the "post in the ground" at Yonge and Bloor!

[giallo]

Are Aura, Signature, The L and Four Seasons UC? I hope so. Toronto will look utterly fantastic if they are all built.

[koops65]

Posted by Jackhammer in the Toronto Local Section:

From Tuscani01 at SSC:

Tallest Condo In Canada Coming To Downtown T.O.
Friday November 16, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff

Think the chaos over the condo at 1 Bloor St. East was frenzied this week? Just wait till the real estate agents, developers and would-be flippers hear about this. What promises to be the largest condo tower in all of Canada was announced on Friday - a building that once finished, will stand 75 storeys and 343 meters tall. The "Aura" will change the face of the downtown core yet again when it's built at the corner of Yonge and Gerrard, opposite College Park. The builders say it will encompass 1.3 million square feet - with at least 1.1 million devoted solely to residential space. And what would a Yonge St. development be without business? Some 190,000 square feet will be reserved for retail space.

"I look at Yonge Street as being a street that is going to be in a major state of change over the next five to ten years, and it's only going to make this environment better," believes Michael La Brier, the president of Canderel Stoneridge, which is behind the building.

The Bloor condo is 79 storeys and this one is only 75. How can they claim bragging rights to being the tallest? A spokesman tells CityNews.ca that the Aura beats its competitor on metre and square footage size, and that each residence will actually be bigger in height than the Bloor spot - so even though it has fewer storeys, it will actually wind up being slightly taller than the other address.

Those behind the plan have yet to reveal how much it will cost you to buy a place in the complex. That may not be decided until next month. But the spokesman explains that while there will be high end and pricey luxury models on the upper floors, some of the lower tiers should be affordable - although he wouldn't say how much "affordable" is.

It's the latest in what's rapidly becoming a newly energized market. A survey released earlier this week by Remax shows condos are on fire again in this city, with a 14 per cent rise in sales over last year - and growing.

And the residences are getting taller. The number of buildings over 200 metres - about half the height of the CN Tower - will more than double, going from seven to seventeen. It doesn't surprise realtors like Paul Raszewski. He's been selling condos here for 25 years and has seen the market bloom. "Because of the fact that the house prices in Toronto have skyrocketed, a lot of the young people, young professionals cannot afford a home. Automatically their choice is to go into a condo."

The fact a riot almost broke out last week at the Bloor St. location is testimony to just how much in demand the condominiums are. "They are very well marketed properties, and some of them are in very hot locations where there may not be many more opportunities to actually build any more because there's no more land in Toronto to really build new things," Raszewski concludes.

The Aura has been in the planning stages for more than a year, undergoing seemingly endless scrutiny and changes, before the city finally approved the project. After the frenzy that accompanied the earlier unbuilt condo, this one promises to create equal fireworks. Early registrations are being accepted online but actual sales won't start until February 2008, and the new condo may not be ready for tenants until 2012.


ASTOUNDING!

[Canuck]

Are Aura, Signature, The L and Four Seasons UC? I hope so. Toronto will look utterly fantastic if they are all built.
No, no, no and no.

They are in: Pre-Sales, Approved, Sales, Sales.

[Maldive]

a building that once finished, will stand 75 storeys and 343 meters tall.

This typo will cause unwanted confusion about Aura if it keeps getting posted.

Aura is 75 storeys and 243 metres tall. A media report mentioned that Canderel is looking at the possibilty of upping the tower to 85 storeys... but the 343 metres is fiction.... a typo.

Nonetheless, Aura has a shot at topping Trump and 1 Bloor East.

Let's wait and see.

[koops65]

Thanks for clearing that up, 243m sounds like a much more realistic height for a residential building.

[caltrane74]

1.4 Million Sq feet. They must be crazy!!

That's bigger than an office tower.

[koops65]

1 Bloor makes the news again.
From CTV on Saturday:
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20071117/record_condo_071117/20071117/?hub=TorontoHome

$25 000 000 for the 80th floor! I wish I had that kind of money...

[caltrane74]

split forms at the Bay Adelaide complex

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/2433/baynov19vl0.jpg

[Big Daddy]

Aura is 75 storeys and 243 metres tall. A media report mentioned that Canderel is looking at the possibilty of upping the tower to 85 storeys...


Actually it's Bazis (1 Bloor) that is trying to increase the height of their building.

"But while Bazis says it has approval from the city to build to 227 metres, the builders want to go up 278 metres and are trying to convince council to approve the extra height. The company now wants to build a 248-metre building, with an additional 20 metres for a "mechanicals penthouse" and 10 metres more for eight "architectural fins" but only filed its application for a zoning change and site plan approval last week."

Bazis also just purchased another adjacent property potentially to help with their efforts to increase their height.

Check here (http://www.canada.com/cityguides/toronto/story.html?id=8197d88f-be56-4301-8e53-5836bdf7a7c5&k=29775).


I would love to see Signature Tower come back with a shot at the tallest. Currently proposed at 217 m (69 stories)

By the way, Trump is 281.9 m

[Canadian74]

^^ Aura wants to be the tallest in the city... They are considering a height increase as MALDIVE mentioned!
But yes, 1 Bloor also want to increase their height to 278m. There is kind of a little height battle going on between 1 Bloor and Aura. Hopefully Signature Tower will join soon.

[Big Daddy]

Aura wants to be the tallest in the city... They are considering a height increase as MALDIVE mentioned!

Do you have a source for Aura's desire to be the tallest? I've searched everywhere but cannot find anything that refers to this.

Thanks

[Canadian74]

There are a few articles saying that Aura will be the largest resedential building in Canada. Some people refer to this actual height and some say it is the total square footage. Also, there was a article that said Aura wants to add 10 more floors, for a total of 85, bumping the height to around 280m. Which will be taller than 1 Bloor. Thus, the tallest resedential in the city.
1 Bloor also said they want to increase their height to 278m from current 227m. Both are competiting to become the tallest resedential.

[TOBoy]

From the Post:

Aura aims to be tallest condo tower in city
Yonge-Gerrard
Will Tremain, National Post
Published: Saturday, November 17, 2007

An old-fashioned race to the skies may be under way in Toronto's condo tower market.

Condo developer Canderel Stoneridge Equity Group yesterday unveiled its Aura tower, which it plans to build next year at Yonge and Gerrard streets.

Aura, a slender knife-blade building, currently sits at 75 storeys and 243 metres in height. That would make it slightly short than Bazis International's planned condominium tower at One Bloor Street East, whose roof would sit at 248 metres. The Trump International Hotel and Tower on the southeast corner of Bay and Adelaide, which when first announced was described as Canada's tallest residential tower, was recently scaled back to about 274 metres.

But Michael La Brier, president of Canderel Stoneridge, said his company could add up to 10 more storeys -- provided the city blesses the plan. Aura would then be the city's highest condo building, at about 280 metres.

"When we had the building engineered, we had everything so we could add up to 10 more floors to the building," said Mr. La Brier. "So that's certainly part of the discussion we need to have ongoing with the city."

The new Aura skyscraper will boast at least 960 residential units, and more if the additional floors are added. Canderel Stoneridge says 5,000 people are on a waiting list to buy.

Mr. La Brier is clearly willing to barter with the city to win add the additional height for the new tower. "One of the the things we want to do is completely rebuild the [nearby] Barbara Ann Scott Park, and that's a price I'm certainly prepared to pay, especially in lieu of getting another 10 storeys of density on the building."

The local city councillor, Kyle Rae, said he's open to the possibility of 10 more storeys -- ''that would be something that would have to go through planning''-- but welcomes the new people drawn to the downtown core's "residential renaissance."

"I know there are people in the neighbourhood looking to move up," said Mr. Rae.

Riz Dhanji, vice-president of sales and marketing for Canderel Stoneridge, said the sale of Aura's units, starting next February or March, should be nothing like this week's sales for the Bazis tower.

Real estate agents lined up for eight days for the chance to buy a unit in the Bazis tower. On the morning the sale began, arguments broke out, and the base price on the units jumped by $200,000.

"We don't believe in that," Mr. Dhanji said.

"We want it to be more of a controlled process, and as easy a process as possible. But we can't control if people want to line up."

© National Post 2007

[Canadian74]

274m for Trump? Wasn't it 281.9m?

[Big Daddy]

From the Post:

Aura aims to be tallest condo tower in city....


Thanks TOboy, Ive’ been looking everywhere for that. It will be interesting to see who wins. As for the Trump building I believe it is to be 281.9m but is a hotel/condo mix. Candarel is boasting a condo only building and as such can say they have the tallest condo only building - if they beat Bazis.

[caltrane74]

RBC Glass!!!!



Glass is now being installed:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2003/2064826726_35ceea1f6f.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2134/2064028837_cd442ad6f8.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2271/2064820730_0485b3e20e.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2036/2064816404_f6d56a38ff.jpg

Courtesy of Mike in To ( UrbanToronto.ca)

[caltrane74]

here are some updated Bay Adelaide shots.

courtesy of Geekaroo at UT.

Some Heavy Metal Rockers

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4613/dsc00257pv5.jpg

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/9365/dsc00258yy2.jpg

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/381/dsc00259vm7.jpg


Pardon the dirty window
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/1592/dsc00262sh2.jpg

[Xeelee]

Interesting pics.

[caltrane74]

I haven't seen a steel skyscraper go up in Toronto in almost 20 years.

BCE place & Wellington Tower in 1990-1991 were the last of the great Toronto skyscrapers constructed of steel.

[Tom In Chicago]

Maritime Life is the only one I can think of. . .