If you were a developer (Just for Fun)

[matt602]

Thats exactly what I would love to see from that Gore Park proposal. It's done all the time in Toronto and other cities. Why the hell not here?

[thomax]

After I made that fake proposal for what I would like to see happen with David Blanchard's Gore Park Redevelopment the other day, I found Google SketchUp. I thought it would be fun to take the fake proposal I made the other day and explain it better with SkethUp and change it around a bit. So here it is, step by step of what I would like to see happen in the area south of Gore Park. (Nothing is to proper scale. I did this quick and for fun without measuring or putting too much detail into the buildings so use your imagination a bit)

To start, I sketched up roughly what is currently on the site (Seen in photos 1&2).
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Next, I added the 2-level grocery store with entrances facing James St S and Main St E (Not facing the Gore Park. Restaurants with patios should face Gore Park with the new Gore Park Promenade going in, not a huge grocery store). The 5 buildings along Gore Park would have the structures behind the facades torn down and the facades saved while new structures in behind the facades would be built that can support the office/condo tower on top (Seen in photos 3&4).
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I then added 3 entrance/exits to the underground parking. One on James St S, one on Main St E, and one on Hughson St S (Seen in photos 5&6).
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After adding the underground parking entrance/exits, I added the aboveground parking entrance/exits. I added one on Main St E and one on Hughson St S. The first level of the aboveground parking is coloured red as well as the entrance/exits and the ramps (ramps are also marked with an “X”), (Seen in photos 7, 8, and 9).
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I then added some of the three levels of walls for the aboveground parking structure while leaving it partially open so you can see on the first level where the entrance/exit from the ramp is. I also enclosed the street level entrance/exits as well as the ramps (Seen in photos 10, 11, and 12).
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After that, I completely enclosed the three levels of the aboveground parking structure (Seen in photos 13, 14, and 15).
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Next, it was time to add the office block component of the development (blue building facing Gore Park). I also changed the colour of the parking structure to be translucent so it can be seen better, but if it was built it would be covered in the same glass as the office/condo above it. (Seen in photos 16, 17, 18, and 19)
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After adding the office block, I added part of a condo along Main St E (darker blue building). It could be the complete condo tower, but I’d like to see more then something that small. (Seen in photos 20, 21, and 22)
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And now, this is where I can see the project complete. I added another section to the condo tower and made it the tallest building in the development. I also added some rooftop patios with green space. People living in the condos would have access to the building from its main lobby along Main St E, a smaller entrance along James St S, or the office block entrance along Gore Park (Also from the parking garages of course). (Seen in photos 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30)
*Although photos 23 & 24 look the same, in photo 24 I changed the colour of the parking garage to match the glass of the condo so you can get an idea of what the parking garage would look like hidden.
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After getting to a point where I felt that everything was perfectly sized, and just right I decided to have some fun with the model I have and go over the top by adding more. First, I added a huge condo tower on top of the office block which became the tallest in the development (Seen in photos 31, 32, and 33)
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After adding that condo, I went a little over the top again and extended the height of the condo along Main St E to be the tallest in the development again (Seen in photos 34&35)
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So that’s it, roughly everything I would love to see happen on the site. Photos 23-30 show what I would think is the best for the location, but if something even taller goes in like what I have in photos 31-35 I won't complain. There is just so much potential for the location and I'd hate to see it all go to waste...


Source: My Photos


P.S. sorry for the long post.


Edit: Just realized that some of the buildings like the 2 along Hughson St change colours, shape, design, etc as the list goes on. I edited them to fit a bit better as I was going and forgot to make the same changes to the buildings in the older files. Oh well....

[coalminecanary]

Great stuff. If it were me, I'd leave the entire front half of those original gore park buildings standing, do premium condos on the top floors and keep the retail below (but the buildings being half the depth would not be like bowling alleys inside) and build the condo tower behind. i'd use the missing building on the gore streetwall as an entrance to the condos.

[thomax]

Originally Posted by coalminecanary

Great stuff. If it were me, I'd leave the entire front half of those original gore park buildings standing, do premium condos on the top floors and keep the retail below (but the buildings being half the depth would not be like bowling alleys inside) and build the condo tower behind. i'd use the missing building on the gore streetwall as an entrance to the condos.

Thats what I did. I didn't explain that part well, but the blue glass that fills that space would be an entrance for the office and condo.

[thomax]

Originally Posted by coalminecanary

Great stuff. If it were me, I'd leave the entire front half of those original gore park buildings standing, do premium condos on the top floors and keep the retail below (but the buildings being half the depth would not be like bowling alleys inside) and build the condo tower behind. i'd use the missing building on the gore streetwall as an entrance to the condos.

I made an edit to be your design. I moved the office tower back so the original buildings along the gore park could stay and be premium condos. I added rooftop gardens to each of the buildings (just something extra so people in the office tower aren't looking down at a blank roof). I also had to make the office building taller to make up for the lost space from it being moved back. Also, where one of the original gore park buildings was already torn down, I made the entrance to the condos & offices more visible.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

I like your mock ups. Personally, though, I'd prefer the scale be a bit more civilised.

When I think of a rejuvenated Gore, I immediately think of Sparks Street. Yeah, I know it generally sucks but they've done a great job of preserving the street's heritage.

Here's another example I can imagine for those buildings in the Gore:


Keep on with the interesting ideas.

[Duckyboy]

I think those models look great. I especially like the curve(s) in the taller buildings... give it a bit of a modern/artistic touch. The density looks good, too.

I've always thought that preserving the facades & just building "onto": the back of the buildings is a great way to keep the old feel, yet get some modern densit out of it. I know it's probably cheaper to do all from scratch, but it just looks nicer when you have a little of both.

Keep up the good work!

[thomax]

I was looking around downtown on Google Street View today and I kept imagining what Commerce Place would look like if it were taller. I decided to do a quick edit just for fun to add to this thread. So if I was a developer (just for fun) back in the 1980s and I was developing the site, I would have made Commerce Place twice the height of the current towers. The thing I like about Commerce Place is that it still looks quite modern with all of it's glass so it would have been nice if it had a bigger impact on the skyline

My Edit:


Actual Commerce Place:





Image Source: Google Street View, & My Edit

[thomax]

With the news of the upcoming James Baptist Church Redevelopment, I thought it would be cool to see what I can do with it in Google SketchUp just for fun.

This is what I came up with in about 30 mins, so it isn't the greatest, but I figured I'd post it anyways. (I didn't put to much detail into the church or do any proper measurements, I was just trying to see what a modern addition to the building could look like)


















Source: All My Photos

(The windows on the church look closed in, but I didn't make them clear so I didn't have to put detail on the interior of the church)



And what the church currently looks like:

Source: Google Street View

[ihateittoo]

I like your proportions (especially for the north wall, gives the feeling of the spire that once stood there) and definitely would be happy with something like this.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

They don't have much room to play with so it'll be interesting to see what they do. You might be right about wedging something onto the edge of the property at Jackson. Good sketches.

[SteelTown]

Anyone know what the building is behind the church? Has a really interested facade.

[thistleclub]

Bell Canada is between the church and the YW.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

I've always liked the Bell building. It's not well known, hidden away on Jackson like it is.

Looking at the property/ sketches again, I'm not sure I like having something built right up against the church (along Jackson for example). The architects are going to have to be very creative so as not to obscure the church but rather augment it in some way.

[ihateittoo]

the problem is that the north wall will need heavy remediation since its the portion that is structurally unsound. Maybe they can do something similar to the student centre at MAC where the (former) exterior of the church will be inclosed by the new addition.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Is this a new project that's happening on campus or are you referring to the Student Centre construction of 10-12 years ago?

[bigguy1231]

It will be interesting to see what they do with that building.

I am thinking they may remove the roof and build up from within the current building maybe spilling out either the North or South side. My guess would be the North side since it is already a problem structurally.

[Beedok]

This is rather fantastic, largelly because it relies on the building of a new GO train station in Stoney Creek, but here's my vague concept for a transit oriented neighbourhood to build around it in what google maps says is currently an empty field near the Centennial Parkway. Sure, it's a bit big, but I tried to keep it fairly realistic (also I think a GO Station in Stoney Creek would be nice).

[thomax]

Originally Posted by Beedok

This is rather fantastic, largelly because it relies on the building of a new GO train station in Stoney Creek, but here's my vague concept for a transit oriented neighbourhood to build around it in what google maps says is currently an empty field near the Centennial Parkway. Sure, it's a bit big, but I tried to keep it fairly realistic (also I think a GO Station in Stoney Creek would be nice).

I love the idea of a GO station there. I would prefer one there, which is right by downtown Stoney Creek, than out by the new Wal-Mart smart centre at the other end of Centennial where there is actually going to be a GO station built in a few years.

Where you put the parking structure won't work because that is Battlefield Park, a historic site.

I like the idea of building that area up more. Adding a lot of residents in such a small piece of land would bring a lot more people into downtown Stoney Creek. There is already a project like this, but on a smaller scale, that is going to be built on the north side of King St (the location was just cut off at the top of your google maps image). It is going to include a four storey apartment building (69 units) and 10 lots for condominium townhomes.

[ihateittoo]

Originally Posted by pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce

Is this a new project that's happening on campus or are you referring to the Student Centre construction of 10-12 years ago?

I am referring to the decade old student centre. Where the
east wall of gilmour hall was enclosed by the student centre.