Stephen Avenue Quarter | 241m | 66s | Triovest | Gibbs Gage

YourBoy007 said:
Horry focking shit 😲🤤

This is the boost in density we need and in a perfect location! We'll also reclaim the #1 spot for tallest building in the west.
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HELLZ YA!!
Get this thing built!
Office tenant must be on board looking for office space built to “current” standards.

287m seems too tall for 66 storeys though - unless they are not including the podium storeys in that count).
 
Mountain Man said:
Only way it makes sense is if there is a tenant lined up already, and even then, there's bargains to be had on existing space. The city should have the authority to reject the office portion until the market rebounds (likely in another decade or two).
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Sun Life perhaps?
 
MichaelS said:
Hmm.... I hope the tower designs are great. Not so sure I like what I am seeing with the ground floor yet. They look to be blowing some holes into the Stephen Avenue side as well (preserving the 2nd storey facades....)
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And I maybe get that the buildings on 7th Ave are too far gone to preserve, but it would have been great to see some facade preservation like they do in Toronto. Not sure this will match the current streetscape that is there now:
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I don't want to pass judgement too much without seeing more details, but so far, I am starting to dread what is in the drawings...... Not off to a great start in my opinion.
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This podium is on par with West Village at the moment 😔
 
For whatever reason, this doesn't pass my sniff test. Maybe oil being at $110 has completely changed the outlook on the market, but the city still has an insanely high office vacancy rate and the condo market doesn't seem to have changed that much to justify building a 66 story condo
 
Can always build the podium + the full width floors and indefinitely postpone the 10 story above the podium office tower. The large floor plates are certainly appealing to tech clients. Exclusive entrances and exclusive occupancy are also appealing (to stop secrets from leaking out in elevators!). Can even stop at the podium roof and build more later (level 6). The two full podium floors look to have around 100,000 square feet of space each, probably only 60-65,000 lease-able though. About the same as Gulf Canada Squares podium iirc. Twice the size of Watermark (which used to have a few trading floor style floors). A bit larger than a floor in The Bay next door (62,000) where NEO leased a floor. Where Benevity is is 25,000 square feet a floor.

Considering how long projects take, and you had NEO poking around and letting its preferences be known recently, this could be spec for 5 years from now, or spec hoping there will be more demand for for large similar spaces.
 
There's a lot of unpack here so far even without the tower designs:
- Really dislike the generic 7th Ave ground level. If retaining the historic facades isn't possible due to significant deterioration you should at least attempt to replace
what's lost of character, interest and architectural diversity with something of architectural value. Congruous soulless aluminum storefront, glazing and spandrel across the whole face is lazy. It's a super prominent elevation with the train platform across the street. Tens of thousands of people will be impacted by this every day as they wait for the train. Yes, it's just a view, but boring environments make for boring citizens.
- There's no excuse anymore for a generic uniform full block podium façade. This isn't even a standard block long podium, it's dual block straddling both sides of the alley. Value engineering can't win here. This looks to be the biggest podium in the city. Might be the biggest podium in the country. Even with the existing south side facades, the new levels above it will be noticeably looming.
- The mass of the podium is so large and long that from certain perspectives it will be perceived as THE building. What I mean is, once something takes scale over other(s), you see it first and then the historical fronts feel stuck on like stickers. This will not feel like a sensitive integration between new and old like where a lightweight glass development adorns the air rights above a historical building.
- Podium roof at level 6 on elevations but the section shows 9 levels as wide as the podium (east-west) on the 7th ave side. Also 9 large levels at the east end where both residential towers are. We'll need renderings I guess.
- Glad they've got the dozens of loading sweep paths figured out.
- I'm guessing the office portion gets phased last and maybe always ends up as "future" with structure ready to go below it.

If I had my way I'd leave the NW portion of the podium out as a notch, and spread the laneway area into an amenity plaza. Build a structural supporting system to carry the historical facades. Remove doors and windows from the facades and let them breathe circulation between the 7th Ave sidewalk and the plaza, and visual sightlines from the train platform, while retaining the history. You'd have to give up underground concrete coffins for cars though and we all know how that goes.

Not sure how I feel about residential being the tallest building in the city by 100 ft, until we see a design just due to balcony clutter usually being so noticeable. Better not be a box with tiny projected balconies littered up all four sides. IMO this location will be a very hard sell for the price point those upper floors are likely to need to go for too.
 
8th Ave facades need to be preserved somehow. The buildings on the 7th Ave side are nothing special. Basic retail storefronts but old does not make them heritage IMO. The Palomino Club could easily be replicated in the podium somehow. I did see on the drawings that the church and the Bank of Montreal building are not in scope so they will remain as is.
It would appear that the 66 story condo building is both hotel and condos.
 
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