Does this really look like it is preserving heritage at all?

[TorontoBuilder]

I ventured into downtown Toronto for the first time in months...

I wanted to check out this development and the extreme efforts required preserve a facade.

circa 2005 this 130 year gothic revival style church gets heritage protection, FWIW, the developer wishes to build highrise condo on 1/2 block from subway station, so city negotiates a deal to allow the site to be gutted without gaining an substantive gains for actual residents... meanwhile the developer has to spend many millions to meet the goal of the city that is to preserve a few walls and a tower.

The final site will be butt ugly.

I'd have said raze the damn church to the ground, take the many millions in savings and build 30 units on the ground and second floor to be deeded to the city as social housing assets for elderly and increase the building height by two storeys because we have a housing crisis.

Fact, the church would care more for housing people than for preserving a facade.

 

[Tom Kitta]

I actually remember that church from the days when I used to live in Toronto.

 

[phaxtris]

Yea heritage buildings, I was involved with one, the king Eddy in Calgary.
We built a steel building inside the facade of the old hotel, it was ridiculous, every feature that was worth saving got demoed, the only thing that remains is the old walls and some of the spikes together dim lumber floor

They could have torn that building down and rebuilt the facade with the original bricks for half the cost and and probably had a better final product

Winnipeg has a pretty well done heritage project, red river college has a wicked downtown'ish campus, half original, half new

 

[DPittman]

I've never been to Toronto but the likes of that is something I'd expect to see.

 

[slow-poke]

Well I'm glad they saved it. I lived in the GTA for way too long and I consider it pretty darn low on the aesthetically pleasing list. If I hear one more time from the CBC that Toronto is a "world class" city I will assume that whoever is making the comment has never been to Paris, London, Athens, etc. If I lived abroad and paid for a visit to Toronto to see the city and culture I would surely be disappointed.

 

[StevSmar]

It does look more interesting than if it was completely demolished.

My vote is for retaining what they have done, I like how that’s been done for a few buildings in Winnipeg.

Valid suggestion about making more social housing though.

 

[Susquatch]

If I hear one more time from the CBC that Toronto is a "world class" city I will assume that whoever is making the comment has never been to Paris, London, Athens, etc. If I lived abroad and paid for a visit to Toronto to see the city and culture I would surely be disappointed.

Why do you need to hear "one more time"?

Anything the press ever said when I knew the real facts was usually wrong. They don't tell the news - they make their own.

To be fair, I've known a few good journalists. But they are the minority.

My dad had a great saying about dealing with the press which I have adopted. "You can't win a pissing contest with a skunk."

 

[Mcgyver]

If I hear one more time from the CBC that Toronto is a "world class" city I will

What do you expect from the Ministry of Information?

I remember an interview awhile ago where I think one of the Rothschilds was asked about Toronto and the response was something like "well I don't know, its simply not part of our comings and goings".

I mean cripes, we only made it on the Michelin's guide radar screen a year ago!

imo, Toronto unfortunately has deteriorated badly over the last 30 years and is definitely a provincial berg on the international city scene.