They grow up so fast. It seems like only yesterday our little city was crawling around under the CN Tower’s shadow. The icon that graces our skyline (and the tallest free standing structure in Canada) is still cool in a retro 70’s sort of way, but these days it’s Toronto’s record breaking 132 high rises currently under construction that are putting it on the world’s map.
I wouldn’t get all worked up about it just yet. The city is in its gangly teenage years.
Our crane-ridden, pock-scarred city needs love and guidance now more than ever. Growing up is inevitable, but let’s make sure we’re raising our city right.
We certainly have something good to work with here. The city enjoys a happy and healthy core; it is the fifth most populous in North America. People want to be in the thick of it, and this is a good thing. According to the recent report “Building a Sustainable Toronto,” by professors James McKellar of York University and David Amborski of Ryerson University, the active desire to avoid urban sprawl is the first step to becoming a sustainable city.
The past five years saw some 70,000 new condo units in the downtown core. The meteoric rise is not without growing pains, of course. Many of these condos opted for stylish glass panel balconies with less framing and front mounting. The result: added stress from bolts and brackets and glass that shattered out and onto the city. The stop-gap measure: hideous protective plastic now adorn these condo walls.
There is only so much sand left in this playground and the Canadian Urban Institute points out that despite all the new development in the past few years, the downtown core still has only about 20 per cent of the office capacity in the GTA.
The organizing principle has to be one of cohesion, developers say. The idea is to work, live and play in the inner city. The eco-system will come crumbling down if jobs start moving to the suburbs, an inevitable development if the current short-term urban planning practices continue.
As residential areas vie with office space, new hybrid models are surfacing. Neighbourhoods like King West, King East and Liberty Village, with their refurbished turn of the century brick and beams, are quickly establishing themselves as the meeting place for members of the “creative economy.”
The good and/or bad news: Toronto still hasn’t hit maturity. As we say goodbye to above ground parking and a view of Lake Ontario, there has never been a better time for reflection.
This is where the real nurturing must kick-in. It’s not just about getting tall. It’s about retaining character. Preserving our history while continuing to evolve has to be paramount.
The city currently has a heritage inventory of 9,600 buildings and 20 districts — with equal measure loopholes that developers take advantage of. The ones with decision making power are governments and developers, but they are in turn servicing the likes of you and me. We are the ones fueling the condo craze. Because we are the ones who like big, who like shiny, and with our purchasing power, we are balkanizing our city without fully being aware.
Recently, Ben Myers, executive vice-president of market research firm, Urbanation, has predicted more than 39,000 condo units currently under construction, and the first quarter of 2012 could see up to 24 new condo projects in the ‘416′ area alone. So there’s really no end in sight.
Even as I write this column, MOD Developments is incorporating the old Canadian Bank of Commerce building into their 60-storey Massy Tower at 197-210 Yonge Street. Freed’s, Fashion House is anchoring the 12-story condo on a silver-plate historic building in King Street West. Allied Properties is leading the charge in the commercial sector with QRC West’s integration of a five-story historic building with an 11-story tower at the corner of Peter and Richmond.
Bottom line: Toronto is growing up. We should start acting like one.
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This is Leyla Emory’s first piece for Toronto Standard.
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