Fords on the way to becoming another waterfront wreck

Down on the waterfront, not far from the suddenly desirable Port Lands, the transformation of Toronto is unfolding nearly unnoticed.

Though few have been paying attention, especially in the mayor’s office, one of the first lake-edge projects is quietly taking shape. Earlier this week, architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia of Arquitectonica, an innovative Florida firm, presented plans for an elegant mixed-use complex that will form part of Bayside, a new neighbourhood south of Queens Quay, east of Sherbourne.

Though detailed design remains some time off, the development will be divided into a series of sections that cascade down to the water. Starting at 12 storeys, it drops to six by the water. The building sits on top of a two-floor podium filled with stores that engage the sidewalks directly.

The site, which is long and thin, will include residential, retail, commercial and cultural. On the east, it faces onto Bonnycastle St., now a moribund roadway that connects Queens Quay and Lake Shore Blvd. E. It is slated to become a pedestrian-scaled street for shoppers, and the heart of the new neighbourhood. Farther east, there will be office towers designed by Cesar Pelli, an architect whose credits include some of the world’s most iconic skyscrapers, including the Petronas Towers.

The developer, Hines of Texas, expects to spend upwards of $800 million on the scheme. Construction will start in 2014. Known for the quality of its work, the company has projects in more than 100 cities around the world.

Founder Gerald Hines, whose family comes from Nova Scotia, has nothing but good things to say about this city, this country, and Waterfront Toronto, the agency created in 2001 to revitalize the former industrial lands along Lake Ontario.

He calls the selection process “the most professional I’ve ever seen.”

Interviewed at the unveiling of Bayside last summer, Hines made it clear he buys into Waterfront Toronto’s commitment to urbanity.

“This is where we’re headed,” he said, “multi-use, sustainable, central-city, transit-oriented development. Good urban transportation is the key. People want more disposable time; they don’t want to spend two to three hours sitting in a car every day. But you’ve got to have transit within walking distance.”

Sadly, the way things are going in Toronto these days, Hines will have met his part of the bargain long before the city. Already, the LRT that was slated to run along Queens Quay east of Yonge — essential to this transit-based community — seems to have been dropped. (The mayor doesn’t like streetcars.) At this stage, no one can say with certainty whether it will get built, let alone when?

Now the situation has deteriorated to the point where the mayor is sending threatening letters to Waterfront Toronto CEO John Campbell, whom he accuses of insulting him. Campbell’s sin was to have told a newspaper that Waterfront Toronto doesn’t do backroom deals.

When Doug Ford started sniffing around the Port Lands months ago, musing about taking it away from Waterfront Toronto’s control, few knew much about this part of town. But the Fords’ bullying tactics have become so obnoxious and inappropriate that suddenly, everyone has an opinion on the Port Lands — and not because they want mega-malls and Ferris wheels on the waterfront.

A week ago, it looked like the mayor would break Waterfront Toronto. Now, it’s just as likely it could break him.

His approval ratings in freefall, the backlash growing daily, Ford is on the defensive for the first time since being elected last October. The gap between him and the city has become so wide, you can’t help but wonder how long before he falls in.

Origin
Source: Toronto Star