Frank Gehry King Street West

Frank Gehry, probably the most famous living architect in the world, was retained by David Mirvish to design three 80+ storey condos along King Street West, at the corner of John St. These condos would be the tallest in the country, maybe in North America.

I have read countless negative comments about the towers. We can automatically dismiss the comments of people that do not live in Toronto. Most of these people have an irrational hate-on for the city. They hate to see the city succeed. My concern is with the locals. The people that scream bloody murder anytime someone wants to build a tall building. They prefer a shade blocking slab structure over a thin super tall building. The fact is super-tall buildings are inevitable. Earlier in this blog you will note that a building was erected across the street from my condo, which blocks my view of the CN tower and robs me of some sunlight. I didn't write City Hall, it is a fact of urban life.

If you look at the buildings that will be demolished to make way for the Gehry condos, I can't see any reason to save them. They are painted over brick slab buildings, with limited architectural merit. They house low budget restaurants, a Tim's and a sports memorabilia shop. There is an underused theatre that shows tired musicals like Cats. I'll take 3-Gehry super-tall condos over slab buildings that are hardly unique in the core, or along King St. West.  Check out King west of Spadina for many similar examples. Buildings that have not been painted over.

I live on King Street West, about a kilometre west of this site. I walk by the location daily. I have also recently invested in property at John and Adelaide, currently under construction. This new property will be one block north of the Gehry buildings and half their height. The Gehry buildings will block the sunlight from my investment property, but I understand that owning property close to these buildings will raise the value of all condos in the area. It will be a huge boon to Toronto.

I recall the negativity when they tore down underused slab buildings along Yonge and Dundas to construct a public square. The negative comments were endless. Today that square is the undisputed centre of the city. It has replaced nearby, and twice the size, Nathan Phillips square as the most important place where the city gathers.

People in the city have a hard time embracing change. We can't afford to let the city stagnate. It is like when North York's Gord Perks blocked an iconic pedestrian bridge over railway tracks, into Fort York in order to save a few bucks. Instead they will build a drab simple bridge. Mayor Ford did the same thing with renovations to Nathan Phillips. Let's save a couple of $Million and go small, instead of reaching for the stars. For a very big man, Ford thinks small.