April 12th, 2007
The star that obscured Hugh Garner
By Shawn Micallef // 9 Comments
Update (this originally posted back in early Feb): As one reader commented, this crane crashed last night -- which explains why I saw a Wellesley bus on Carlton. Check comments for a link to a picture. The Curse of the Star of Downtown! Sounds Agatha Cristie-esque.
Today Wellesley was closed between Sherbourne and Parliament because a big crane-truck from Massachusetts was erecting the construction crane for the Star of Downtown condo. The crane, in half-built form, looked like the 1980s Detroit NBC affiliate logo, with its angular and pointy 4. Channel 4 would run commercials that said "Go 4 it," sung by a watered down blue-eyed-soul version of a Motown chorus. Detroit needed catchy TV station songs back then, as they do now. If you go to the Star of Downtown's website and check the artist's rendering, set "in the heart of Cabbagetown," the building isn't so much of a star as perhaps the "Meh of Downtown" -- boring and maybe generating a bit of regret for those who hoped for something better here. Those renderings are also fairly car heavy too, and make it look like the place is being built in the middle of a parking lot, which is not the case. The upside is this vacant lot, that has been surrounded by steadily deteriorating hoarding over the past few years, will finally be filled in, and hopefully liven up this bit of Wellesley once opened. Go by soon though, as the neat view of the Hugh Garner co-op, straight out of somebody's red-orange-blue-and-concrete 1982 Swedish fantasy (or at least my fantasy), will be blocked forever (views from the east, on Prospect Street, will be just fine though).
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The finishing touches on the townhomes are pure evil. Cute little gingerbread fixin's along the rooflines. How modern.
Well spotted Sean. I think the way the city changes visually is a huge factor in our overall emotional experience of urban space. Often we are not aware of this although we may in passing comment on it.
Are we drowing in amongst the highrises?
Maybe not drowning, but feeling a little watered down, among the bad high-rises.
I say more good high rises though, and the higher the better. I never feel like I'm drowning around well done tall buildings -- rather I get a sort of soaring feeling, even from the sidewalk.
Marc> Presentation Centre is still there, marquee and all.
Wellesley between Sherbourne and Ontario is closed again today, because the crane boom collapsed last night at around 10pm. Lots of mangled metal and ruined concrete but it seems to have avoided any serious damage to other properties (and humans).
you can see it at
http://dcnonl.com/article/20070412090
you can see some crushed sidewalk scaffolding just at the lower right edge of the pic. freaky.
If I remember, the renderings showed a cheap pre-cast slab that wouldn't even be the Star of Downsview, never mind Downtown.
Perhaps with the crane collapse, this tower might be Star-Crossed?
Everyone who has made a comment about the star of downtown is right. Although I took a leap of faith when a Tridel building was being built just two blocks away. I bought my 1 bedroom plus den unit for $201,000.00 a year ago and just sold it for $264,999.00. I think the star is a STAR. You dont get that kind of return that quick.
One year in and the building is still not registered. The developer Norstar aka Willowfield Winchester is incompetent to say the least. They are refusing to submit the final plans and mylars to the city.
Does this mean that the hideous sales office is gone yet? I thought the whole marketing campaign of The Star of Downtown didn't bode well for the final product. The rendering of the finished product doesn't look like it's gonna age well in that neighbourhood. Sigh.
Comment by Marc Lostracco
February 5, 2007 | 12:01 am