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I am so impressed by The Well. I walked through it this afternoon after a meeting at BDP Quadrangle's office, and I think that once it's fully open and stabilized, it's going to become an instant icon and destination in the city of Toronto. So much so that when people visit Toronto, they're going to come to The Well to take a photo under its glass canopy. Just watch.
Right now, only a portion of it is accessible to the public and it's because there's a BMO bank branch on the lower level that is open and operating. It's all by itself right now, though, so if you bank with BMO, maybe pop by and say hello.
Now, if you're a naysayer, I would imagine you're probably thinking at least two things. You're thinking of the office space that Shopify left behind. And you're thinking that open-air malls maybe aren't well suited towards the Toronto climate. When our group walked through it today, Matt Young (of Republic Developments) immediately said that it felt like something from California.
I don't really get this climate argument though. Mainly for two reasons: (1) because winter clothes exist and (2) because we have lots of other open-air malls throughout the city that are doing just fine. Except we don't call them open-air malls, we just call them streets. And the way they work is that people walk outside, and then go into various retail establishments.
On the office piece, well, you all know how I feel about office.
Congratulations to everyone involved in The Well. It is an accomplishment that you should all be very proud of, and our city is better for it. I look forward to seeing it continue to take shape.
Following my recent post about cycling to the office, Richard Witt of BDP Quadrangle suggested that I do a post on the West Toronto Railpath and use the little influence that I have to try and encourage further expansion. I thought this was a reasonable idea and so here I am writing about it today.
For those of you who may not be familiar, the WTR is a multi-use trail that can be used for "human-powered activities" such as biking, running, or unicycling. And as the name suggests, the path runs on an old rail line on the west side of Toronto. Here is the current route map (we're talking about the dark orange line):
I am so impressed by The Well. I walked through it this afternoon after a meeting at BDP Quadrangle's office, and I think that once it's fully open and stabilized, it's going to become an instant icon and destination in the city of Toronto. So much so that when people visit Toronto, they're going to come to The Well to take a photo under its glass canopy. Just watch.
Right now, only a portion of it is accessible to the public and it's because there's a BMO bank branch on the lower level that is open and operating. It's all by itself right now, though, so if you bank with BMO, maybe pop by and say hello.
Now, if you're a naysayer, I would imagine you're probably thinking at least two things. You're thinking of the office space that Shopify left behind. And you're thinking that open-air malls maybe aren't well suited towards the Toronto climate. When our group walked through it today, Matt Young (of Republic Developments) immediately said that it felt like something from California.
I don't really get this climate argument though. Mainly for two reasons: (1) because winter clothes exist and (2) because we have lots of other open-air malls throughout the city that are doing just fine. Except we don't call them open-air malls, we just call them streets. And the way they work is that people walk outside, and then go into various retail establishments.
On the office piece, well, you all know how I feel about office.
Congratulations to everyone involved in The Well. It is an accomplishment that you should all be very proud of, and our city is better for it. I look forward to seeing it continue to take shape.
Following my recent post about cycling to the office, Richard Witt of BDP Quadrangle suggested that I do a post on the West Toronto Railpath and use the little influence that I have to try and encourage further expansion. I thought this was a reasonable idea and so here I am writing about it today.
For those of you who may not be familiar, the WTR is a multi-use trail that can be used for "human-powered activities" such as biking, running, or unicycling. And as the name suggests, the path runs on an old rail line on the west side of Toronto. Here is the current route map (we're talking about the dark orange line):
And here's what it looks like today:
It's an incredible amenity and piece of infrastructure on the west side of Toronto, but it's probably also a little underrated. I think of part of this has to do with it being somewhat hidden. And I think another part of this has to do with it being too short.
Right now the WTR runs from Cariboo Ave in the north -- which is around the corner from Junction House -- down to Dundas Street West & Sterling Road in the south. But according to the City of Toronto, an expansion phase has already been funded and construction will start next year. This will take its southern terminus down to Queen Street & Sudbury Street:
All of this is, of course, excellent news. But you and I both know that the WTR needs to be further extended to Union Station, then up north, and probably elsewhere too. So I am here today to advocate for that to happen. If we can find a few billion hanging around to rebuild the Gardiner East (ugh), then surely we can scrape together a few more million for this.
Images: Friends of West Toronto Railpath
And here's what it looks like today:
It's an incredible amenity and piece of infrastructure on the west side of Toronto, but it's probably also a little underrated. I think of part of this has to do with it being somewhat hidden. And I think another part of this has to do with it being too short.
Right now the WTR runs from Cariboo Ave in the north -- which is around the corner from Junction House -- down to Dundas Street West & Sterling Road in the south. But according to the City of Toronto, an expansion phase has already been funded and construction will start next year. This will take its southern terminus down to Queen Street & Sudbury Street:
All of this is, of course, excellent news. But you and I both know that the WTR needs to be further extended to Union Station, then up north, and probably elsewhere too. So I am here today to advocate for that to happen. If we can find a few billion hanging around to rebuild the Gardiner East (ugh), then surely we can scrape together a few more million for this.
Images: Friends of West Toronto Railpath
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