

Today was the official launch of Corktown Condos. (In case you missed it, I wrote about Corktown last month, over here.) So what does this actually mean? What it means is that we got a small group of 500+ agents and brokers together to tell them about the project. We talked about our love of Hamilton and provided an overview of the project's amenities, suite pricing, deposit structures, and so on. Everyone who attended now also has access to our broker portal, where all of this information is stored.

However, no actual purchase agreements were signed today. That's for later. The first signing event will take place on Saturday, May 27th starting at 12PM, at 30 St. Clair Avenue West, Suite 103, in Toronto. So if you're interested in Corktown, I would encourage you to attend on this date. Feel free to also reach out to our sales team if you have any questions (sales@corktown.condos). The people you want to connect with are Shannon Glas, Daniella Commisso, and/or Hansen Chu. Hopefully I'll see you there next weekend!


I have a friend visiting from Detroit this weekend. We went to architecture school together at Penn. But unlike me, he decided to become a full fledged architect.
Not surprisingly, he wants to see some new Toronto architecture while he’s here. I say new because he has seen the classics. So I mapped out a short bike route this morning. It’s more or less a downtown loop that starts in the St. Lawrence.
First we head west to the Queen Richmond Centre West by Allied Properties REIT (developer) and Sweeny&Co (architect). After that I’d like to show him the main drag of King West and point out two buildings by Saucier + Perrotte Architects and CORE Architects. I don’t think Unzipped Toronto is open yet.
Next it is north to One Spadina Crescent – home of the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. This is one of if not my favorite new building in the city right now.
After that I figure we’ll cruise east along the Bloor bike lanes and look up at 1 Bloor East. Then it is back south to check out the River City collection by Urban Capital (developer) and Saucier + Perrotte Architects (they are getting good face time on this tour).
Then we’ll do what every good new Toronto architecture bike tour should do and end with a drink on a rooftop patio somewhere. Maybe we’ll check out the Broadview Hotel. I like the neon in the lobby bar.
If I missed anything critical, let me know.
Photo by Tiffany Nutt on Unsplash

This evening Slate hosted a pre-application community meeting in Corktown, Hamilton, where we presented our proposed design for the redevelopment of Corktown Plaza.
There was a short presentation by Slate, GSP Group, CORE Architects, and Janet Rosenberg and Studio, and then we shifted to an open house format where members of the community could speak directly with all members of the project team.
Below are a few of the project renderings, all completed by our friends at ADHOC Studio.




The proposed design includes fine grain and large format retail spaces and a 9.5m pedestrian setback along John Street South (rendering #2 and #3); grade-related family-oriented townhouses on Young Street and Catharine Street South (rendering #4); and two 100% rental towers (31 and 34 storeys) to be built over two phases.
The other notable feature is a mid-block pedestrian connection that will run from John to Catharine and become an important place for local public art. The plan is to work with the community and Councillor Jason Farr to run a separate engagement process for this component of the project. We want to work with local artists. If you have any suggestions, please send them over.
Here, here, and here are what some people had to say about the proposal on Twitter. Thanks to everyone who attended this evening.