Condo Developers Accommodating Cyclists in Toronto

With the Toronto waterfront undergoing dramatic redevelopment, making way for countless new homes, offices and retail spaces, it’s important that we stay a step ahead in terms of transportation.

Let’s face it; subways and streetcars are already crowded and rush hour in the city is a commuter’s most tormenting nightmare. According to a study conducted by the Ontario Ministry of Finance, Toronto is expected to see a 28.6 percent population increase by 2036, in what they refer to as a “reference scenario”; which means, the overall population would jump from 13.5 million people to almost 17.5 million. That 3.9 million people could devastate existing transportation routes if we don’t adequately address and find solutions for the matter of getting around. Of course, John Tory, Olivia Chow, Doug Ford, and other mayoral candidates have released their plans for Toronto’s transit, but we’ll just have to wait to see if any of them actually come to fruition as planned.

Via Suppose Design Office

Here’s a question worth pondering. Why not follow in Japan’s footsteps? Suppose Design Office imaginatively revitalized an old warehouse building on the waterfront of Hiroshima that offers cyclists a hotel they can check-into while they’re still on their bikes. Drawing inspiration for the design of the building from the beautiful landscape and historical roots revolving around the coastal community, architects created a bikers haven, complete with a bike shop, bar and restaurant and clothing shop, which are all specifically geared around the culture of cycling.

"Many tourists, cyclists especially, visit Onomichi city, they have come to know it as the town with beautiful hills and 'machiya', which are Japanese-style houses of antiquity," said the architects.

Via Dezeen.com

In honour of the past, the architects preserved the structure of the warehouse, exposing original brickwork and concrete, and incorporating elements of wood, mortar and steel, which are reminiscent of the old houses in Onomichi. "Our building materials – wood, mortar, and steel – recall the old houses of Onomichi and the shipbuilding that's been such a longstanding tradition there," the architects explained. Among the industrial style finishes is a metal-framed staircase that leads to the main concourse and raw, mechanical looking light fixtures in the restaurant and bar, which speak to Onomichi’s past as a shipbuilding city.

Via Suppose Design Office

The 28 suites are split across two levels on one side of the central lobby, with a double staircase providing access to the lower unit restaurant, bar, lobby and shop. Every bedroom is complete with hooks that serve as bike posts that allow guests to show off and store their wheels when they’re not putting them to good use! The open-concept layout of the hotel is divided by concrete columns that partition the lobby and shop while providing guests ample opportunity to lounge and unwind. Directly accessible from the boardwalk and the main road, this project is being widely praised by architects worldwide.

Via Suppose Design Office

As the only ‘real’ contender, Tokyo, coming in top spot, beat out West Queen West in Vogue’s recent article on the ‘coolest street style neighbourhoods’, which obviously indicates that they’re doing things right. So what do you think? Can you see a condo like this being developed on the waterfront here in Toronto?

Some of the developments planned for the area are, Pier 27 by Cityzen and Fernbrook, 1 Yonge by Pinnacle, the whole Bayside Toronto master-plan by Tridel and Hines, Harbour Plaza by Menkes, and the Canary District master-plan by Dundee Kilmer, which is a community founded around the principles of healthy and active living. Taking a look from another perspective, the east side offers a plethora of beautiful bike trails that attract all sorts of tourists, heading right along the Don Valley Parkway.

The Selby

The Selby, a new condo by Cityzen, Fernbrook, and UrbanCorp comes pretty close to catering to cyclists by providing more than 500 bicycle parking spots and scheduled to rise at the tip of one of Toronto’s longest dedicated bike lanes. If more condo developers start accommodating cyclists, this could be the industry’s way of improving traffic congestion in Toronto’s downtown core.