Condo Critic: Wellesley struggles for an identity

Wellesley St. has never had an easy time of it. Though treated well in the 19th century, what followed wasn't always pretty. The advent of St. James Town in the 1960s certainly didn't do the neighbourhood any favours; this high density highrise complex didn't turn out quite as expected.

Beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder, but few would disagree that the planners and architects responsible for St. James Town made every mistake in the book. The most obvious problem is the lack of connection to the larger city.

More than that, Wellesley is one of those streets – there are many – where the buildings feel like so many squabbling neighbours. Some are tall, other small, but many are wrapped in their own solitude. And only in Toronto would a corner such as Jarvis and Wellesley, which boasts one of the finest residential heaps in the city – the Massey Mansion – would a gas station be allowed next door.

On the other hand, there are a number of houses from the 1800s that one would hate to see disappear, especially on Wellesley, east of Jarvis. These modest but often exquisite buildings tend to look a little out of place now, given that the street has gone highrise in recent decades. Though there are a few interesting apartment buildings from the pre-war years, much of the new residential development has been undistinguished.

The best thing to happen here in recent times is the multi-purpose building on the northeast corner of Wellesley and Sherbourne. It revitalized what was a squalid site and turned an important corner around.

chume@thestar.ca

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Condo Critic

 

VERVE, 146 WELLESLEY ST. E.: It may seem a bit late in the day to complain about overly tall towers, but this glass highrise stands out as a building that looms over its neighbourhood in the most ominous way. Not that it's so badly designed as a piece of architecture; many are worse.

In this case, those responsible have got a better grasp of the big elements than the small. They have not always followed through on the details, which means the results are generic and appear instantly familiar. Sitting on the north side of Wellesley facing south, the 39-storey tower rests atop a six-floor slab divided into townhouse units. These run along both sides of the complex, on Homewood and Wellesley Place. On these narrow roads, the new development contributes positively to the streetscape.

The obvious weakness is the front facade on Wellesley; it brings little to a thoroughfare that needs all the civic improvement it can get. A podium extends along the street but it does little to mitigate the sense that this project was just too big for the site. Then there's the standard issue green-tinted glass and the general lack of architectural resolution. Ultimately, one can't help but feel this is another example of a development that gives people what they need, but not what they want.

GRADE: B-

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Email: condocritic@thestar.ca.

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