Oxford Place: $3 Billion Proposal for Downtown Toronto
By Lucas on Oct 12, 2012
There is no doubt that Toronto has become the city of master plans. We have Concord Adex working on Cityplace, Dundee Kilmer with The Canary District, and just recently, David Mirvish and Frank Gehry announced their plans for three super tall towers on King St. West.
So, why not add another huge proposal?! On the morning of Oct. 12, Oxford Properties Group sent out a press release presenting their proposal for a $3 billion project called, Oxford Place, which involves two new hotel towers, residential and office towers, retail space, and a redeveloping of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre – oh, and a casino.
Oxford Place would occupy an 11-acre site just south of Front St., in between Simcoe and Blue Jays Way. Foster + Partners was the firm commissioned to design the master plan. The most interesting tower design out of the bunch has to be the residential and office space - unfortunately, they are almost exactly like SOM’s residential proposal for the Yongsan International Business District in Seoul, Korea, which is highly influenced by their own design of the One World Trade Center, which is nearing completion.
We love that Oxford and Foster + Partners are thinking big and want to make a significant change to Toronto, but if more than $3 billion is being spent, the towers should be unique – something that can be recognized globally as a tower in Toronto, Canada.
Of course, what’s making the headlines is not the design or scope of the project, but the possibility of a casino. Oxford stated in their press release that the casino would take up less than 10% of the project space. A casino of any size can change a city, and for this scenario, whether it will be a good change or not is yet to be seen. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. has already announced that the GTA is going to get a new casino, but they will not be building one in a city that does not want one.
What do you think of Oxford Properties Group’s proposal?
Do you want a casino in Toronto?
