The disappearance of surface parking lots in Toronto is a great thing. The scourge of the city for half a century after being devoured by the automobile and its auxiliary needs, Toronto has been luckier than most cities in North America in correcting these historic mistakes as most downtown lots have been filled back in with more city.
One of the most recent to disappear was at Queen W. and Soho Sts. Unfortunately it’s been filled in by a new mistake.
Indeed, MEC makes a big deal about their social and environmental responsibility and their commitment to “green buildings” and “lightening their impact.” Yet there are few bigger impacts than abandoning an already built, perfectly fine building that will soon be torn down, and constructing a new one a couple blocks away. Walmart does this, MEC shouldn’t, as land use planning and adaptive reuse of existing buildings are integral to sound environmentalism.
Full story here at this link,
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2019/05/24/new-mec-store-in-downtown-toronto-is-an-environmental-architectural-and-heritage-shame.html
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