In The News

A pre-condo history of Liberty Village

BlogTO Wednesday, February 22, 2012

BlogTO's Derek Flack goes deep into the archives to unearth Liberty Village's industrial past. Flack's archival photo essay reveals the Liberty Village that existed "before the condos"—from the early 20th century prison that gave Liberty Village its name, to the growth and decline of the area's industrial activity, to the transformation of the area by a small group of artists in the 1980s.

"For all the development that's shaped Liberty Village over the last decade or so, the area's industrial past retains something of a ghostly presence—at least if one confines himself to exploring the western half of the neighbourhood. The eastern end, leading in across the still new-feeling East Liberty Street from Strachan Avenue, on the other hand, remains a source of angst for heritage preservationists who lament this city's near-complete contempt for 19th and early 20th century industrial architecture."

"According to a report from the University of Toronto's Centre for Urban and Community Studies, "municipal deregulation of land uses in the King Street West area in 1994 contributed to the attraction of the area for developers and real estate speculators.... Many small businesses and low-income tenants were evicted to allow property owners to renovate their buildings. The deregulation of zoning bylaws had increased the pressure to redevelop industrial lands and put planners under constant pressure to allow the conversion of old industrial buildings for residential or office use."

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original source BlogTO

Investment experts recognize Canada's many virtues

AreaDevelopment Online Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A feature on AreaDevelopment Online looks at how Canada has become the ideal country for North American investors.

Among other things, Canada is lauded for its high standard of living, its sound banking system, its motivated workforce and its "strategic investments in technology, education and healthcare."

"'Canada is better placed than many countries to weather the global financial turbulence and worldwide recession,' says Charles Kramer, division chief for the International Monetary Fund's Western Hemisphere Department. 'This resilience can be attributed to three factors: First, a track record of sound macroeconomic policy management left the country in prime form at the beginning of the global turmoil; second, a proactive response by government to the economic crisis; and third, a stable financial system.'"

"The Bank of Canada projects Canada's gross domestic product to grow by 2.9 percent in 2010, compared to a contraction of 2.5 percent last year. The Economist Intelligence Unit believes Canada's inflation rate of 2.1 percent will hold steady over the next five years, at a significantly lower figure than the 3.2 percent rate in the United States. Canada's total net debt-to-GDP ratio is also the lowest in the G7."

"This stability makes Canada a choice destination for companies planning to relocate or expand. According to Dun & Bradstreet's Global Risk Indicator, Canada is one of the world’s safest countries in which to invest. Because of Canada's top-ranked fiscal balance sheet and excellent long-term growth prospects, the country has been given a AAA international credit rating from Moody's Investors Services since 2002."

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original source AreaDevelopment Online

Project bringing local food brought right to your workplace

Blog TO Wednesday, February 15, 2012

BlogTO writes on Toronto Office Markets, a new sustainable food initiative that brings local vendors into office lobbies. The project—launched by Toronto-based food-focused NGO, Alimentary Initiatives—is an attempt to reduce the food industry's "triple bottom line" (environmental, social and economic costs) by bringing local venders and growers right into workspaces. After a successful pilot launch at the Centre for Social Innovation, Toronto Office Markets is scheduled to open on March 8 in the lobby of ING Direct.

"Artisan market in style, different vendors will sell their goods to the employees and guests of the office. Offering a range of freshly baked breads, cheeses, produce, and ready-to-eat items like samosas and raw pizza, the concept offers food for now and later."

"[Head of Alimentary Initiatives] Aruna Handa sees the project as "win-win-win" and it's hard not to agree with her: since AI does not charge for the service, offices get the market with no financial investment, the employees gain convenient access to local food, and the vendors have to opportunity to increase their sales and profile."

"Handa believes that through initiatives like the Toronto Office Markets, the local food economy can be transformed into a more sustainable model in which residents have easier access to fresh food from nearby farmers and proprietors. While that plan is rather ambitious in its goals, the drive to bring these products directly to consumers is surely a good start."

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original source BlogTO

Geek alert! Toronto deemed second only to Houston for North American IT jobs in 2012

Market Watch Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Toronto is the second best city in North America to find an IT job, according to a new survey released by international IT staffing company Modis. As the Modis survey highlights, Toronto's top hiring industries—from financial services, to government to consulting firms—all require IT specialists.

"As the economy continues through its recovery and corporate earnings show signs of improvement, companies across North America are reinvesting in IT projects that had been put on hold during the recession. Modis, a leading provider of information technology staffing, has identified a list of the top 12 cities to find IT jobs today, with Houston taking the top spot on the list for the second year in a row."

"The rankings are based on internal data from Modis' branch network across the US and Canada. The list shows the cities with highest potential for IT job growth in the coming year based on the volume of job openings over the past six months, as well as general assessment of the overall economic environment in each market."

"Toronto came in second on the list, in part due to its position as the fourth largest IT market in North America. Home to many Fortune 500 companies, it is also the third largest financial center in North America next to New York and Chicago. Fittingly, the top industries hiring in this city are financial services, government, and systems integrators and consulting services. Project management, Java development, and SAP or CRM experience are the skills most in demand."

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original source Market Watch

Choir! Choir! Choir! belts it out and puts a stranger in your ear

Toronto Life Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Toronto Life writes on Choir! Choir! Choir!, the collaborative choir project held every Tuesday night at the College Street bar No One Writes To The Colonel. At every Choir! Choir! Choir! night, project founders Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman divide participants into three groups (highs, mediums and lows) and lead them in a one and half hour singalong. Launched three years ago, Choir! Choir! Choir! has become a Toronto institution with as many as 100 eager participants joining in.

"Over a few hours of trial and error, their unique arrangements become full-fledged, clappable, even beautiful songs. It all started three years ago, when Adilman organized a singing birthday gift for a friend. Now the group is landing gigs, like opening the Reel Asian Film Festival, which means anyone can indulge their Glee-like fantasy of performing before hundreds. The material—George Michael, TLC, Fleetwood Mac—has an ironic tinge, but there’s no hipster posturing in a crowd that includes moms, students, the hip and the not so hip. The experience is a sort of extended version of that moment when the star holds out the mic and the crowd finishes the chorus. Choir! is all the things Toronto thinks it is—democratic, inclusive, creative—without any of the self-consciousness. It’s a chance to break the urban isolation, turn off the devices and hear a stranger in your ear."

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original source Toronto Life

Toronto Standard on Toronto's legendary Thuna Herbals

Toronto Standard Wednesday, February 08, 2012

The Toronto Standard's latest "Made in Toronto" video features Toronto's legendary and historic Thuna Herbals. Located at 298 Danforth, Thuna's is a Toronto institution. Established in 1888, Thuna's been making custom herbal remedies for Torontonians for more than a hundred years.

see video here
original source Toronto Standard

'Culture of caring' pervasive in Toronto's hospitals

Inside Toronto Wednesday, February 08, 2012

An Inside Toronto special looks at the "culture of caring" and innovation that permeates Toronto hospitals, healthcare centres and medical research facilities. From the Scarborough Hospital's new tasty food options, to Humber River Regional Hospital's digital transformation, Toronto's healthcare centres are on the forefront of patient care and medical innovation.

"Not only does this culture of advancement and innovation attract brilliant minds in the health care field, it establishes Toronto as forward-thinking and a global leader."

"And the giving travels in both directions. There are fundraisers and walks throughout the year, which raise much-needed funds for one form of research or another. Citizens give back when they are proud of the work being done by those in the medical field. In particular when it is happening in their city.

The great strides being made in healthcare by institutions across the city are the kinds of things Torontonians should be proud of—especially when everything coming from various levels of government is all doom and gloom. In particular, hospitals are under fire for CEO salaries, the province is talking of delisting some services from OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) and the federal government wants to transfer healthcare funding to the provinces."

"At this time, everyone should know about the eye surgery being done at Toronto East General Hospital, which takes amniotic membrane from donated placentas to repair and reconstruct damaged eyes; the stem cell research at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine that helps find treatments for conditions like heart disease and spinal cord injury; the work into children's health at the Hospital for Sick Children; and the coronary artery clinical trials underway at North York's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre."

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original source Inside Toronto

UofT's Rotman School among world's top 10 MBA schools in research, says Financial Times

U of T Magazine Wednesday, February 08, 2012

The University of Toronto Magazine responds to the successful placement of the Rotman School of Business in the Financial Times annual ranking of global business programs. The University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management rose two positions from last year to place 44th globally, and 20th in North America. Even more impressively, the school also ranked 10th for the research produced by faculty and 15th for its PhD program.

"'There is as always lots of room for improvement, but I am pleased with our progress towards being recognized as one of the world's top tier business schools,' said dean Roger Martin."

"'On the research front, we are particularly pleased to have cracked the top 10 overall. I think that is undeniable evidence that we have a world-class faculty. Second, our progress has been nothing short of spectacular. Ten years ago, we ranked 58th in research. Congratulations to our faculty members for their research success and to vice-dean Peter Pauly and associate dean Joel Baum for their leadership in building our faculty.'"

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original source University of Toronto Magazine

Surge in visitors to TO drives increasing number of hotel rooms in 2011

CTV News Wednesday, February 01, 2012

2011 was a record year for tourism in Toronto, according to new figures released by Tourism Toronto officials. As reported by CTV, not only did Toronto surpass the nine-million visitor mark for the first time, 2011 also saw an increase in overnight visitors from the United States, something that hasn't happened in the city since 2006.

"Tourism Toronto president David Whitaker says 2011 also saw growth in the number of visitors from overseas markets such as China, India and Brazil."

"Among the Canadian provinces, Ontario, Quebec and Alberta accounted for the most visitors to Toronto."

"Due in part to increased demand, 1,118 new hotel rooms opened in Toronto in 2011, placing Toronto third in growth in North American cities behind New York City and Nashville."

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original source CTV News

Travel mag ranks Bayview station among world's 15 most beautiful subway stops

BootsnAll Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Online travel magazine BootsnAll lists Toronto's Bayview Station as among the "15 most beautiful subway stations in the world."

Opened in 2002 and designed by Stevens Group Architects, Bayview Station is singled out for its high-ceiling entrance pavilions, long-angled roofs and for showcasing wall projections by Toronto artist Panya Clark Espinal.

"Throughout the station, you can see From Here Right Now, a trompe l’oeil installation by Toronto artist Panya Clark Espinal. Her website explains that in From Here Right Now, 'twenty-four hand-drawn images have been 'projected' onto the architecture of the station so that when seen from the original location of projection, the images are crystalized and realistic, but when seen from other locations they appear to be abstractions. These images act as beacons, drawing the viewers along various paths of movement. Depicting everyday objects and simple geometric shapes, the images are rendered in an uncommonly large scale and in unusual orientations, allowing one to interact playfully with them as one moves through the space."

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original source BootsnAll

Toronto's new Trump hotel recognized for glitz, glam and... restraint

Forbes Wednesday, February 01, 2012

The Toronto Trump Hotel opens its doors this week, further strengthening Toronto's reputation as hotspot for international luxury travel. Located at Bay and Adelaide, the new tower—which stands 65 storeys tall and is topped by an articulated spire—is now Canada’s second tallest structure.

"A three-dimensional cherry blossom branch is mounted behind the reception desk on LED-lit black glass. Rendering courtesy Norm Li AG&I Inc."

"While Trump's signature grandiose style may mark the exterior of the tower, its interior is purposefully restrained (though you'll still find plenty of glitz and glam in the sophisticated hotel's public spaces). Local Toronto design firm II by IV incorporated a 'champagne and caviar' color scheme throughout the hotel and its 18,000 square foot 31st-floor skyline spa (opening soon). Your first glimpse of the design style will be in the street-level lobby, where white semi-precious onyx wall panels imported from Milan add drama, as do the laser-cut gray granite inlays on the floor and the dramatic, smoky beveled mirror hovering overhead. Light boxes displaying diamond necklaces and other jewels accent the space, and a can't-miss-it three-dimensional crystal cherry blossom branch mounted on LED-lit black glass behind the reception desk."

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original source Forbes

Are we having a Seattle moment?

New York Times Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The New York Times writes on why Toronto just might be the "pre-eminent city for pop music in the whole wide world." Feist, Drake, The Weeknd and Austra, are among the Toronto artists whose 2011 albums were met with national and international acclaim.

"Now, to fully conprehend the parameters of this debate, you need to understand two things: 1) Toronto is intrinsically uncomfortable at being called the best at anything in the world, let alone calling itself the best at anything (full disclosure: I am from Toronto); and 2) Not all that long ago, Toronto couldn't even credibly claim to be the best music city in Canada, as that title pretty clearly belonged to Montreal (with Halifax making a strong case for second place)."

"Jon Pareles, chief pop critic for The New York Times, named Feist's Metals as his favorite album of 2011; his colleague Jon Caramanica chose Drake's Take Care. Nitsuh Abebe, music critic for New York magazine, picked Feel It Break, the debut by Toronto synth-pop group Austra. Meanwhile, the editors of Spin went with David Comes to Life, the electrifying concept album by local punks [and here's that name we can't print again!], and marked the occasion by tarting up Damian Abraham, the band's formidable frontman, for its cover."

"Mayer then concedes that unlike, say, Seattle, Toronto doesn't have a defining sound—though this musical diversity bolsters his argument more than it undermines it. He also points out that, a few years back, Toronto's music scene had a similar moment in the spotlight, stoked by certain American publications—though, if anything, the current scene is bigger and more internationally successful than ever before, mostly thanks to her and him."

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original source New York Times

Time-lapse video captures Toronto's nonstop construction

Yahoo News Wednesday, January 25, 2012

ConstrucToronto, a time-lapse video making the rounds on the Internet, documents Toronto's seemingly unstoppable high-rise construction. As reported by Yahoo News (who also featured the video), there is now almost more high-rise construction in Toronto than all of the US combined

"If you live in the city of Toronto almost everywhere you look you will see new construction. There is so much the National Post referred to it in a headline as the 'city of mass construction.' But rarely do people get to view it in fast forward. When one photographer started to see a building going up, the camera started rolling."

"'I thought I'd try to document it as best I could,' said the filmmaker, who goes by the handle FMR on vimeo. 'My second attempt at a 'time-lapse' and 'tilt-shift' piece.'"

"There are 132 buildings under construction in Toronto, followed by 88 in Mexico City and 86 in New York City. In all of the US, there are only 139 highrises being built. And Toronto isn't the only Canadian city with a boom. Calgary, Vancouver and Mississauga are building eight, seven and six high-rises respectively."

check out video here

original source Yahoo News

Queen West's Type Books scores viral hit with playful video of books gone wild

NY Daily News Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Toronto bookstore Type Books is getting international attention after the shop's stop-motion film The Joy of Books went viral on YouTube. The short film—in which books seemingly come to life at night—had nearly 1.9-million hits within one week of being posted.

"Sean Ohlenkamp, creator of the vibrant and lovely stop-motion short film The Joy of Books, is one such literary soldier. His battle cry comes in his closing frame: 'There's nothing quite like a real book.'"

"The fantastical short film is set in Toronto bookshop Type. Books come alive after a shopkeeper leaves for the night, much like the toys in Pixar films spring to life as soon as humans leave the room. The books dance, spin on their spines, frolic and even shift spots on their shelves in a circular pattern to mimic fans doing the wave at a baseball stadium."

"The film is magic (aided by great Harry Potter-esque music via Grayson Matthews) and it's easy to imagine the books are so alive with characters and places and heartbreaks and great loves and wonderful adventures that they can't help but wriggle and quake in their bindings."

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check out video here
original source NY Daily News

Unlike in those living south of the border, Canadians really are living the American dream

Globe & Mail Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Globe & Mail writes on the state of economic mobility in Canada. Unlike our neighbour to the south, Canada is among the world leaders in economic mobility, on par with Denmark, Norway and other Scandinavian countries. The article points to new research by University of Ottawa professor Miles Corak, which suggests that while the United States remains significantly richer overall, "Canadians are up to three times more economically mobile than Americans."

"A recent front-page story in The New York Times highlighted new research that 'turns conventional wisdom on its head'—namely, that Americans enjoy less economic mobility than their peers in, gasp, Canada."

"Yes, the US is richer, but it's also significantly more unequal, and a lot less mobile. Inequality is inherited, much like hair and eye colour."

"The conclusion is based partly on the work of University of Ottawa professor Miles Corak, a social policy economist and former director of family and labour research at Statistics Canada."

"Prof. Corak has quantified the opportunity divide between the two countries and his conclusions are startling. Canadians are up to three times more economically mobile than Americans, and it's almost entirely due to the conditions faced by those living at the very top and bottom of society, according to a new study he co-authored: Economic Mobility, Family Background, and the Well-Being of Children in the United States and Canada."

"'What distinguishes the two countries is what's happening at the tails,' Prof. Corak explained in an interview. 'Rich kids grow up to be rich adults and poor kids stay poor. In Canada, that's not so much the case.'"

"The American dream that anyone can rise from humble beginnings to vast wealth has become a myth. And as the gap between rich and poor widens, the middle class is shrinking."

"For now, at least, the dream of upward mobility in Canada is still alive. Canadians can thank a legacy of sound public policy and a more progressive tax system."

"Even the poorest of Canadian children have access to good schools, quality health care and decent homes (Attawapiskat notwithstanding)."

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original source Globe & Mail