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50 Storey Glass Tower Topping the Hummingbird Centre by Daniel LibeskindA swooping, sculptural 50-storey glass tower designed by architect Daniel Libeskind will top the Hummingbird Centre by the end of the decade if city council gives the go-ahead next week for the start of redevelopment negotiations for the city-owned site.
Yesterday, the city's policy and finance committee agreed unanimously to have its staff and Hummingbird officials enter into talks with developers Castlepoint Realty Partners Ltd. to strike an umbrella agreement that will make Mr. Libeskind's vision a reality.
The negotiations are expected to be completed by the end of this year.
The committee also supported a motion by Councillor Pam McConnell calling for the 3,200 seat Hummingbird -- which opened as the O'Keefe Centre in 1960 -- to be named a designated heritage site under Ontario's new Heritage Act.
Mr. Libeskind's concept and the heritage designation are part of an ambitious, expensive plan to protect the Hummingbird from at worst the wrecking ball, and at least steady deterioration.
The plan aims to simultaneously reinvent the site as a multi-use facility loosely called CityCentre.
Designed by the pioneering British-born Canadian modernist Peter Dickinson, the Hummingbird has been primarily a performing arts venue since its inception.
Its future was thrown into doubt in 2001 when its two long-time an
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22/9/2005 | Viewed 8,164 time(s)
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