...a big selling feature of these expensive shoeboxes is often the lovely historical neighborhood in which it’s situated. Too bad Aryze can’t actually contribute to maintaining the heritage design language of these areas.
I think this is a very strong point about neighbourhood developments in general, whether by these guys or by someone else. The project for Parry Street in James Bay and the project for the corner of Fernwood & Pandora are "red flag" examples. If the neighbourhood is appealing then where's the sense in gutting what makes it appealing? The "gutting" formula can only continue for so long before it crosses a point of no return.
It's like ten modernist buildings across the city.
However, I think this is a decent counterpoint. I like it when there are small-ish but notable exceptions here and there. It can make a neighbourhood more interesting than it otherwise would be.
This is where I'm inclined to sympathize a bit with developers and architects. They want to do their own thing, they want to pursue their own business models, they want to sell what people want to buy, but they also need to balance those other concerns that we talk about.