quare" is the Toronto buzzword du jour; it's bandied about like herpes at Woodstock. First, there was Dundas Square and now there's Toronto Life Square. The former makes sense, though the latter refers to the angular, monstrous retail space on the North East corner of Yonge and Dundas; it's decidedly not square. However, when you're this big, you can make people call you whatever you want. Oh, and circles are for hippies - wait, what?

With 13 floors, 360 000 square feet, and seemingly infinite e-billboard space, the magazine-moniker-ed building is a hulking presence. Tenants will include Futureshop - who've already hammered up a sign - Shoppers Drugmart, Wolf Gang Puck's Cafe, Adidas, a giant, Scotiabank-taunting AMC/Ryerson film classroom, and many, many others. The corner's 18 million in annual pedestrian traffic is the highest in the country, so its flashing advertising will covertly/overtly indoctrinate hordes of eyeballs.

Like Times Square, Piccadilly Circus, and Shibuya Crossing, TLS should become a name-branded tourist picture destination. In the works since the beginning of Mayor Mel's tenure (1998), it has taken nearly a decade to come to fruition. With a name-change (it used to be the retro-futuristic Metropolis) and a carousel of departing and arriving occupants, the development's existence has been full of tumult. However, with the phased unveiling looking inevitable - it will begin soon and continue throughout next year - TLS is finally becoming a reality. Expect camera flashes, capitalist indulgence, and various angles, right and otherwise. -S.T.