Mod Developments have announced that they have closed on property at 197 and 201 Yonge Street across from the Eaton Centre. The site includes a Darling and Pearson designed Canadian Bank of Commerce branch which opened in 1905 and which has sat abandoned since 1987. ERA Architects will be overseeing the restoration of this building, while other portions of the site at 201 Yonge which currently serves as a dingy parkette and 197R Yonge in behind the bank will see a new mixed-use development with a 60-storey condominium tower designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects marking it on the city's skyline. Along with interior designers Cecconi Simone and landscape architects Janet Rosenberg + Associates, this is the same team involved in the design of Mod's current project at St. Joseph Street and Yonge called Five.

Darling and Pearson's 1905-built Canadian Bank of Commerce building at 197 Yonge

Another portion of the site is a property facing Victoria Street just to the south of Massey Hall and north of the Elgin-Winter Garden theatres complex. Mod intends to donate land here Massey Hall which could become part of a larger stage and/or backstage area at a revitalized hall. Massey Hall's board will be meeting later this month to begin discussing the possibilities this gift presents. Vehicular access to the new complex, meanwhile, would be via another portion of the Victoria Street property.

Along with the connection to Massey Hall established by the donation, the complex itself will be known as the Massey Tower, honoring Hart Massey and the family foundation which gave Massey Hall to Toronto in 1894.

UrbanToronto looks forward to our first look at the complex in coming weeks. With Five amongst our very favourite projects in the city at the moment, we look forward to the meshing of the revtialized historic component and the promise of a soaring Hariri Pontarini tower here, both for our visual delight, and because we expect great things for Yonge Street from this coming investment of money, talent, and intelligence.

We have been waiting a long time to hear that something good would be coming here, and we want a secure future for E.J. Lennox's 1906 Bank of Toronto building at 205 Yonge as well, but this is a great start. I wish we could give you the number of days until the rendering arrives… just try to be patient until it does!

Want to get in on the discussion in the meantime? UrbanToronto's Projects and Construction Forum thread for this project, starting with the press release, is here.