Renderings have surfaced of a new condominium project by a joint venture of the Minto Group and Freed Developments located at Front and Bathurst Streets in Toronto. The renderings were shown to neighbours at a recent community meeting held by Adam Vaughan to discuss the proposal. Up to this point that proposal has been rather contentious with those neighbours, including community groups like the Wellington Place Neighbourhood Association, who have contended the plans are simply too big for the area, and that the buildings will loom over the adjacent Victoria Memorial Park. Early massing studies and crude renderings also tended to show buildings with a rather generic and uninspired contemporary look.

Everything has changed with the latest renderings from designer Wallman Architects however. Leaked earlier today on another website (and since removed), these images are of a project working its way through the City's approvals process. They do not represent the final product that Minto and Freed will have for sale, but they certainly indicate the direction the co-developers want to go. Five of the seven images below have already been making a splash in UrbanToronto's Projects and Cosntruction forum thread for the project, while this will be the first publication here for two of the renderings.

The renderings show a project significantly slimmed down - and suped-up - from the previous images we saw in the fall of 2011. Originally proposed at 25 storeys at the corner of Front and Bathurst, the tallest component of the current plan, still at that corner, is now 19 storeys, a height that the Bathurst building ramps up to while it make its long run south from Niagara Street where it starts at 15 storeys. The Bathurst façade is broken up by significant cutaways which reveal a second glass skin behind the buidling's varied precast grid armature.

Looking southeast across Bathurst Street toward Minto and Freed's new condominium project, early rendering

The view from Fort York, below, emphasizes the sloping roof on the Bathurst building, showing a modern Dutch influence in the design.

Looking northeast across Bathurst Street toward Minto and Freed's new condominium project, early rendering

The Front and Bathurst corner, hinted at above, is shown below with a dynamic recess, vibrantly coloured and energized by diagonal pillars. Is this a place holder for "public artwork here"? We like what we see now!

Looking northeast across Bathurst Street toward Minto and Freed's new condominium project, early rendering

The project will rise beside another design-forward Wallman design, Tridel's Rêve, just to the east.

Looking north across Bathurst and Front streets toward Minto and Freed's new condominium project, early rendering

Looking northwest across Front Street toward Minto and Freed's new condominium project, early rendering

The northeast corner of the complex faces Victoria Memorial Park, seen below. Earlier versions portended a building looming over the park, but it now sits comfortably behind Rêve's Niagara Street façade.

Looking southwest through Victoria Memorial Park toward Minto and Freed's new condominium project, early rendering

Two-storey wood-fronted towns are proposed to warm up the street presence of the building along Niagara Street.

Street level towns at Minto and Freed's new condominium project, early rendering

The developers are expecting to hear from Toronto's Planning Department on January 30th regarding their position on this version of the plan. While the word is that most neighbours are quite happy with it now, we will wait to see what further refinements may be requested. If the final project looks anything like the renderings above, we will be thrilled: there's playfulness and flair here, and the evidence that the developers and architect want to bring something exciting and appropriate to the community… and not something that is merely huge.

UrbanToronto has more images - detailed views from most of the renderings above - in our dataBase page for the project, which you wil find linked below. Choose the associated Projects and Construction Forum link to join in the conversation!