Coming to St. Clair Avenue between Christie and Oakwood is 'The Nest'. A new condo development subtitled Residences Of Hillcrest Village, the land The Nest will be built on now comprises 829 through 835 St. Clair Avenue West, currently home to a KFC, a church, and a bakery café. The terraced, mid-rise "Avenues style" building is a project by three firms: developer The Rockport Group, with II by IV Design Associates on the interiors and RAW on the architectural design.

The Nest, courtesy of Rockport Developments

The nine-storey 'Nest' features spacious balconies, those on the south having views of the Toronto skyline across a sea of green, while those on the north will overlook the activity of a bustling shop and restaurant-lined street. Residents here will find themselves in Hillcrest Village, marked by mature tree-lined streets lined with early 20th century homes which make up a close-knit community. Access to the downtown core is easy via streetcar, slipping along its protected right-of-way to the Spadina and Yonge subway lines.

The Nest, courtesy of Rockport Developments

The articulated exterior of The Nest combines brick and floor to ceiling windows with an advanced skin called fibreC, a glass fibre reinforced concrete little seen in Toronto so far, but becoming a favourite of European modernist architects.

Balconies at The Nest, courtesy of Rockport Developments

While registrations are currently being taken for the building, City Planning staff are reviewing an application for Site Plan Approval for the building. With St. Clair zoned as an Avenue—a classification which foresees densification along arterial roads well served by public transit—the building will only require some Minor Variances to proceed; Zoning Bylaw and Official Plan amendments will not be required here. Once the Minor Variances have been applied for, local residents will have an opportunity to express any concerns at a Committee of Adjustment Hearing that will be called to consider the application.

Want to know more about The Nest? Our dataBase entry for the project, linked below, has several more renderings and more info, or you can stay up-to-date with The Nest by joining the discussion in one of our associated Forum threads. Have something to share now? Leave a comment in the space provided.