Serving as the gateway to, and exit from North York’s increasingly dense city centre, Yonge and Sheppard accommodates hundreds of thousands of commuters per day travelling by both car and subway. With arguably the busiest highway in North America a few hundred meters to the south, and an underground transit hub below, the intersection is undoubtedly among Toronto’s most vital in regards to transportation. Considering the proximity to multiple forms of transportation, as well as the increasingly walkable retail strip which stretches north for kilometres, it isn’t too difficult to see why several new high-rise condominiums are popping up all over this high value neighbourhood. On Yonge Street, just a short block south of Sheppard, construction work on Emerald Park Condos is starting to take shape. Developed by Bazis Inc., Metropia and Plaza, the project consists of two Rosario Varacalli-designed towers which will rise to 42 and 32 storeys from a shared three-storey podium.

Aerial Rendering of Emerald Park Condos

When we last reported on Emerald Park’s progress, the upper podium floors were starting to come together.  Since then, concrete work on the podium floors appears to be more or less complete, and the beginnings of both towers’ first typical floors are now sprouting from above the podium.

South side of Emerald Park's Podium, slender tower floors are visible on both the east and west towers, image by Jack Landau

The slender floorplates leading up to Varacalli’s distinctively flared tower tops occupy a much smaller footprint than the large podium floors below.  With this in mind, we expect the towers to begin climbing at a considerable rate in the coming weeks.

Tower floors rising from Emerald Park's podium, image by Jack Landau

The name of the project reflects the plans to clad the complex in what has been promised as a “luminous green glass”. While green-tinted glazing can be quite polarizing amongst UrbanToronto critics, the promise of a high quality finish and a lack of similarly hued buildings nearby should keep the skeptics optimistic.

Current progress at Emerald Park Condos looking west across Yonge, image by Jack Landau

Aside from the towers’ 564 residential units, the complex will also contain office and commercial uses, including a second floor Metro grocery store which, according to Metro, will look unlike any other existing location of the major supermarket chain. In addition to the convenience of a supermarket inside their building and ample amenities, residents will also have direct indoor access to the Sheppard and Yonge subway lines located below.

The podium's west side, facing Beecroft Road, image by Jack Landau

For additional information including building facts and renderings, please visit our dataBase page for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or voice your opinion in the comments section provided below.