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The growth of the city throughout 2013 garnered plenty of attention on UrbanToronto, and new developments will continue to be built and marketed as the new year progresses. Yesterday we took an in depth look at what to watch out for in the Bloor-Yorkville area in 2014, and today we head south, covering Downtown North, and we are using St. Joseph, Shuter, Simcoe and Mutual Streets as our boundaries.
On the doorstep of completion, Alexandria’s MaRS Centre II holds 750,000 square-feet of research and office space at the southeast corner of College and University in the Discovery District. Pretty much finished on the outside, the 20-storey, B+H Architects-designed facility is currently seeing its final touches before construction wraps up.
Perhaps the highest profile and certainly the tallest project due for completion this year, Canderel’s Aura at College Park is currently the tallest structure in Toronto beyond the Financial District. Concrete has risen above the 78th and final residential floor of the Graziani + Corazza Architects-designed building, and the large mechanical penthouse and sweeping roof feature are soon to appear. Once complete, Aura will be Toronto’s third tallest building as measured by roof height, or fourth if you count the Trump Tower’s spire.
Directly across Gerrard Street from Aura, the former Delta Chelsea, now under new management as the Eaton Chelsea, is undergoing major renovations overseen by WZMH Architects and WGD Architects. Few details have been released about the specific modifications to the 26-storey hotel, but we expect to see the balconies become integrated with the rooms, and will be sure to keep our eyes peeled for progress as the work goes on.
Back on University Avenue, Tribute Communities’ Residences at the RCMI is topped off at 42 storeys and nearly fully glazed. The Zeidler Partnership Architects-designed condominium has been turning heads on the city’s grand boulevard with its slender profile and distinctive digital noise pattern gracing the windowless north façade. Once complete, the development will bring some much needed pedestrian life to Hospital Row, adding 319 condominium units and hundreds of residents.
Developed by a consortium made up of Five St. Joseph Developments, Graywood Developments, MOD Developments Inc., Diamond Corp and Tricon Capital, Five St. Joseph is rising just west of Yonge Street and north of Wellesley Station. The 48-storey, Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed tower is now roughly halfway towards its top, with the first rows of cladding now installed on its east side.
Further south on Yonge Street, the impressive Ryerson Student Learning Centre is more than half way to its final height of 8 storeys. Designed by Zeidler Partnership Architects and Snøhetta Design, the structure’s irregular floorplates have been turning heads at Yonge and Gould. Set for completion towards the end of the year, we eagerly await the patterned frit curtain wall glazing soon to grace the building.
Still in its early stages of construction, Lifetime and CentreCourt Developments’ Karma Condos recently had its crane installed, and work is now underway on the foundations of the 50-storey, architectsAlliance-designed development. Once complete, the building will add 495 condominium units to the growing Yonge and College area.
Also in its early stages, Cresford Developments' 1Thousand Bay is currently being excavated just north of Wellesley. The 32-storey, architectsAlliance-designed project will add 478 condominium units within walking distance of U of T as well as Bloor Street’s high end shopping destinations.
Just south of the busy Yonge and Dundas Square, site prep is underway on HNR Properties Ltd's HNR Dundas Square Tower. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects with heritage consultant ERA Architects, the 40-storey rental tower is set to add 245 units to one of the city's most vibrant areas. The two heritage properties centered in the image below (one draped in green nets and scaffolding) will be incorporated into the new development.
Much of University Avenue’s northern half is lined with institutional buildings including hospitals and research facilities. The healthcare needs of a growing city have led to much development on Hospital Row over the past few years. Last year we saw the completion of the east wing of the new Women's College Hospital, as well as the demolition of the old west wing. Construction of its Perkins Eastman Black and IBI Group Architects-designed new west wing is already underway; its crane was raised just before the start of the new year.
Nearby on University Avenue, the Mount Sinai Hospital Renewal has included the recent addition of a new 6-storey addition, and work is already underway on the second phase of this half-billion dollar renewal. The second phase, led by BBB Architects and Stantec, will expand and modernize the facility while also adding a new wellness and healing centre located at the north end of the main lobby. A third phase has also recently been announced. The Schwartz/Reisman Emergency Department, named in recognition of a generous donation made by philanthropists Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman, will double the Emergency Department’s capacity, making it one of the largest in the downtown Toronto area.
Lots of condominium projects throughout the covered region are currently in the sales and preconstruction phases.
CentreCourt Developments is marketing Core Condos, a Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects-designed 24-storey condominium set to be built at Shuter and Dalhousie.
Just to the north, Totem Condos by Worsley Urban Partners , planned for 17 Dundonald, is currently in sales. Designed by Raw, the building is slated to rise 18 storeys and contain 120 condominium units.
Further north, Canderel’s YC Condos is planned to rise 57 storeys from Yonge Street between College and Grenville. We have witnessed the Graziani + Corazza Architects-designed tower evolve through earlier designs over the past couple years, and the project recently hit the market with this most recent rendering…
To the east, Menkes Developments is currently marketing 365 Church, a 30-storey, Wallman Architects-designed condominium tower planned for the Church and Wellesley village.
Lanterra Developments and Dov Capital Corporation’s redevelopment of the Sutton Place Hotel, being marketed as “The Britt” will bring the re-skinning of the brutalist tower and complete rebuilding of the podium. The Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects-designed condo-conversion proposes a glassier façade and several new storeys atop the former hotel, bringing the floor count up to 41.
Across Wellesley just to the east, big plans are in the works for a long ignored stretch of urban prairie at Yonge and Wellesley. Lanterra Developments’ Wellesley on the Park, going into sales this year, will come complete with new parkland. Designed by KPMB Architects and Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects, the tower is planned to rise 54 storeys and contain 630 units.
Several developments for the area are currently working their way through (or are just finishing up with) Toronto's planning process, including 501 Yonge, 70 Carlton St, 308-314 Jarvis, 355 Church, 43 Gerrard West, 480 University, 481 University and the Atrium on Bay. This portion of downtown has a lot to watch out for in 2014, and we will be sure to keep you updated as these projects and proposals progress throughout the year!
For additional information and renderings pertaining to the projects covered in this article, check out the dataBase files, linked below.
