Ever since renderings first appeared on a City of Toronto Planning Department webpage over a year ago, UrbanToronto readers have been eagerly anticipating the redevelopment of the Clarion Hotel site at 592 Sherbourne Street, just south of Bloor. To be known as The Selby Condominiums, details are now being released about the development which will rise 49 storeys over the intersection of Sherbourne and Selby Streets.

The project's developers, Cityzen, Diamond Corp. and Fernbrook Homes, have brought together a team of international and Canadian design and architecture talent to work on The Selby, including lead architect Thomas Kerwin of Chicago-based and internationally-recognized firm bKL Architecture. Kerwin was the coordinating architect of Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid, and Kerwin’s previous Toronto projects include the expansion of the Direct Energy Centre and one of the towers at Cityzen’s Garrison Point master-planned community.

Rndering of The Selby, image courtesy of Cityzen, Fernbrook and Diamond Corp

“The Selby will create this vision of a red pillar in the sky and join our portfolio of architecturally stunning buildings, such as the Absolute World towers, L Tower and Pier 27,” says Sam Crignano, President of Cityzen. “Not only will The Selby create a stunning architectural statement from the street, but owners will have incredible and unimpeded views in most directions, something that’s becoming hard to come by in downtown Toronto.”

The project's early rendering drew much praise from our Forum readers and contributors, with the bold, colourful approach especially appreciated. Thomas Kerwin meant to distinguish The Selby architecturally and make the condominium stand out from its surroundings. The development will rise from a four-storey podium, set back from Sherbourne Street, and integrated into the existing 130-year-old heritage building, the Gooderham Mansion, currently located on site. First a private home for the Gooderham family, or Gooderham and Worts fame, it was repurposed as a girls’ school before being transformed into its current use, a residential hotel that once housed legendary writer Ernest Hemingway. bKL Architecture has been working closely with heritage preservation experts ERA Architects, who have overseen many of the historical preservation efforts conducted in Toronto over the past several years.

Night rendering of The Selby, image courtesy of Cityzen, Fernbrook and Diamond Corp

The Selby will offer a variety of suites including a limited number of townhomes. Interiors are by Toronto-based but internationally recognized Johnson Chou of Johnson Chou Inc. whose works includes the award-winning Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, while outdoor common areas are by landscape architect Claude Cormier of Claude Cormier + Associes, based out of Montreal. Cormier and his firm have a lengthy portfolio in Toronto and abroad, with local projects including L Tower, Garrison Point, The Evergreen Brick Works, Four Seasons Hotel and Residences and the ROM. We will take a better look at their sophisticated contributions to The Selby in a future article.

For now, additional information and renderings can be found in our dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment using the space provided at the bottom of this page.