The Yonge and Sheppard intersection is the busiest and most critical in North York's City Centre, and as new growth continues to transform the area, the existing Yonge Sheppard Centre—built in 1976—is showing signs of age, both inside and out. Over the past few years, the RioCan and KingSett Capital-owned complex has faced a number of challenges, including a major tenant change, dated interiors, and poor pedestrian circulation owing to barriers such as a moat surrounding much of the Yonge and Sheppard frontages. In a move to bring the Sheppard Centre up-to-date with friendlier layouts, a more light-filled shopping area, and to add residential density to the site, the owners tasked Quadrangle Architects with creating a design to address the issues.

Rendering of the Yonge-Sheppard Centre expansion, image courtesy of Quadrangle Architects

Newly released renderings for the site show that the plans include the addition of a new 39-storey residential tower at the north end of the site on Greenfield Avenue, as well as a revitalized retail design of the ground realm and interiors of the existing buildings.

The new tower's design will feature a precast cladding meant to complement the 1970s Béton brut-style of architecture used in the original design. The precast cladding will rise to the same height as the complex's current tallest building, located on the corner of Yonge and Sheppard, before partially transitioning to a modern window treatment for the remaining floors above.

39-storey residential tower, part of the Yonge-Sheppard Centre expansion, image courtesy of Quadrangle Architects

Aside from the addition of the new tower, the most prominent exterior features in the project are the re-envisioned ground floor frontages on Yonge Street and Sheppard Avenue East. A comparison between the rendering included below, and a recent capture from Google Street View helps to illustrate just how these renovations will improve the current conditions for pedestrians.

Yonge Street looking south, Yonge-Sheppard Centre expansion, image courtesy of Quadrangle Architects

Current state of the complex's Yonge Street frontage, image courtesy of Google Street View

To pair with the more transparent exterior, the Yonge-Sheppard Centre will also feature re-envisioned mall interiors that no longer feel like interiors. Here, extensive sky-lighting will transform the hallways along with entirely new finishes which will emphasize the natural daylight.

Interiors of the Yonge-Sheppard Centre expansion, image courtesy of Quadrangle Architects

The revitalized Yonge-Sheppard Centre will also feature new rental replacement housing, new contained loading facilities, a relocated daycare, and an upgraded underground parking garage. Construction work on the expansion and renovation is expected to get under way in Spring 2015.

We will keep a close eye out for additional details about this development. In the meantime, you can check out all of the project's renderings by visiting our dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Head over to the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.

Related Companies:  BDP Quadrangle, Entuitive, Kramer Design Associates Limited, Precise ParkLink, RioCan REIT, State Window Corporation, STUDIO tla