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The first major undertaking in the urban renewal of Toronto's St. James Town neighbourhood is well underway on Sherbourne Street, a short distance south of Bloor. The project, occupying the block of 545 through 601 Sherbourne, involves the revitalization of three 1970s-era rental towers and the reworking of their ground level interaction with the surrounding streets through new retail to the west and new townhomes to the east, while also adding significant new density to the block.
Property owner Medallion Corp. is intensifying the site with a new 43-storey rental tower featuring a design by Page + Steele/IBI Group Architects, which now stands eight storeys above street level, with work in progress on the ninth. Work has begun to pick up speed since the project reached grade in late 2015, and the coming warmer weather should allow for a much faster pace of construction.
A rendering of the completed rental tower shows a window wall system with dark spandrel panels and mullions will be used for the cladding system. At ground level, completely rebuilt retail space, including a new grocery store, will front on Sherbourne Street.
The intensification of this block may continue, as another rental tower has recently been proposed at the north end of it at Howard Streets, with the 58-storey structure incorporating the historic Thomas Cruttenden Building at 601 Sherbourne into its base. If approved as proposed, the project would add 640 new rental units to the St. James Town neighbourhood, in a mix of 416 studio/one-bedroom units, 212 two-bedroom units, and 12 three-bedroom suites.
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