A proposal has been submitted to the City by developer Conservatory Group seeking the redevelopment of one of the last surface parking lots in Downtown Toronto. The development, which we are referring to as Bay and Edward Condos until an official name for the project is announced, would occupy an L-shaped site on the north side of Edward Street between Bay and Elizabeth Streets, and bisected by Barnaby Place, a public north/south laneway connecting Edward and Elm Streets. The Toronto Coach Terminal, starting and ending point of bus journeys between Toronto and other cities on the continent, is just across Edward Street to the south.

Northeast view, Bay and Edward Condos, image retrieved from the City of Toronto

The proposal calls for 19 and 22-storey towers separated by the laneway. The Richmond Architects-designed towers would reach heights of 208 ft and 236 ft, and contain 204 and 323 residential units respectively. Of the total 527 units, a mix of 416 one-bedroom and 111 2-bedroom units are proposed. Approximately 17,000 square feet of retail is proposed for the ground floors. The two towers would be joined below grade by a four-level underground parking with 369 spaces, while above grade a bridge would allows residents of both towers to access the shared amenity spaces housed on each building's second floor.

Southeast aerial view, Bay and Edward Condos, image retrieved from the City of Toronto

While taller towers can be found in the surrounding blocks, the proposed building heights are a response to a hospital-related helicopter flight path, indicated in orange in the images below.

Helicopter flight path above Bay and Edward Condos, image retrieved from the City of Toronto

The site's position below the helicopter flight path and immediately north of the active Toronto Coach Terminal presents a challenge for the developers, who must take the inherent noise conditions into account. To meet indoor noise guideline criteria, all residents will have air conditioning to avoid having to open windows, while Sound Transmission Class (STC) 34 windows will be required on the east, west and south facades of the development.

Helicopter flight path above Bay and Edward Condos, image retrieved from the City of Toronto

A number of energy efficiency measures would be utilized in the design and construction of the buildings, including passive design measures like south facing windows and balcony overhangs for shading and envelope measures like a high performance glazing system featuring air filled low-e coating, warm edge spacers and thermally broken frames. Lighting measures like occupancy sensors in parking garage will also be used, in addition to a number of other mechanical and electrical measures.

Northwest view, Bay and Edward Condos, image retrieved from the City of Toronto

We will be sure to return as additional details continue to emerge about this project. In the meanwhile, more information and renderings can be be found in the project's 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.