Slightly north of the St. Clair West corridor, a 19-storey condominium at 609 Avenue Road is adding new density to Toronto's sought-after Forest Hill area. Located just south of Upper Canada College (UCC), the Madison Homes and State Building Group development will feature 161 suites, ranging in size from 500 ft² to 2,000 ft². Over the past few months, we've looked at a number of the project's elements, including the model suite, floorplans, and amenities. Now, we preview the Richmond Architects-designed project within its evolving urban context, with the tower joining an increasingly vibrant Midtown neighbourhood.

609 Avenue Road, image courtesy of State Building Group and Madison Homes

Along St. Clair, recent and ongoing development is continuing to add new density to the corridor. Just east of Avenue Road, the Imperial Plaza building has recently been retrofitted into a condominium.

Imperial Plaza, image by Nicolas Arnaud-Godet

At ground level, design-forward new retail—including a Longo's supermarket and an LCBO—now fronts the street, bringing important amenities to the neighbourhood.

New retail at Imperial Plaza, image by Jack Landau

Immediately south of the Avenue and St. Clair intersection, meanwhile, the Imperial Plaza development is continuing with Blue Diamond Condos, a 26-storey tower featuring 226 residential suites. 

Rendering of Blue Diamond Condos, image courtesy of Camrost-Felcorp

West of Avenue Road, meanwhile, Zigg Condos and Code Condos are adding further density, with both projects now well under construction.

The Zigg Condos site in late May, image by Jack Landau

While the crane at Madison and Fieldgate's Zigg was just raised up earlier this month—following shoring and excavation work—the crane at Lifetime and BLVD's Code Condos was recently dismantled (below). The project is now topped off and much of the cladding installed. All of these new projects mean more pedestrians who will increase the vibrancy of the local streets.

The Code Condos crane seen in the process of being dismantled in late April, image by Jack Landau

Joining a dense cluster of mid-to-late 20th century buildings south of UCC, 609 Avenue Road—situated just north of Heath Street on the east side of Avenue—is a four-minute walk down to St. Clair. On St. Clair West, the streetcar runs along a protected right of way, providing quick connections to both sides of the Yonge-University Line 1 subway. Avenue Road itself is also served by the TTC's 5 bus, which runs between Downtown and Eglinton Station. 

The rooftop terrace at 609 Avenue Road, image courtesy of State Building Group and Madison Homes

We will keep you updated as the project continues to develop, and the start of construction nears. In the meantime, make sure to check out our earlier stories looking at the scale model, amenities, floorplans, and model suite. Want to learn more about 609 Avenue Road? Take a look at our dataBase file, linked below, or join in the ongoing conversation on our Forum. 

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