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The Columbus Centre, Toronto's Italian community centre located at the southwest corner of Lawrence Avenue West and Dufferin Street, is proposed to be rebuilt. Earlier this month, CS&P Architects—in joint venture on this project with Pillon Architect and Global Architect, and acting on behalf of property owner Villa Charities Inc.—submitted an application for site plan approval, seeking redevelopment of the approximately 10-acre site. The existing facility would be replaced by a new high school and a private community facility in a shared four-storey structure, while a reconfiguration of the existing surface parking lot and a new north-south through street would improve site access.
The $50 million 901 Lawrence Avenue West redevelopment project would be the latest step in the site's evolution. An apple orchard well into the 20th century, the site became the home of the St. Mary’s Training School for girls during the early 1950s, occupying a then newly-built building at the east side of the property. Additions rose to the west in the 1960s, while the current Columbus Centre's main building and rotunda were built between 1978 and 1980. Replacing this patchwork of structures, the new CS&P Architects-designed building will create new accommodations for the Toronto Catholic School Board's Dante Alighieri Academy, the Columbus Centre, the Carrier Art Gallery, an existing day care facility, and other services.
As part of the site plan, a new street will enter the property from Lawrence Avenue to provide access to a reconfigured surface parking lot. The new building on the western half of the site would rise along the north property line on Lawrence, creating a more urban relationship between the rebuilt Columbus Centre and the busy arterial. On the ground floor of the building, street-fronting units will support a range of uses, including gallery, restaurant, cafe, and outdoor patio space. Deeper within the ground floor and sunken lower-ground floor, a large central auditorium will be capable of hosting large gatherings for community or school purposes. Spaces on these levels including a banquet hall, and a cafeteria will also similarly serve both the community centre and school aspects of the project.
Level two of the building will be largely dedicated to classroom space for Dante Alighieri Academy, with the north end of the floor containing dance studios and the south end of the level containing a library/resource centre and a large green roof. Among the main features of the second floor, a central courtyard space situated above the auditorium will provide staff and students an outdoor space to enjoy.
Level three will contain additional classrooms, photography, graphics, and media arts studios, and multiple "learning lounges" where students can study in a quiet, comfortable environment. The fourth and final floor will support the school's science classrooms and laboratories, as well as mechanical service areas and an additional green roof.
At the south end of the site, the project would introduce new landscaping to the site by landscape architects Graham Hess and Associates Inc., including a sculpture garden, an amphitheatre, an outdoor play area, and a feature described in planning documents as the "urban forest". Containing dozens of trees, as well as seating areas and an expanse of brick or stone paving, this quiet outdoor space will provide an intimate counterbalance to the busy arterial conditions found at the north end of the site.
With the application for Site Plan Approval filed, the Columbus Centre is expected to close its doors as early as Fall 2017 to make way for the redevelopment.
We will return with additional details as new information about the project emerges. In the meanwhile, you can view information and renderings of the project by visiting our dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment using the field provided at the bottom of this page.
