Rising 33 and 36 storeys above Eglinton Avenue, east of Yonge, Madison Homes' eponymous The Madison is the newest residential development to open in Toronto's Yonge and Eglinton area. Just over five years ago, in May 2011, the site was occupied by a parking lot and three buildings; the former York Cinema (in use as the project's presentation centre), a four-storey office building at 111 Eglinton East, and a five-storey office building occupying the southwest corner of Eglinton and Lillian. Demolition of these properties commenced a few months later, at the start of 2012, clearing the site for the project's shoring and excavation phases.

Southwest view of The Madison site, May 2011, image by Forum contributor drum118

Returning to the scene in December 2016, the same vantage point reveals the podium of the completed Kirkor Architects Planners-designed development. While many block-long mixed-use developments have a tendency to sterilize streetscapes by eliminating fine-grained retail, The Madison has actually had the opposite effect. Replacing a block that previously offered limited retail space, The Madison has added a grocery store, an LCBO, and an OrangeTheory gym to Eglinton Avenue East, accompanying the major boost in residential density supplied by the new condominium towers above.

Southwest view of The Madison's podium, December 2016, image by Jack Landau

We will return next week with another look at the changing face of Toronto!