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Following a public presentation of concept plans for the LCBO lands in late-November, a late-December application for Site Plan Approval (SPA) was filed with the City of Toronto for the Menkes-owned redevelopment site on Queens Quay Boulevard East. This SPA documents include new information about two residential towers in the northeast corner of the site, and identified as towers F and G in the image below.
To be built north of the proposed 24-storey, 600,000 square foot LCBO Tower (block 1), the 79 and 80-storey condo towers designed by architectsAlliance (aA) would each rise to the height of 264.45 metres. Referred to as Block 2 in the planning documents, preliminary renderings depict curving floor plates and mid-tower offsets, with striking similarities to aA's acclaimed Ïce Condominiums development in the South Core area.
The towers would rise from a shared podium structure, broken up into multiple volumes with heights of three, six, and twelve storeys. In counterpoint to the towers, the podium volumes are rectilinear, with multiple cladding types to add visual interest to the facades.
The podium levels would be anchored to the corner of Cooper Street and an easterly extension of Harbour Street with 7,635 square metres of retail space spread across three levels. In addition to animating the public realm surrounding the project, the retail contribution would be accessible via an elevated PATH connection over Cooper Street to a future phase to the west. Below-grade connections are proposed to link the development’s loading facilities with the LCBO commercial component to the south as well as connecting pedestrian retail halls.
Above, a total of 1,927 condominium units are proposed, coming in a mix of 65 bachelor, 1,078 one-bedroom, 593 two-bedroom, and 191 three-or-more bedroom units. While the large offering of one-bedroom units serves to address market demand, the project's contribution of numerous two and three-bedroom units would create new housing opportunities for families along the waterfront.
Residents would be served by a four-level underground parking garage containing 478 parking spaces, including 416 spaces for residents and 62 for visitors. In addition, 1,971 bicycle parking spaces would be provided, creating what could very well be one of the largest bicycle parking facilities in the city.
At the same time as we learn more about plans for Block 2, preliminary information is now providing insight into the proposed supertall towers on Block 4, the northwest quadrant of the site. Rising from the current LCBO headquarters building that occupies a portion of the site, the two 89-storey towers would each reach heights of 304 metres. These two towers plus a third tower at 75 storeys would add an additional 5,192 condo units, consisting of 150 bachelor, 2,709 one-bedroom, 1,820 two-bedroom, and 513 three-or-more bedroom units. This component would also include 49,212 square metres of office space, 28,748 square metres of retail space, a public school, and a below-grade parking structure containing 1,543 parking spaces. We will return as more information about Block 4 emerges.
Additional information and renderings can be found in our dataBase files for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment using the field provided at the bottom of this page.
