Concord Adex's Park Place community has grown quite a bit since the fledgling neighbourhood got its mid-2000s start. Several condominium developments have been built and occupied, while construction is well underway on the next two towers. To the west and north, the Bayview Village area is seeing plenty of growth as well, with several mid-rise developments underway at various stages currently. With the area's population on the rise, a new community centre is being planned at the northwest edge of the community, directly south of Bessarion Station on the Sheppard subway line.

Bessarion Community Centre, image retrieved from submission to City of Toronto

A design contract for the new facility was awarded by the City of Toronto to MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects back in 2013 as the result of a design competition. An application for site plan approval followed in 2015, before a resubmission last month refined many more details of the new neighbourhood amenity. The 12,342 m² (132,848 ft²) Bessarion Community Centre will rise 4 storeys from the lowest grade on site, reaching a height of 18.9 metres.

Bessarion Community Centre, image retrieved from submission to City of Toronto

The building will house a natatorium (pool area), a child care centre, an adult lounge area, a fitness studio, a gymnasium, a weight room, a stretching space, a walking track, classrooms, a multipurpose meeting space, and a multi-activity room. The facility would include a relocated 13,000 ft2 Toronto Public Library branch (formerly at Bayview), recreational facilities, and an aquatic centre, all served by a three-level underground garage containing a total of 196 parking spaces.

Natatorium, Bessarion Community Centre, image retrieved from mjmarchitects.com

The exterior finish legend from the planning documents outlines the various materials that will be used to execute the facility’s cladding, including alternating glass curtain wall glazing, zinc composite panels, and porcelain ceramic panels.  

The building's main entrance along Sheppard Avenue will feature a treed entrance court, and a sloped plaza leading to the building's western terraces and walkways. A significant public artwork would be included here too. It's currently the subject of a two-stage national competition. Stage 1 of the process— to select a shortlist of five artists based on artistic merits—was conducted between August and September 2016. The second stage, where the shortlisted artists were paid a fee to develop an art project based on a provided Terms of Reference document, was conducted between September and December 2016. An announcement of the winning proposal has not yet been made, however.

Bessarion Community Centre, image retrieved from mjmarchitects.com

We will return with updates as new information about the project becomes available. In the meantime, you can review building facts and renderings by visiting the project's 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.

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