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On one of the main north-south arteries in Downtown Toronto, Church Street has seen an increased number of development projects over recent years, right from the very south up to near Bloor St. Several of these projects are still in the pipeline and await approvals from City staff, others are well under construction and changing the corridor's landscape, while two projects are now in the early stages of construction.
To the north of the intersection of Church and Carlton streets and across from the historic Maple Leaf Gardens (now the flagship Loblaws and the Mattamy Athletic Centre), the neighbouring properties at 411 Church and 70 Carlton have been cleared for a duo of mixed-use projects. Excavation has begun for the first—to be known as Stanley Condominiums—at 70 Carlton. Developed by Tribute Communities, the 37-storey Core Architects-designed building features a seven-storey box podium—similar in height to its historic neighbour to the west—with rooftop amenities on top, with the curvaceous tower rising beyond that. Retail will be situated at street level, while 490 residential units will spread throughout the remaining podium levels and the tower. Rising to 411 feet (125 metres), Stanley Condos will be—at least for now—one of the tallest buildings in the surrounding context.
Hoarding was erected around the onsite presentation centre and the former Zippers Cellblock night club back in October, with demolition throughout November and December. January saw site clearance and shoring prep, with excavation taking off in February. Completion of Stanley Condos is expected in 2019.
Directly to the north, work has also begun for CentreCourt Developments' Axis Condominiums at 411 Church. Designed by Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects, the project was initially submitted at 45 storeys (as was Stanley in 2013), but following an OMB hearing in November, was approved at 38 storeys. The mixed-use condo will have a six-storey podium with retail at grade, with amenity space and 541 residential units situated above. The design of Axis features an off-white cladding system with a distinct honeycomb pattern used to shape the balconies. Rising to 400 feet (122 metres), Axis will be slightly shorter than its counterpart to the south.
Currently, construction workers are busy with the shoring, and will soon begin placing soldier piles and lagging, with excavation to follow. With work set to carry on for at least the next two years, completion can be expected soon after Stanley Condos in 2019. Between the two developments, a newly engaging urban streetscape should be the result here.
We will keep you up to date as construction carries on. In the meantime, you can find additional information and renderings in each of the projects' associated dataBase files, linked below. Want to share your thoughts on Axis or Stanley Condos? Feel free to leave a comment in the field provided on this page, or join in the conversation in either of the associated Forum threads.
