A transformative project is now underway at 22 John Street in Weston Village, just northeast of Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue West. The result of a partnership between the Rockport Group, the City of Toronto, Toronto Parking Authority (TPA), and Artscape, 22 John encompasses a new 30-storey rental tower designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects, a new public space, and a new Creative Cultural Hub complete with live-work units for artists and their families.

Rendering of 22 John, image courtesy of Artscape.

The development replaces an existing surface parking lot at 22 John with a 370-unit rental tower complete with seven at-grade townhomes. Adjacent to the tower is a new 1,200-square-metre public space that will host the summertime Weston Village Farmer's Market, which was previously held every Saturday in the parking lot at 22 John. Abutting onto the public space will be Artscape's new Weston Hub, inhabiting a portion of the underutilized podium of the adjacent 26-storey apartment building at 33 King Street. The creative hub will provide 762-square-metres of programmable indoor spaces that will be used for classes, community events, and a variety of independent programming for the community and local non-profit organizations.

Rendering of the new public space and Artscape Hub, image courtesy of Artscape.

Accompanying the Artscape Weston Hub will be 26 live-work units targeted for artists with families, which will be located in the base of the podium at 33 King. In addition to these components, a further 3,897 square metres of the 33 King podium will be retrofitted for a new self-storage facility, while a new TPA surface parking lot will be added adjacent to the development at 14 John Street with 70 replacement spots.

Site plan of the proposal, image courtesy of Artscape.

Recent photographs from the site show construction well underway on the new 30-storey tower, with pouring of the concrete structure now reaching the third floor of the podium.

View from the southwest of 22 John under construction, image by Forum contributor drum118.

View from the southeast of 22 John under construction, image by Forum contributor drum118.

A view from the southeast corner of the site reveals the imprint of the future public space and the form of the building that defines the western border of the public area. It appears that work on the podium of 33 King has yet to begin.

View from the southeast of 22 John under construction, image by Forum contributor drum118.

The development has been hailed by the City and its partners as a positive addition to an already vibrant community, one that will be enriching the existing neighbourhood rather than gentrifying it. The project is certainly unique in this relatively untouched area of town, with only two other development proposals in the works within the immediate vicinity. The project at 22 John benefits from proximity to transit—with the GO and UP Express station within walking distance—and will be providing increased density along with community benefits to Weston Village.

View from the southeast of 22 John and the public plaza, image courtesy of Artscape.

We will keep you updated as construction progresses on this exciting project. In the meantime, you get more details of the development in our database file for 22 John, linked below. Tell us what you think by checking out the discussion in the associated Forum thread, or by leaving a comment in the space provided on this page.