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Our Growth To Watch For 2018 series continues today, following up on our Corktown-Regent Park-Cabbagetown neighbourhoods tour with a roundup of all the planning and development activity in Toronto's Jarvis and Church Street corridors. Picking up where we left off in the previous instalment, this route will take us south on Jarvis with a couple of short detours, turning around via The Esplanade, and then moving back north on Church Street. While the area covered is relatively small when compared to most previous instalments, this route will still cover almost 40 different projects.
Moving west along Isabella from our previous instalment's endpoint, we pass the 2017-completed Casey House, the striking Hariri Pontarini-designed AIDS/HIV care facility. Turning south on Jarvis, we pass Carlton Sreet and soon arrive at 308-314 Jarvis Street. Here, a plan by Duration Investments for a high-rise condominium tower rising from a retained heritage building was originally proposed at a 50-storey height, before being reworked at 43 storeys and appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). In advance of the hearing, the City settled with the proponents at 34 storeys and 108.5 metres high. No renderings of the updated plan have yet been made available.
South of the 308-314 Jarvis plan, a late 2016 proposal called for redevelopment of the properties surrounding the infamous "Hooker" Harvey's at the northwest corner of Jarvis and Gerrard. The unwholesome nightlife has since vacated the intersection, and the fast food restaurant's notoriety is fading, priming the site for redevelopment. Developed by Antorisa Investments Ltd, the proposal for 280 Jarvis sought 25- and 11-storey Giannone Petricone Associates-designed condominium buildings. The project was recently appealed to the OMB, and City staff are expected to oppose the proposal at an upcoming April 11th prehearing.
Continuing south on Jarvis past Gerrard, a 2017 proposal by CentreCourt and Centrestone Urban Developments sought rezoning for a 50-storey condominium tower on the east side at 319-323 Jarvis. The project was appealed to the OMB last year due to Council's failure to address the proposal in the allotted timeframe, and a hearing has been scheduled for May 22. In advance of the hearing, plans were resubmitted to the City earlier this year, implementing a series of minor tweaks to the previous version. If approved, the IBI Group-designed tower would rise 165 metres, adding 494 condominium units to the neighbourhood.
One block to the east is George Street, where a long-anticipated redevelopment of the rapidly deteriorating Seaton House—Toronto's largest emergency shelter centre for men—was approved by Council in November 2017. The replacement 600,000 ft² facility—designed by the team of Montgomery Sisam Architects, Hilditch Architect, and Goldsmith Borgal and Company Architects—will contain 100 emergency shelter beds, 130 transitional living beds, 378 long-term beds, and 21 affordable housing units with support. Funding is in place and construction could begin as early as this year.
Continuing south on George, just before arrive at Dundas Street, on our right side construction is well underway at the site of Gupta Group's Dundas Square Gardens. The IBI Group-designed condominium tower will continue its rise towards a 50-storey height over the next several months, filling up the block along the north side of DUndas between George and Jarvis, with construction to continue through 2018. Upon completion, the project will introduce over 1,000 new units to the area.
On the other side of Dundas at George—southeast corner across from Filmore's Hotel—a 2016 proposal by Menkes Developments for 219 Dundas East has since evolved with multiple resubmissions, the latest this January. Dubbed in.DE Dundas East & Jarvis Condominiums, the Turner Fleischer Architects-designed tower has been reduced from 29 storeys down to 21. Menkes has begun marketing in.DE, with registrations open on its website.
To the west along Dundas, CentreCourt Developments' Grid Condos is high in the sky across from Dundas Square Gardens. The IBI Group-designed condominium tower is quickly ascending into the local skyline and will top out at 50 storeys in late Spring. Upon completion, the project will introduce another 563 condominium units to the neighbourhood.
Immediately south of the Grid site on Jarvis, the Grand Hotel property is also future redevelopment site. A proposal by owners Amexon Development Corporation quickly followed the initial Grid application to the north, to protect the Grand's ability to intensify. The Core Architects-designed project, originally proposed at a 45-storeys, ended up at the OMB. Its location on the SickKids and St. Michael's hospitals helicopter flight paths meant that it would have to be shorter. Amexon settled with both hospitals and the City for 37 storeys and a 116.5-metre height. Now that it has zoning approval, we do not know when Amexon might advance its plans here.
On the west side of Jarvis opposite the Grand Hotel site, construction is wrapping up on Ryerson's Jarvis Street Residences, being built by the university in a private-public partnership with the MPI Group. The 30-storey student residence tower by IBI Group is now topped off and almost fully clad, while interior work progresses in advance of the building's opening in time for the Fall 2018 semester.
Backtracking north to Dundas, two properties owned by Ryerson—one on the northwest corner at 202 Jarvis, and the next at the northwest corner at Mutual—are in the school's long-term Master Plan for new academic buildings. While the intention is to create a new Faculty of Science facility on the surface parking lot at 202 Jarvis, a student residence could also be integrated, assuming Ryerson follows their own precedent at their Daphne Cockwell Complex now under construction on Church. Ryerson has a goal to directly provide at least 2,000 beds for its out-of-city students.
The two properties mentioned above would bookend a smaller site at 152 Dundas East, home to the Mutual Street Deli until the restaurant's 2017 closure. A mid-2017 application to City for Minor Variance seeks to expand the three-storey mixed-use building with a rear five-storey addition containing nine new residential units, while converting five existing residential units in the building into two much larger units. The variance needed was approved in January.
We turn south onto Mutual Street, and soon run into construction again. Excavation recently started at the site of Max Condos by Tribute Communities and Greybrook Realty Partners, a 36-storey tower designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects. Construction will continue throughout 2018. Upon completion in 2020, the project will bring 363 condo units and 22 rental-replacement units to the site.
Just steps south of the Max Condos construction site, work is set to begin on development at 69 Mutual Street. Dream and The Sher Corporation's OMB-approved Ivy Condos will bring a 32-storey RAW-designed tower to the block, containing 235 condo units. With demolition permits filed for, the site has been fenced off and the existing buildings on site will soon come down, next giving way to the project's shoring and excavation phase.
Crossing Shuter Street we run into another pair of developments. The first, on the southwest corner is the more advanced of the two. The site of St. Thomas Developments' 88 Queen Street East was long the largest surface parking lot in the area. It is now being redeveloped into a group of four residential towers at heights of 27, 28, 28, and 49 storeys. Extensive retail at ground level will be accompanied by a park and a POPS, and a new hotel will also be constructed in part of the complex's podium floors. The first phase of this community—dubbed 88 North—is currently under construction at the north end along Shuter between Mutual and Dalhousie. Now rising from the bottom of the excavation, construction will continue through 2018 and into next year. The other three phases are in various stages of planning, with sales for the east and west towers expected to launch this year.
On the east side of Mutual, The Sher Corporation is pursuing another high-rise development, this one in partnership with Hyde Park Homes. To be known as Garden District Condos, the plan for 79-85 Shuter Street calls for a 32-storey, architectsAlliance-designed tower containing 234 condominium units, reduced from an earlier 251-unit version in an SPA application from October 2017.
A surface parking lot at the northeast corner of Shuter and Jarvis is the site of a proposed IBI Group-desgned 35-storey hotel and condominium tower from Manga Hotels. The latest version of 203 Jarvis calls for 241 hotel rooms on the lower volume, with 222 condominium units above a cantilevered mid-section. The 2017 resubmission is scaled back from an earlier plan calling for 227 condominiums and 242 hotel rooms. The 2017 version was appealed to the OMB due to the City's failure to render a decision within the required timeframe. A four-day hearing was scheduled to begin on March 12th, and no results have yet been made available.
Turning south onto Jarvis, we head into the St. Lawrence District. Moving one block east on King we arrive at George Street and a proposed development at the southeast corner. 65 George Street, a luxury condominium tower, was proposed last year. The slender tower designed by Core Architects sought 17 storeys with just 16 condominium units, though the project was refused by the City in November, citing reasons which include overdevelopment of the site. More recently the project was appealed to the OMB, though no hearings have yet been scheduled.
Following George south to Front, we follow it west to Jarvis where the former St. Lawrence Market North Building was cleared in 2016 to make way for a new five-storey replacement structure by UK-based Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Toronto-based Adamson Associates Architects. Archeological excavations onsite have revealed remnants of a flagstone-built drain line dating back to the mid-1800s. After balking at the almost $2 million cost of a glass viewing area, City staff are recommending a scaled-back $1.7 million plan to preserve parts of it in the redevelopment. The new building will have both new market spaces and a new courthouse for the City. A construction contract is expected to be awarded this month, with the building slated for completion in late 2020.
We follow Jarvis south to The Esplanade, and the turn west. On the southwest corner at Church Street, Harhay Developments and Carttera Private Equities are preparing to build 75 On The Esplanade, a 29-storey condominium tower designed by architectsAlliance. The proposal was appealed to the OMB in November 2017, where a settlement was reached. A resubmission to the City from February 2018 finalized project details, and building permits were filed for in December. Shoring activity is expected to commence this spring, with construction continuing throughout 2018 and 2019.
Turning north onto Church Street, we pass Front and Wellington Streets before arriving at Colborne Street. On the northwest corner is the construction site of Freed Developments and Carttera Private Equities' Sixty Colborne Condos, an architectsAlliance-designed condominium tower now topped out at a height of 25 storeys. Cladding has sealed off most of the building, but the orange-tinted fins tat will give the building its signature look are still to be applied. Upon completion later this year, the building will add 284 condominium units to the area.
Just to the west on King Street, revised plans were submitted for a proposed office tower at 65 King Street East last year, incorporating properties to the east at 79-81, 83, and 85-89 King Street East. The plan from Carttera Private Equities calls for an 18-storey building by WZMH Architects and IBI Group. The 2017 verson would provide 37,775 m² of space, including 1,628 m² of retail at grade. The project was approved by the OMB last year, followed by a finalized SPA submission in November 2017.
Just across King and one property to the west, planning has advanced for Larco Investments' 2016-submitted plan for 34-50 King East. The proposed 33-storey office/residential mixed-use tower designed by architectsAlliance—incorporating the heritage Quebec Bank Building on the east side of the site—was resubmitted for SPA in September, and is currently at the OMB, where a second mediation session has been scheduled for March 21st.
Returning east to Church Street, we move three blocks north and arrive at Lombard Street. On the northeast corner at 89 Church, a 2016-plan from Cityzen Development Group calling for a 49-storey architectsAlliance-designed rental tower has evolved with a resubmission in November. The development has been appealed to the OMB, with a prehearing scheduled for May and a full hearing scheduled for July.
Just across Church Street, a large surface parking lot at the northwest corner at Lombard is the subject of a late 2017 proposal at 120 Church Street from the Madison Group. The Teeple Architects-designed plan seeks rezoning for a 45-storey tower containing 567 rental residential units. With the rezoning application currently under review by City staff, a final report is expected to be released during the first quarter of 2019.
On the northeast corner of the Church and Queen intersection is the site of an early 2018 proposal from Bazis. This plan seeks rezoning to permit a 54-storey, Core Architects-designed condominium tower on an assembly of properties at 60 and 64 Queen Street East. The plan also includes 131 through 135 Church Street to the north, which would have their heritage facades preserved and incorporated into the tower's base, overseen by heritage specialists GBCA. The rezoning application is currently under review by City staff.
Across Church is the site of Metropolitan United Church. At the north end of their property along Shuter, plans have long been in the works to redevelop surplus land. Zoning is in place for a 37-storey, 442-unit rental tower. When it was first proposed back in 2006, it was by Lancer Developments and to be called The Metropolitan. After years of inactivity, 2017 saw the power washing of the church, and the filing of demolition permits for various structures on site, including the heritage-designated parsonage, which is proposed to be moved next to the church along Bond Street.
Across Church and Shuter to the northeast, excavation is in full swing at the site of Menkes Developments' Fleur Condos. Work on the 29-storey, architectsAlliance-designed condominium tower began with the 2016-2017 demolition of the former NOW Magazine HQ at 189 Church Street. Work on the project will continue throughout 2018 and into next year.
Heading north on Church, at the southeast corner with Dundas is the site of Pemberton Group's Social at Church + Dundas proposal. Originally submitted to the City in December 2014 as a 46-storey tower designed by RAW, the plan was appealed to the OMB based on the City's lack of a decision within the required time. 2017 was a rollercoaster for the proposal, with the City and developers reaching an agreement at the OMB, though a settlement has been withheld pending the resolution of a handful of issues. Late in the year, the project garnered a mixed reception at a rare OMB-ordered Design Review Panel meeting, followed weeks later by a building permit refusal. A resubmitted SPA application from earlier this month may be the final piece to the puzzle in this saga.
North of Dundas and on the west side of Church, construction is well underway at the site of Ryerson University's Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex. The project reached grade early in 2017, and in the year since, the Perkins + Will-designed facility's institutional podium has topped out, and forming is progressing for the student residence tower portion above. The project is targeting completion in time for the Fall 2018 semester, which, at this rate, may only apply to the institutional component in the podium levels. Once completed in full, the building will provide 332 student residence beds across 100 units, along with space for a variety of Ryerson departments.
Continuing north on Church to just north of Gerrard Street, construction is in its late stages for Tridel's Alter, a 33-storey architectsAlliance-designed condominium development with a commercial podium and 340 condominium units above. The tower is topped out, and work on the exterior envelope and building interiors will wrap up later this year.
Continuing north a couple blocks, we arrive at Carlton Street, where on the northeast corner, construction is well underway for Tribute Communities' Stanley Condominiums. With forming of the Core Architects-designed project's below-grade levels already in full swing, the developer filed a late 2017 application for minor variance, seeking an additional four floors. This has since been approved, bringing the tower's height up to 41 storeys/138 metres, and incorporating 47 additional suites for a new total of 538. Construction here will continue through 2018 and into 2019.
Immediately north of the Stanley site, construction continues for CentreCourt Developments' 411 Church project. At the southeast corner of Church and Wood, the 38-storey, IBI Group-designed condominium tower recently passed a milestone with the forming of the building now above grade and reaching as high as the third level of the project's six-storey podium. Construction for 411 Church will continue throughout the year.
Three blocks to the north, we arrive at the Church and Wellesley intersection where we turn east. One building along, construction has recently started for Aragon Properties' Eighty One Wellesley. The 28-storey, Core Architects-designed condominium tower's shoring kicked off in December, with following. Eighty One Wellesley will eventually rise 98 metres in the heart of the Church and Wellesley Village, bringing 179 units to the culturally vibrant neighbourhood.
Returning to the Church and Wellesley intersection, a proposal for the northwest corner continues to work its way through the planning and appeals process. ONE Properties' 3XN-designed Church and Wellesley project was originally proposed with a 43-storey, 162-metre height. That was rejected by City Council in December, but the proposed residential tower has since been appealed to the OMB, and in advance of a June OMB hearing, a revised proposal has been submitted as the developer hopes to continue working towards a settlement wth the City. The revised plan has been scaled back to 39 storeys and a 141-metre height.
Adjacent to the north, The Beer Store at 572 Church Street is the site of a June 2017 proposal from Fieldgate Urban seeking an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning Bylaw Amendment to permit a 16-storey, 98-unit residential building on the site. The Planning Department's preliminary report characterized the proposal as overdevelopment of the lot, but stated that they would work towards an appropriate plan with the developer. The TACT Architecture-designed project has since been appealed to the OMB. No hearing dates have been set yet.
A couple blocks north, there are plans to add info development on the land around the 26-storey Town Inn tower. A 2015 zoning bylaw and site plan approval submission to the City proposed to replace the single-storey podium on the south side of the tower, plus the lawn to the west of it, with a pair of three-storey high walk-up buildings with 43 condominium units inside. The plan from Gary Stein Architect and CGL Architects was updated in the Fall of 2016 with new documents submitted to the City, though no updates have appeared in the time since.
Finally for this instalment, to the north across Charles Street, a 2016-approved development from Aspen Ridge Homes will extend Charles Street's skyscraper growing canyon to Church Street. Branded as Charles at Church, the Quadrangle-designed tower is planned to rise 47 storeys and contain 375 condominium units and 20 rental units. A finalized SPA resubmission landed at the City back in October, and marketing of the project is underway.
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There's still more of the Downtown area to see though, so stay tuned for our remaining Growth To Watch For instalments, to be published throughout the remainder of March. Additional information and renderings not in the article above can be found in the projects' database files below. Care to share your thoughts on the listed projects? Feel free to comment in the space provided on this page, or join in the ongoing conversations in the associated Forum threads.
