Toronto developer Plaza has submitted revised plans to the City for their proposed residential development at 2452 Bloor Street West. After being originally submitted in 2016, the Quadrangle-designed building is now in its third iteration of design refinements. The last version transformed the project through a height reduction and design simplification, while this latest iteration makes refinements to the elevations. The project is just to the west of Jane Subway Station and will replace the local Humber Cinemas and a string of two storey retail spaces that have been mostly vacant for a couple years, closed since the landlord opted to not renew the leases.

A head-on rendering of 2452 Bloor West, image by Plaza

The most noticeable change takes place on the upper half of the structure which was once defined by bold, white precast fins. Toronto's Design Review Panel suggested that these fins be removed as they tend to elongate the vertical form of the building and emphasize height, which is contrary to the City's goal of having the modest heights along the retail strip. A 'softer' window wall facade has been applied instead, using vision glass, metal panels and dark grey spandrel. Additionally, the balconies have been re-arranged from a grid of projecting private balconies, to a row of continuous balconies separated by dividers. 

A side by side comparison of the two designs seen from the east, images courtesy of Plaza

At street level, the height of the retail spaces has been lowered slightly to reflect the character of the residential collector roads. This was done by stepping down the floor slab along the Riverview Gardens frontage. The framing of these retail spaces has also changed; the metallic gold faming has been replaced by charcoal brick masonry to match the red brick used on the residential levels.

A side by side comparison of the two designs seen the west, images courtesy of Plaza

A bevelled copper frame surrounding the residential lobby entrance to the building is another feature of the revised design.

Looking north to the street realm at 2452 Bloor West, images courtesy of Plaza

The unit mix of the building has also changed. This iteration has 2 fewer units over all, losing 22 two-bedroom units while gaining 1 three-bedroom unit and 19 one-bedroom units. The number of parking spaces has also been reduced from 256 spaces to 225. Likewise, 31 bicycle parking spaces have been removed.

Additional information and images can be found in our database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.