4.5K 
As Toronto's last remaining surface parking lot at the intersection of two subway lines, the property on the southwest corner of Yonge and Sheppard has been begging for redevelopment for a number of years. After conceptual renderings were floated by Oxford Properties in 2011 for a Kohn Pederson Fox-designed office tower, Menkes eventually acquired the property and in 2016 proposed a 49-storey tower with office, condo and retail uses. Following an appeal to the OMB for the lack of a City Council decision within the specified timeframe, talks with the City continued, and today Council approved a settlement between the developer and City. The settlement now has to be ratified by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) to gain the zoning bylaw amendments needed.
A number of changes were made to the building in the settlement offer. Most notably, the podium has grown from 5 to 8 storeys, almost doubling the size of the office component from 8,469 m² to 15,000 m². Residential GFA has dropped by just under 4,000 m² while the number of dwelling units has been increased by one, to 498. The number of underground parking stalls has been increased from 318 to 341 to accommodate the additional office workers, and the ground floor plate has been reconfigured to include a large, publicly accessible atrium that will play host to public art installations.
An off-site parkland dedication of $5 million and a $11.5 million Section 37 package were also included in the settlement offer. These funds will be used to improve the infrastructure and public realm of the Sheppard-Yonge neighbourhood.
Designed by Miami-Based Arquitectonica and Toronto's Turner Fleischer Architects, the complex features a vase-shaped tower above a square podium. Balconies spanning the tower’s 168-metre height are inset, ensuring that they do not interrupt the tower's curves. Horizontal metal accents circle the tower in a stepped formation. In addition to the raised height of the podium, the latest rendering shows a yellow awning projecting from the north east corner of the tower which rises at the corner to signal the entrance.
We will be back with more information as the building moves into marketing in the future.
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 thread, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.
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