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A year ago at this time we ran several stories covering growth to watch out for over the course of 2014, each for a different Toronto neighbourhood. With a new year upon us, we are looking again at what to expect across the city over the next twelve months.
This year we are starting with the Yonge-Eglinton area, and you can compare the situation now with that from a year ago in last year's article. The Yonge and Eglinton area has grown to become one of Toronto's hottest development nodes. With construction progressing on the Crosstown LRT, many developers have this area in their sights, looking to take advantage of the transportation improvements coming to this already vibrant midtown hub. From fresh proposals to developments currently under construction, there are now 25 projects in the planning stages or already under way in the neighbourhood, and that number is expected to grow as countless new residents are attracted to one of the most desirably urban and walkable areas of Toronto outside of the Downtown core.
Bazis, Metropia and RioCan's E Condos, now in its shoring phase, is a big one to watch this year. With its prominent position right on the northeast corner of the Yonge and Eglinton, the taller of the two Rosario Varacalli-designed towers will rise 58 storeys, making it easily the highest profile redevelopment currently under construction in the neighbourhood.
The E Condos site grew in size in November with the addition to the existing land parcel of the adjacent property at 31 Roehampton, currently the site of a walkup apartment building. This increase in the site's footprint is bringing about a redesign of the shorter north tower at two-tower development, the results of which we expect to see later this year. The original plan for the north tower, seen below at left, was particularly slim.
Just across Yonge Street from the E Condos site, work is ongoing on the renovation and expansion of RioCan's Yonge Eglinton Centre, a mid-sized shopping centre serving the surrounding community with shops, restaurants, a large multi-plex cinema, and a food court. The renovation of the mall's interiors has already added new lighting and finishes, set to match the interiors of the new four-storey 'cube', now topped off at the former site of an underutilized outdoor plaza. The cube will add new stores and new VIP cinemas to the existing complex. A landscaped rooftop will be accessible to the public.
One block to the southwest of the Yonge and Eglinton intersection, construction is wrapping up on Andrin Homes and The Brown Group of Companies' The Berwick, a 17-storey condominium and townhome development located at the corner of Duplex and Berwick. The tower portion of the Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects-designed development is nearly fully clad now, and work continues on sealing off the townhome section from the elements.
Not far behind The Berwick's progress, Pemberton Group and Camrost-Felcorp's Neon Condos is topped out and largely clad at the corner of Orchard View and Duplex, just northwest of the Yonge-Eglinton intersection. Once complete, the 20-storey, Graziani + Corazza Architects-designed development will add 566 condominium units to the area.
A couple blocks east of Yonge Street, Madison Homes' The Madison will be adding a significant amount of new retail space to Eglinton Avenue, including a new Loblaws supermarket. Cladding installation recently got under way on the development's hefty podium, which is already making a noticeable impact on its surroundings as it rises. With the podium levels of the Kirkor-designed development almost fully formed, we can expect to see the 33- and 36-storey towers start to rise in the near future, both likely to be topped out before the end of 2015.
Just northeast of the Yonge and Eglinton intersection, construction is now a few levels above ground on the podium of Minto30Roe, a 34-storey Wallman Architects-designed condominium tower that will add 397 units to Roehampton Avenue, just east of Yonge Street. It should top out before the end of 2015 too.
Further east on Roehampton, KG Group's 15-storey rental development, 305 Roehampton, is now topped off with cladding sealing off most of the building from the elements. The residential rental project is located directly across the street from Northern Secondary School, and joins a row of existing rental buildings also owned by KG Group.
Early site prep work is under way at the site of Tridel and Beaux Properties' 101 Erskine, a 32-storey, CS&P Architects-designed development that will add 421 condominium units and 10 townhomes to Erskine Avenue, just west of Redpath Avenue. Excavation will begin in the coming weeks, with construction continuing through 2016.
There are a handful of proposed developments in their planning and marketing stages around the Yonge and Eglinton area as well, ensuring that this part of the city will be seeing new growth for some time.
In marketing, Tower Hill Development Corporation's 2221 Yonge has the potential to become the next major project built in the immediate vicinity of Yonge and Eglinton. Designed by Pei Partnership Architects with Quadrangle Architects, the most recent plans call for a 56-storey tower containing 566 condominium units.
Just south of the 2221 Yonge site, Freed Developments and CD Capital have big plans for the former Art Shoppe furniture store on Yonge Street at Soudan, which closed late last year. They are proposing to build 28 and 12-storey architectsAlliance-designed condominium towers. The development has recently gone into its registration phase, being marketed as Art Shoppe Lofts + Condos.
Menkes' The Eglinton will add 444 residential units and ground level retail to the southeast corner of Redpath and Eglinton. Designed by Giannone Petricone Associates, the 33-storey tower will replace an existing 9-storey, Class B office building of mid-century Modernist stock.
Just a block to the north, construction is soon to begin on Freed Developments and CD Capital's 155 Redpath following City Council's approval of the project during a marathon meeting at the end of Summer 2014. Once complete, the 34-storey, architectsAlliance-designed development will add 446 condominium units to the corner of Redpath and Roehampton.
Not too far away, the Pemberton Group has now begun marketing a twin 34-storey condo tower development at 95 Broadway called CityLights Condominiums.
Rockport Group's Montgomery Square will bring a 27-storey tower by RAW Design to Yonge Street at Montgomery, which would retain and preserve the Art Deco facade of the historic Postal Station K. Like 155 Redpath, this was one of the many developments given the green light during last year's marathon City Council meeting, but here a rental tower is planned.
2013 proposals are currently sleeping at Yonge and Helendale and on Eglinton west of Yonge, but we may be hearing more about those soon. In the meantime, 2014 brought us a handful of new proposals for the area as well, including Shiplake's Gallery Park rental towers at 45 Dunfield, and Lash Group's 11 Lillian proposal. Also proposed was Freed Developments, CD Capital's 150 Redpath, the second phase of the already-approved 155 Redpath. It is not known if these three proposals will launch in 2015.
Two major proposals came in right at the end of the year, with plans for a 68-storey residential tower to replace the existing 8-storey office building at 1 Eglinton East, and most recently a 47-storey residential tower at 55 Eglinton East which would replace another existing 8-storey office building. Both of these are early in the planning process and no changes to the existing sites would be expected in 2015.
The adjacent Davisville area to the south is also home to much construction, with residential developments Life Condos by Chestnut Hill Homes on Merton Street and Shiplake Management Company's Balliol Park rental development on Balliol Street. Life Condos should rise above ground by spring and top off by the end of the year, while Balliol Park will continue excavation during early 2015 and then start to build upwards.
Just to the east, and now under construction, is the Greenwood College School Expansion, which will vastly expand the footprint of the existing private school located at the southeast corner of Mt. Pleasant and Davisville.
There is a whole lot to look forward to in 2015, and we will return soon with previews covering the other major development nodes in the GTA. For additional information and renderings about the projects mentioned in this article, check out the dataBase pages listed below.
