As towers and cranes continue to usurp and transform the cityscapes that preceded them, Toronto's high-rise construction boom has seen the face of the city change. Oftentimes, photographs younger than a decade evidence sharp contrasts in the civic landscape, with towers now standing in place of empty skies. Yet, while Toronto's towering new streetscapes often bear remarkably little resemblance to their predecessors, a number of recent high-rise projects have incorporated meticulously preserved historic elements into their construction.

On Yonge Street, for example, the under construction Five St. Joseph tower is seeing nearly half a block of derelict Victorian architecture just north of Wellesley Street restored to a stately showpiece. Up the street, Bazis and Plaza's 1 Yorkville will feature a row of ERA Architects-restored low-rise heritage buildings just north of Bloor (below).

A rendering of 1 Yorkville, image courtesy of Bazis/Plaza

While the 58-storey Rosario Varacalli-designed tower will meet the growing skyline with a decidedly contemporary face, the restored stretch of Yonge Street south of Yorkville Avenue will lend the base of the tower an old-world elegance rarely found in modern condos.  

A view of the soon-to-be-restored heritage properties along Yonge, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor stjames2queenwest

Currently, crews are continuing work on installing the carbon fibre and steel members to the back-side of all the heritage properties. This serves to stabilize the structures, preparing them for the next phase of construction. Work on stabilizing the structures is scheduled to be completed in the first week of November. 

A view of construction progress, image by Edward Skira

Once the project receives a demolition permit, crews will be able to proceed with removing the back-half extensions that were added to the heritage buildings during the mid-to-late 20th century. Once these extensions are fully removed and disposed of, the project is expected to proceed to the shoring and excavation phase. 

A closer look at the heritage properties, image courtesy of Bazis/Plaza

The tower will add a total of 577 condominium units to the Bloor-Yorkville area. Studios along with 1, 2, and 3-bedroom units will be available, accommodating a range of residents and lifestyles, including families. Residents will have access to both podium-level and rooftop amenity areas, the latter of which will offer a panoramic shared space 58 floors above the bustling city.

Aerial rendering, showing the rooftop amenities, image courtesy of Bazis/Plaza

We will keep you updated as the project continues to develop. In the meantime, additional information and renderings can be found in our 1 Yorkville dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment using the space provided at the bottom of this page.

Related Companies:  DesignAgency, Groundwater Environmental Management Services Inc. (GEMS), Isotherm Engineering Ltd., Kramer Design Associates Limited, Live Patrol Inc., Monir Precision Monitoring Inc., Myles Burke Architectural Models, NAK Design Group, Plaza, Ryan Design International