Details have emerged regarding a proposed 43-storey development at the northern edge of Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood, with the first renderings of a mixed-use Foster + Partners and RAW Design tower at the northeast corner of Bay and Scollard Streets. The project, located at 48-58 Scollard Street and 1315-1325 Bay Street, features a distinctive, modernist-inspired design with punched windows, which—as the rendering reveals—provides a stylistic contrast to many of Toronto's recent all-glass-and-steel towers, including the neighbouring Four Seasons Hotel and Residences. 

The project viewed from the west, with the Four Seasons Hotel shown to its right, image created by Foster + Partners

While the proposal is just beginning its voyage through the Toronto planning process, we know that the slender 158-metre mixed-use tower would bring 112 residential units to the market, with retail-commercial space at ground level, and a stone-paved Privately Owned Publicly-Accessible Open Space (PoPS) with cafe-style seating and bicycle parking at the north-east corner of Bay and Scollard (below).

A closer look at the public space on the northeast corner of Bay and Scollard, image created by Foster + Partners

According to a Zoning Bylaw Amendment submitted to the City of Toronto by developers Urbacon and BRL Realty, the development plan also includes green roof coverage of 60%, an outdoor terrace amenity space, 132 spaces of automobile parking, as well as a range of as-of-yet unspecified interior amenities. The preliminary site plan also shows drop-off access to the north of the public space on Bay Street, garage access and servicing is proposed at the east end of the site off Scollard Street.

The site as it appears now, image retrieved from Google Maps

The heritage properties that currently occupy the northeast corner of Bay and Scollard (above) would be restored under plans by ERA Architects and relocated to the east of their current location, allowing for a new public space at the intersection. The plan includes landscaping by Boston-based Stoss Landscape Urbanism, with the renderings and site plan showing the public space at the corner deftly negotiated by an undulating pattern of pleached trees (represented by the thick black line below). 

The landscaping plan reveals a unique pattern of pleached trees (thick black line), image courtesy of Urbacon/Bresler

As the plan has yet to have its first public consultation, it is possible that the design presented will evolve. In particular, the close proximity to neighbouring Jesse Ketchum Public School—located to the northwest of the site—may prove to be a point of contention for the development, with the accommodation of schools alongside high-rises requiring a highly sensitive design. Shadow studies for the project, however, indicate that care has already been taken to tailor the building's footprint to minimize new shadowing of the school's outdoor areas.

The shadow study shows the proposed tower within a wider urban context, image courtesy of Urbacon/Bresler

We will keep you updated as more information regarding the project continues to emerge. In the meantime, check out our dataBase file, linked below, for more information and the latest up-to-date renderings. Want to share your thoughts on the design so far? Join in the discussion in our associated Forum thread, or leave a comment at the bottom of this page.