Early last year, Madison Homes' audacious concept for a 67-storey O-shaped tower on Toronto's Mercer Street quickly became one of the year's most talked-about potential developments. While the Entertainment District project was later formally submitted to the City at a reduced height of 57 storeys, the 190-metre proposal at 15-35 Mercer still conspicuously exceeded the 157-metre "clothes line" height plateau established for the neighbourhood following the completion of the nearby Festival Tower. 

The 57-storey tower proposed to the City in 2015, image via submission to the City of Toronto

Designed by Teeple Architects, the proposal has now been formally re-submitted to the City as a pair of 49-storey towers. Forgoing the distinctive bridge element in favour of a more typical form, the project now also falls within the Planning Department's height parameters for the area, with both towers topping out at 156 metres.  

The Mercer Street elevation, image via submission to the City of Toronto

While the proposed 57-storey concept called for 884 condominium units and 163 hotel rooms, the revised project—which was re-submitted in October—now features 718 condominiums and 102 hotel suites. Like the previous proposal, the project would see three heritage façades retained at 15, 19, and 31 Mercer Street, with a hotel restaurant/bar taking up much of the Mercer frontage, and a shared 9-storey podium rising above. 

The ground floor plan, click for a closer view, image via submission to the City of Toronto

Given the relatively narrow site, both towers feature relatively slim 677 m² floorplates. Although the attention-grabbing sky bridge has been removed, a kinetic relationship still links the two high-rise forms. A series of extrusions plays out as a cubist "push-pull" pattern between the towers, which are separated by 20 metres. By contrast, however, the City's Tall Buildings Guidelines call for a separation distance of at least 25 metres.

The south elevation backs out onto a laneway, image via submission to the City of Toronto

While the renewed proposal is still in its relatively early stages, the reduced height and density may mean that the project—which could still evolve—will have a more realistic chance of being approved. 

The site as it appears now, looking southwest, image via submission to the City of Toronto

In the meantime, we will keep you updates as more information—and new renderings—become available. You can also learn more by checking out our dataBase file, linked below. Want to share your thoughts? Leave a comment in the space on this page, or join the conversation in our associated Forum thread.