South of George Brown College's St. James campus, the former Greyhound bus depot site on Front Street East is one step closer to being redeveloped as a two-tower condominium. A revised site plan for St. Lawrence Condos at 158 Front was submitted to the City of Toronto in January, propelling the Cityzen Development Group and Fernbrook Homes project through the closing stages of the planning process, with a building permit for shoring and excavation also tabled late last year. 

St. Lawrence Condos at 158 Front, image via submission to the City of Toronto

Designed by architectsAllliance, the project features a pair of 26-storey towers above a shared podium. Referencing the material character of the St. Lawrence neighbourhood—which is now considered a Heritage Conservation District—the podium's dark brick frontage attempts to complement an area defined by its 19th and 20th century warehouses. 

A closer look at the podium levels, image via submission to the City of Toronto

Lighter in tone, the paired towers rise above the stacked box podium, with an outdoor amenity space planned between the two volumes. The project will feature some 400 units, with a preliminary overview of the floorplans offered in our previous story. 

Night view, the northeast corner of Front and Frederick, image courtesy of Cityzen/Fernbrook

At street level, the significantly widened sidewalks and new landscaping—required by City Planning—should go some way to improving the area's pedestrian experience. On the street level and atop the podium, the project's landscaping will be appointed by Terraplan Landscape Architects.

An amenity terrace is nestled between the towers, image courtesy of Cityzen/Fernbrook

Retail spaces are also planned at grade, bringing some activity to a post-industrial stretch of Front Street that's gradually beginning to be re-shaped by development. On the south side of the street and just to the east, Pemberton's somewhat bulkier project at 177 Front Street East is now being marketed as 'Time and Space Condos.' Three blocks west, meanwhile, the new St. Lawrence Market North will eventually add a new destination to the area. 

Following the bus depot demolition, the site is now occupied by a parking lot, image via Google Maps

We will keep you updated as the planning process concludes, and the start of construction nears. In the meantime, further information about the project is available in our dataBase file, linked below. Want to share your thoughts? Leave a comment on this page, or add your voice to the conversation in our Forum.