It has been roughly half a year since we last checked in on RioCan REIT’s Bathurst College Centre, a Turner Fleischer Architects-designed retail and office complex located just south-west of Toronto’s College and Bathurst intersection. 

Photo of the completed Bathurst College Centre, image courtesy of Forum contributor Red Mars

The building is now fully leased with retail tenants Western Dental, Copper Branch, Colaba Junction, City Optical, Winners, and FreshCo joining the Scotiabank and Basil Box storefronts that have been operating since Winter 2019. Above the two storeys of retail, University Health Network and Uber Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) will each occupy a floor of office space, filling out the 4 storey complex. Uber ATG is a sub-team within the organization responsible for research on self-driving cars. The Toronto office is one of only four research hubs of its kind, with the other three located in Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco. The company is planning to invest $200 million into the Toronto research hub over the next five years - a testament to Toronto’s growing tech scene.

View of the expansive living wall sections at Bathurst College Centre, image courtesy of Forum contributor Red Mars

Hidden to most people at the rear of the building is one of its most unique features: a living wall. Added to reduce the monolithic nature of the building's windowless back wall to the adjacent homes of Markham Street, the living wall is now fully bloomed after planting took place this past winter. Perforated metal screens hold a highly diversified selection of vegetation, allowing the plants to flourish on this large scale. As part of the development settlement at the OMB, RioCan has been required to actively maintain the living wall going forward, so expect the installation to retain its beauty for the years to come.

Close up of the various plants installed within the living wall, image courtesy of Forum Contributor Red Mars

To learn more about this completed project, and to see more photos of the beautiful living wall, take a look at the Database file and Forum thread, linked below. You can add to the posts in the thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

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