A proposal by the Madison Group to build a 45-storey condominium tower around the southwest corner of Church and Richmond streets in Downtown Toronto has been resubmitted to the City for Site Plan Approval. Dating back to a 2017 rezoning application, the plan for 120 Church calls for a design by Teeple Architects with Turner Fleischer Architects as Architect of Record. The plan has evolved from its initial design following a settlement between the developer and City was ratified at the LPAT at the beginning of 2019, resulting in a Spring resubmission. Most recently, the plan has been resubmitted again, this time for Site Plan Approval with some major design changes, as well as other minor revisions in response to comments from City staff.

Previous and current versions of the design, images via submission to City of Toronto

A 45-storey, 149.5-metre height remains unchanged from the previous submission, while the most obvious changes have been introduced for the tower exterior. The previous plan’s curved massing wrapping around the heritage building at the corner of Church and Richmond—home to McVeigh's Irish Pub for over five decades—remains in place, but with a radically altered exterior envelope that would include a dark brick-clad base.

Looking south to podium of 120 Church, image via submission to City of Toronto

The tower above features a new cladding program that now includes prominent black vertical fins to what was a more simply glazed design in the previous submission. A randomized intermittent pattern of gold-coloured window frames increases in density as the tower rises, culminating in an upper section with several flashes of metallic finishes that would stand out on skyline views.

Looking east to 120 Church, image via submission to City of Toronto

The development proposes 479 condominium units, a total unchanged from the previous plan, now in a mix of 30 studios, 157 one-bedrooms, 241 two-bedrooms, and 51 three-bedrooms, decreasing the number of one-bedroom units in favour of additional two-bedroom plans.

Looking northwest to podium of 120 Church, image via submission to City of Toronto

A small public realm contribution is planned at the west side of the ground floor, where a 198 m² public park would be dedicated to the City. This rectangular parkette would be divided from the building’s ground-floor retail units via a small laneway, which would foster connectivity between the retail and park space.

Additional information and images can be found in our Database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment below.

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