The buildings that line the stretch of Spadina Avenue from the rail corridor to just north of Queen Street have a remarkably intact historical character. The grand Toronto boulevard is framed on either side by industrial warehouses dating from the early 19th century, ranging in height from 4 to 10 storeys, their red and yellow brick, stone bases, and large punched windows largely inspired by the Art Deco and early modernist movements of that time period. Now mostly converted to modern office spaces, these buildings still stand proud amongst the low-rise infill between and the handful of contemporary condo towers that have sprung up beside them.

Rendering looking northeast, image courtesy of Hullmark.

Taking inspiration from this context, Hullmark has unveiled plans for a new 25-storey tower at 147 Spadina on the northeast corner with Richmond Street. The proposed building is designed by AUDAX Architecture and rises to a height of 86.4m, containing 223 condo units with retail at grade.

Rendering looking south down Spadina, image courtesy of Hullmark.

The development is situated on a relatively small site, measuring only 0.3 acres (1214m²) and less than 40m deep in either direction. The tower would replace an existing 2-storey commercial building on the property, home to several popular restaurants, which dates from the 1930s but which has been significantly modified since.

Street level at the corner of Richmond and Spadina, image courtesy of Hullmark.

The design of the building is a contemporary take on Art Deco architecture which aims to fit in with the surrounding neighbourhood.

Rendering looking north up Spadina, image courtesy of Hullmark.

Renderings depict the tower cladding to be brick with punched-in bronze-coloured windows and a textured facade with strong vertical elements, all relating to the styling and details of the historic warehouses along Spadina.

Rendering of the west elevation along Spadina, image courtesy of Hullmark.

The base of the tower rises 14 storeys before stepping back, where the massing then begins to become playful with truncated corners and a series of recesses that harken back to the skyscrapers of the 1920s and 30s.

Close-up rendering of the upper tower floors, image courtesy of Hullmark.

The unit breakdown currently consists of 5% studios, 50% one-bedrooms, 30% two-bedrooms, and 15% three-bedrooms. A total of 433m² of retail space is proposed at grade, while only 26 parking spaces are proposed along with 248 bicycle parking spaces.

Rendering looking east along Richmond, image courtesy of Hullmark.

A rezoning application was submitted for 147 Spadina in early September, 2021, so it is still early in the design process and things may change along the way. We will be sure to keep you updated as the project evolves, but in the meantime, you can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like to, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

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Related Companies:

AUDAX, Bousfields, EQ Building Performance Inc., Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, Grounded Engineering Inc., HGC Noise Vibration Acoustics, RJC Engineers