This summer, Metropia submitted applications to the City of Toronto for Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments, along with Site Plan Approval for a 39-storey mixed-use, 406-unit condominium building. Designed by IBI Group, the building at 1406 Yonge Street would rise on the west side opposite the end of Pleasant Boulevard in the Deer Park neighbourhood. A passage through the building would provide a discreet entrance to St Michael’s cemetery to the immediate west. 

Looking north to 1406 Yonge Street, designed by IBI Group for Metropia

The site is approximately 150 metres south of the intersection with St Clair Avenue. To its immediate north is a 14-storey residential condominium known as The Clairmont, and to the immediate south, five 3-storey commercial buildings. Directly abutting the site to the west is the 10-acre St Michael’s Cemetery, Toronto’s oldest surviving Catholic cemetery, which is accessed only by the Archdiocese Access and otherwise surrounded by buildings and hidden from neighbouring streets.

The site is located on two lots known municipally as 1406-1408 Yonge Street and 1418-1428 Yonge Street, image by Bousfields Inc.

The design places a residential point tower rising to 39 storeys/131.3m above a 4-storey podium base. The overall gross floor area (GFA) is 28,445m², resulting in a density of 29 times the area of the site.

Looking north to 1406 Yonge Street, designed by IBI Group for Metropia

The ground floor along Yonge Street includes the residential lobby, a driveway, and two street-facing retail spaces that total 158m² and are proposed at the northeast and southeast corners of the site. The 6m wide driveway is in the location of the existing Archdiocese Access, and while maintaining that access would also allow cars entry to garage elevators and trucks entry to an enclosed loading area in the northwest corner of the site. The design provides a double-height drive aisle for the laneway and the addition of a “glass link” incorporated directly above in order to maintain the vista to the cemetery from Yonge Street.

Ground floor plan, image by IBI Group for Metropia

The 406 dwellings are proposed in a mix of 184 one-bedrooms (45%), 182 two-bedrooms (25%), and 40 (10%) three-bedrooms. The residents would be served by 812m² of indoor amenity space, most of which would be located on the third floor, and 200m² of outdoor space on a rooftop terrace atop the 39th floor.

Given the proximity of the subject site to existing transit infrastructure (100m to St Clair subway station), the developers are proposing to provide a limited residential and visitor parking spaces; the two-level underground garage accessed by the car elevators would provide residents with 24 vehicle spaces as well as four car share spaces (equivalent to 16 parking spaces).

The building would also accommodate 366 long-term bicycle parking spaces on levels P2 and 2, within bike stackers, all accessible via a dedicated bike elevator, plus 41 short-term bicycle parking spaces on Level P1.

Looking west to the podium of 1406 Yonge Street, designed by IBI Group for Metropia

 

The building's exterior expression has been articulated into a predominantly white portion that faces Yonge Street and a predominantly black portion facing west to give the tower an ‘slimming’ effect.

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:  Arcadis, Bousfields, Grounded Engineering Inc., HGC Engineering Inc, Kramer Design Associates Limited, LEA Consulting, Metropia, Sysconverge Inc