Toronto’s downtown faces the daunting task of balancing an ever-developing city, the need for greenery, and being a place to work, live, and socialize for many. This balancing act is on full display in the Zoning By-Law Amendment application documents that are being prepared for 839 Yonge Street north of Bloor Street. Bousfields, with Adamson Associates Architects and other team members, have prepared a design for CT REIT, the development arm of the Canadian Tire Corporation.

The proposed design of 835-839 Yonge Street, facing north east, as designed by Adamson Associates Architects for CT REIT

The site currently consists of a Canadian Tire store and gas station, as well as a Service Ontario office at 839 Yonge Street. The proposed project would result in new towers riding from a shared podium covering much of the site. The North Tower at 839 Yonge Street would stand at 160.2m and 49 storeys, and would be on the west side of the land fronting Yonge Street. The neighbouring South Tower at 835 Yonge Street would be facing the TTC corridor on the lot’s east side standing at a shorter 136m and 41 storeys.

The current site on Yonge Street facing north east, including the Canadian Tire store and heritage facade, image from Google Maps

At the base would be a 10-storey podium containing a mixture of retail, residential, and amenity space. The project would also take into consideration greenery for the area, with 627m² of open space. There would be a landscaped roof on top, and the podium would stand next to a Privately Owned Publicly Accessible Space (POPS) at the northeast corner at Yonge and Church streets.

The proposed design at ground level facing north east, as designed by Adamson Associates Architects for CT REIT

Along with retaining green space, 839 Yonge Street would also retain the heritage-designated façade facing Yonge Street. These components date back to 1935, which were retained from an earlier Canadian Tire store, when the Canadian Tire Corporation previously expanded the site. Currently an entrance to the parking lot, the proposal would utilize this façade as an entrance to the retail area.

An aerial view of the current site and surrounding area, image from 835Yonge.com

There would be 950 residential units between both towers, with roughly equal amounts of indoor and outdoor amenity space at 1,908m² and 1,900m² respectively. There would be three parking garage levels, with 138 residential and 223 commercial spaces. There would also be 1,096 bicycle parking spots. The site is located approximately halfway between Bloor-Yonge and Rosedale subway stations, and a short walk to either.

The proposed design facing south east, as designed by Adamson Associates Architects for CT REIT

The retail space would total 17,663m², with the proposed design’s intention to include a new Canadian Tire store, as 839 Yonge Street is one of the nation’s oldest Canadian Tire locations. The store is just one of many pieces of the balancing act of this new proposal.

UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, 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:

Adamson Associates Architects, Aercoustics Engineering Ltd, Bousfields, Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists