5.5K 
On the eastern edge of Toronto's Financial District, a reworked vision for a year-old tower proposal at 15 Toronto Street is emerging from resubmitted Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Approval applications. The 53-storey, BDP Quadrangle-designed mixed-use, mostly residential condo building from Madison Group, has now seen significant revisions since its initial submission in August, 2022.
Madison Group's original vision for 15 Toronto Street proposed a towering structure, standing at a height of 201.6m, and was noted as an example of "a true mixed use building." It aimed to offer 296 residential units, dedicate two storeys to retail and restaurant spaces, and allocate eight additional storeys for office use. The proposal emphasized the potential of the current site, which is home to an 11-storey office building from 1961, planned to be demolished. With its location on the short by storied Toronto Street with its particular architectural history, the project sought to intensify an area already rich in heritage.
Feedback from the community and City officials, gathered through consultations including a Community Consultation Meeting in March, 2023, has been instrumental in shaping the project's revisions, and probably the most obvious change is the building's enhanced relationship with the Italianate heritage building next door at 17 and 19 Toronto Street: the Consumer's’ Gas Company Building has played a pivotal role in the latest design moves.
The proposed development now aligns more harmoniously with the heritage building's 3-storey street-wall. This alignment was achieved through a digital scan of the Consumers' Gas Company Building that established a heritage datum line. Moreover, a chevron pattern on the western facade's of 15 Toronto Street has been replaced with a vertical stone pattern, echoing the column articulation of the Consumers’ Gas Company Building and other district patterns.
The 15 Toronto Street resubmission introduces several design and amenity enhancements. First, plans for a 10-space underground garage have been nixed, leading to a reorganization of the building's ground floor and below. In place of garage access that's no longer needed, ground floor retail space has been added, enriching the streetscape along Court Street and Court Square to the south and east. The three basement levels will now just accommodate retail back-of-house area and bicycle parking.
While the building's storey count remains unchanged at 53, its height has seen a modest increase from 201.6m metres to 205.93m. The gross floor area has also increased, resulting in a density shift from 45.4 FSI to 46.0 FSI, and now totalling 23,997m². Increases in residential and office GFA come with a decrease in retail area, resulting in a total of 310 dwelling units, up from the initial 296. The building would accommodate five elevators: two for office floors and three for residential use, resulting in approximately one elevator for every 103 units.
To go along with more residential units, amenity spaces have also been expanded, with a total of 749m² now planned, with 620m² indoors and 129m² outdoors, while the proposal now includes 366 bicycle parking spaces, an increase from the original 323. Of these, 279 are allocated for residential long-term parking and 62 for short-term residential visitors. There would also be 8 and 11 bicycle spaces for long and short-term office use respectively, as well as 1 long-term and 5 short-term spaces for retail.
15 Toronto Street is a 5-minute walk southeast of Queen station on Yonge Line 1. In about a decade, that station will also be an interchange station for Ontario Line 3, which will significantly reduce travel times across the parts of the city, making Toronto Street a prime location for such a high-density project. Other nearby developments, like the proposed Cambridge Suites Redevelopment at 71 storeys northeast of the site closer to Queen station, and the 23 Toronto Street proposal just to the north at 80 storeys, further highlight the area's transformational pressure in the area.
The 15 Toronto resubmission showcases an evolving plan for redevelopment on this tight site, balancing the need for intensification with respect for heritage and community feedback.
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.
* * *
UrbanToronto has a research service, UrbanToronto Pro, that provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area—from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
| Related Companies: | BDP Quadrangle, Bousfields, Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, Grounded Engineering Inc., LEA Consulting, Madison Group, New Release Condo |
