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At the east end of Toronto’s Bayview Village, Amexon Development Corporation aims to leave a lasting impression with The Residences at Central Park. Core Architects’ design and architectural approach, along with the ground realm overseen by Cosburn Nauboris Landscape Architects, come together for this 12-acre masterplanned community that nestles on the rim of the East Don parklands.
Core Architects has used the natural environment as inspiration throughout the site. Each building showcases unique organic motifs, exemplified in the leaf-imprinted designs of the balcony guards, which echo the surrounding greenery. While the buildings' expansive use of glass allows for uninterrupted views of the extensive surrounding greenery, six-foot-deep balconies manifest the indoor-outdoor connectivity through inviting, practical, open air space.
Core’s Deni Poletti emphasizes the development’s commitment to "break away from the conventional” with not just the residential units, but also the common areas intended to respect the site's ecological context.
The community layout is intended for easy navigation through a network of pedestrian paths that interlink various public spaces, including the expansive Central Park Common and smaller ‘courts’ that dot the landscape. These thoroughfares are delineated with pavers that vary in size and colour, for aesthetic cohesion to the walkways. Additionally, a comprehensive planting plan includes the introduction of thousands of native trees and shrubs, boosting biodiversity.
Unique community gathering spaces include the east court, which will feature a community garden and canopy structures for weather protection. The design of these areas, with their open patios and accessible layouts, looks to achieve an interactive urban environment.
Central Park’s massing strategy, therefore, arranges its five buildings by marrying the existing topography to the planned community features. By placing the taller buildings towards the periphery and lower structures near the central common area — the buildings vary in height, with three towers reaching up to 31 storeys, alongside towers of 12 and 19 storeys — Amexon looks to achieve a balanced density, allowing for accessibility and maintaining a human scale throughout the pedestrian-focused environment.
At the heart of Central Park lies approximately 1,166m² of retail space that will host a variety of social-oriented retail establishments such as high-end grocers, cafes, and restaurants. These spaces are planned to open directly onto Central Park Common, inviting both residents and visitors to mingle.
Phasing is planned to ensure each stage contributes uniquely to the project's overall vision., The first phase introduces a sleek glass tower positioned alongside the Central Park Common, which as detailed earlier, addresses the surrounding natural elements through its open-to-the-air spaces and its leaf-imprinted balcony guards. These design choices are continued throughout later phases, maintaining a consistent theme of nature-inspired architecture.
Subsequent phases will expand on these themes with the arrival of The Park Club — a comprehensive amenity space spread across four floors — in the community. This facility will include a variety of wellness and leisure amenities such as a spa, a gym, a library, and social spaces including a bowling alley and a golf simulator. An underground tunnel will connect different phases, allowing residents easy access to these amenities. With this approach, Amexon plans to bring the vast site together as a cohesive community environment, phase by phase.
Amexon and Core Architects have envisioned Central Park as a master-planned community bringing together architectural innovation and thoughtful massing. With its architecture and layout, each element of Central Park contributes to a nature-focused, community-oriented design.
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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