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With The Ex wrapped up and Labour Day marking the unofficial end of summer, UrbanToronto captured Toronto in all its summer glory through August. News stories took readers beyond just the towering confines of Downtown Toronto, though, exploring expansive developments from Burlington's downtown transformation, and even further to a proposed redevelopment of St Catharines' former police headquarters. Stories highlighted massive projects planned along the upcoming Eglinton Line 5 Crosstown LRT, including proposals for 40- and 48-storey towers near the soon-to-open Leaside and Mount Dennis stations to the east and west respectively. Meanwhile, The One and Pinnacle One Yonge continued their dominance atop the lists of most searched database files and busiest threads. From discussions on whether Concord Sky will claim the title of a supertall to Toronto's future transit expansions, there has been plenty to keep the threads buzzing in the dog days of summer.
Let's take a closer look at our top stories, database files, and threads for August, 2024.
Our Top Ten Most Read News Stories
Kicking off the top ten at #13, a resubmission for 95 St Joseph Street is stepping it up — figuratively and literally. Revised plans entail adding over 100 units but just one extra storey in this building split between university students and seniors, with a design by Core Architects and Montgomery Sisam Architects for The Daniels Corporation and Amica Senior Lifestyles. Nestled at the edge of the University of Toronto's St George Campus, the revised proposal adds nearly 200 studio units compared to the previous design, with the 13th floor redesigned from amenity to residential use. The project would also integrate the historic Cardinal Flahiff Basilian Centre and St Basil's Seminary into its modern design.
13. 95 St Joseph Reconfigured to Add Over 100 Units and One Storey
This month's top news stories peak in the west end of the GTA with a proposal for 2030 Caroline Street in Downtown Burlington that calls for a 27-storey tower. In the runner-up spot, we jump to the GTA's east end, where Pickering Design Centre is proposed as a master-planned community between the Pickering and Ajax GO stations. At #4, we traverse even further to St Catharines, where plans for 68 Church Street call for a residential and retail development on the site of the former Niagara Regional Police headquarters. Meanwhile, UrbanToronto continued to cover plenty of activity within Downtown Toronto, including 2475 Dundas Street West near Dundas West station at #3, as well as developments planned along the future Eglinton Line 5 Crosstown LRT, with stories on 15 Hollis Street and 589 Eglinton Avenue East coming in at #7 and #6 respectively.
10. Forma's Forest of Rebar Approaches Grade
9. Resubmission For Yonge-St Clair Area Proposal Prepares to Go Alone
8. WZMH Architects Preserves John C. Parkin Design in Reworked 522 University Avenue Proposal
7. Proposal Grows to 48 Storeys Beside Future Mount Dennis Station
6. OLT Approves Height Bump from 35 to 40 Storeys at Leaside Station
5. Proposal Grows to 42 Storeys at Bayview and Sheppard
4. Niagara Region Proposes Redevelopment of Former Police HQ in St Catharines
3. 29-Storey Tower Proposed North of Dundas West Station
2. High-Rise Community Proposed at 401 and Brock in Pickering
1. 27-Storey Tower With Above-Grade Parking Proposed in Downtown Burlington
Our Top Ten Most Searched Database Files
Entering the top 10 at #11, the Golden Mile Shopping Centre Redevelopment plans to revamp a 4.86-acre site between Victoria Park and Pharmacy along the Eglinton LRT's eastern stretch. The proposal includes 11 buildings, with its initial phases — buildings only known as F1 and F2 so far — planned to soar up to 48 storeys, designed by Giannone Petricone Associates for Choice Properties REIT and The Daniels Corporation. Recently, the spotlight shone on F2's technical resubmission, stirring up its UrbanToronto thread again.
11. Golden Mile Shopping Centre Redevelopment: Building F2
The top 10 returns is mostly dedicated to projects in Downtown Toronto of course, with The Well, The One, and Pinnacle One Yonge again dominating the top 3 spots. Rounding out the top 5, Forma comes in at #4, where UrbanToronto's latest update looked at the east tower approaching grade with its forest of rebar. At #5, forum users continue to wait with bated breath for the glass block panels of KING Toronto. Concord Adex's Concord Canada House and Concord Sky find themselves at #6 and #7, with ongoing construction of these towers on their way to a range of 64 to 85 storeys. At the #10 spot, 2150 Lake Shore is a master-planned community planned for Etobicoke's Humber Bay Shores, with 29 buildings reaching heights of 66 storeys.
10. 2150 Lake Shore
9. 8 Wellesley | Residences at Yonge
8. CIBC SQUARE
7. Concord Sky
5. KING Toronto
4. Forma
3. The Well
2. The One
Our Top Ten Busiest Threads
At #13 and #11 of our top busiest threads are the Concord Adex projects from the Database list above: sitting at #13, Concord Sky, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates with architects—Alliance as Architect of Record, currently has several storeys formed above grade. While lively discussions are focused on its final height — with UrbanToronto listing it as 299.0m, and the CTBUH putting it at 300.2m, the question is whether this will be a mere skyscraper or actually a supertall. Meanwhile, the Arcadis-designed Concord Canada House, capturing spot #11, is topping out with construction at the mechanical penthouse levels. Notably, this development weaves a maple leaf motif into the facade, adding Canadian iconography to its towering presence.
13. Concord Sky
As Torontonians bemoan the city's present traffic and transit woes, Forum users are looking to the future with transit continuing to be a major topic of discussion. The Finch West LRT, Union Station revitalization, Ontario Line, and Eglinton LRT came in at #10, #7, #6, and #4 respectively. As for the top 3 threads, they remain unchanged from last month; forum users continue to share photography from the redevelopment of the Lower Don Lands, at #3, while, their cameras tilted upwards to capture the ongoing ascents of Pinnacle One Yonge and The One, again coming in at #2 and #1 respectively.
9. Forma
8. KING Toronto
7. Union Station Revitalization
5. CIBC SQUARE
4. Eglinton Line 5 Crosstown LRT
3. Lower Don Lands Redevelopment
1. The One
We will be back at the beginning of October for a recap of September's top news stories, Database files, and Forum threads!
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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.
