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A recent resubmission by H&R REIT for the redevelopment of an office building it owns at 145 Wellington West proposes a significant shift from its initial plans. The updated application, with a design by PARTISANS and Turner Fleischer Architects, does not increase the tower's height, but ups the the storey-count from 60 to 65 by replacing office floors with shorter residential floors.
Located at the southeast corner of Wellington and Simcoe streets where Toronto's Financial Core meets the Entertainment District, the site spans 1,482m² and currently hosts a 13-storey office building that dates back to 1987. Planned for demolition, it has long served as commercial space, with retail at ground level and office floors above. The site is surrounded by a mix of restaurants, cultural venues, office towers, and emerging residential developments.
Initially conceived as a 65-storey tower in 2019 (seen below), the plan was modified to a 60-storey tower in a 2022 application that avoided adding shadow to nearby David Pecaut Square. Approved later that year, that proposal allocated 12 floors for offices to replace the existing commercial use onsite.
In the latest resubmission though, Bousfields has submitted Official Plan Amendment and Rezoning applications to the City of Toronto on behalf of H&R REIT which seek an exemption from Policy 6.2.2 of Toronto’s Downtown Secondary Plan that mandates no net loss of office space within the Financial District. The revised plan decreases the tower’s height from 220m to 213.03m while increasing the number of storeys, while with the replacement of office space with more residential floors, the number of units has gone from 512 to 861, with the number of one-bedroom units now dominating at 630, increased from 111.
In total, the revised Gross Floor Area (GFA) would be 54,216m², up from the previous 46,895m². This includes 54,010m² dedicated to residential space and 206m² for retail, nearly doubling the original retail allotment and eliminating nearly all of the previously proposed 14,540m² of non-residential GFA. The updated Floor Space Index (FSI) would now be 36.58.
The design maintains a tall podium where the office replacement floors were going to be in the first design, now with lobby, retail, and service functions on the ground floor, bicycle storage and residential amenities on its second and third floors, and 20 residential storeys above. Indoor amenities would also be located on the 24th floor where the building steps back. The indoor amenities on both levels 3 and 24 would connect directly to outdoor amenities, totalling 605m². Total indoor amenity space in the revised project would total 1,724m², up from 1,508m² in the earlier plan.
Parking provisions include an automated underground garage with 74 spaces restricted to residents' vehicles, up from the previous 39 spots. Bicycle facilities have been significantly decreased from 615 to 346 spaces, 259 of them long-term and 87 short-term. Seven elevators would service the residential units, equating to about one elevator per 123 units, indicating longer than preferable wait times.
145 Wellington West is 230m from St Andrew station and 430m from Union Station. Nearby, the 504 King streetcar line operates along King Street West. Cycling infrastructure includes the Simcoe Street Cycle Track and routes along Adelaide and Richmond streets. The upcoming Ontario Line 3, currently under construction, will add an interchange station at Osgoode, about 500m from the site.
There is a lot of other development activity in the area. To the south, Union Centre is planned to rise 54 storeys, while east of Union station, One Front calls for residential towers at 45 and 49 storeys across the street from a 52-storey proposal at 20 Front West. Nearby, CIBC SQUARE is progressing with its second phase 50-storey office tower, while further north, 49-51 and 55 Yonge would introduce 62 and 68 storey residential towers, respectively (the latter being another recent resubmission by H&R REIT). Westward, significant residential proposals include 255 Wellington West at 26 storeys, 305-319 King West at 50 storeys, and a 60-storey tower at 277 Wellington West. H&R REIT’s third resubmission at 310 Front West proposes dual residential towers reaching 65 and 70 storeys. North of the site, high-rise residential proposals continue with 150 Pearl Street at 57 storeys, 100 Simcoe at 61 storeys, and the towering office/residential 80-storey plan for 212 King Street West, while Forma’s first tower, now under-construction will reach 73 storeys. A second Forma tower is planned to reach 84 storeys and 'Supertall' status.
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: | Bousfields, Counterpoint Engineering, Entuitive, EQ Building Performance Inc., NAK Design Strategies, Rad Marketing, Turner Fleischer Architects |
