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A new residential tower designed by acclaimed British architect Sir David Chipperfield has been proposed for Toronto’s Rosedale neighbourhood by Helberg Properties. The application seeks to redevelop an assembly of 38 through 50 Park Road with a mostly residential 31-storey building containing 289 rental units and new non-residential space. The proposed development would rise just north of Church Street and east of Yonge, backing onto Lawren Harris Park at the edge of the Rosedale Valley, within walking distance of the Bloor-Yonge subway interchange.
This marks the first Toronto project by David Chipperfield Architects, the London-based firm led by the 2023 Pritzker Prize winner. Known for refined modernist works such as the Neues Museum in Berlin and the Museo Jumex in Mexico City, Chipperfield brings a global pedigree to the proposal. With BDP Quadrangle as Architect of Record, the design would also integrate a 1954 heritage-listed office building by John C. Parkin into the tower’s base, overseen by ERA Architects.
The site spans 38, 40, and 50 Park Road, located on the west side of Park Road between Church Street and Rosedale Valley Road, east of Yonge Street. The assembly comprises a 3½-storey triplex at 38 Park, a mid-century 8-storey rental apartment building with 39 units at 40 Park, and a 2-storey office building at 50 Park, sitting at the edge of a natural slope overlooking the ravine, originally constructed in 1954 for the Ontario Association of Architects. A Modernist pavilion, it is characterized by its flat roof, rectilinear form, and buff brick facade. It is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
Bousfields has submitted Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications to the City of Toronto on behalf of the developer. The proposal envisions a brick exterior 31-storey building rising to 107.9m at the south end of the site and the adaptive reuse of the heritage office building at the north end. The two volumes would be joined by a glazed ground-level connection, maintaining the distinct form of the 1954 structure at 50 Park Road.
In total, the development would contain 289 rental units, including 40 rental replacement units for existing tenants. Vertical circulation would be served by three elevators, producing a ratio of one elevator per 96 units, indicating adequate response times. The project proposes a total Gross Floor Area of 25,041m², with 24,408m² for residential use and 633m² for non-residential space within the retained heritage structure. The resulting Floor Space Index is 14.2 times coverage of the 1,764m² assembly.
Residents would have access to 1,156m² of amenity space, split evenly between indoor and outdoor areas. Parking and servicing are consolidated in a stacked system located within the base of the building. The proposal includes 31 vehicular spaces, with 27 for residents and 4 for visitors. A total of 329 bicycle parking spaces are proposed, including 261 long-term, 58 short-term, and 10 publicly accessible spots.
The site is located 360 metres, about a 4-minute walk, from Bloor-Yonge station, and falls within the boundaries of its Major Transit Station Area. Rosedale station is 525m to the northwest. The site is also 60 metres south of the Rosedale Valley Road Multi-Use Trail, which is slated for a City-led redesign in partnership with the TCRA, with construction expected in 2026.
Numerous tall buildings are planned or underway in the area. Immediately to the west, a 28-storey tower on Park Road is under construction, while nearby proposals include 906 Yonge (40 storeys), Clear Hotel (42 storeys), 839 Yonge (41 and 49 storeys), and Yonge and Scollard (50 storeys). Southeast of the site, 350 Bloor East is proposed at 63 storeys, while 625 Church to the south is proposed at 56 storeys. Closer to Bloor-Yonge station, construction is progressing on the 85-storey One Bloor West, alongside major proposals like Cumberland Square (75 storeys) and 19 Bloor West (99 storeys).
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 Line 5 and Line 6 Forum threads, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | BDP Quadrangle, Bousfields, ERA Architects |
