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Dormant since 2021, newly revised plans have been submitted to the City of Toronto for 1075 Bay Street, where Fiera Real Estate is proposing a 62-storey mixed-use tower. The new design by Hariri Pontarini Architects maintains the overall height and density of the 59-storey scheme approved four years ago for previous owner Canderel Residential, but pivots away from office space, in response to the downturn in demand for it.
The 0.24-hectare site occupies the east side of Bay between St Mary and Inkerman streets in the Bay-Cloverhill neighbourhood. Currently home to a 1976-built, 13-storey office block with underground parking, the building is now roughly 70% vacant. The area is defined by a mix of residential and commercial towers alongside cultural, educational, and civic institutions.
Plans to redevelop the site first emerged in 2019 with a 66-storey mixed-use tower proposal that combined condominiums with 24,460m² of office area.
A scaled-back version followed in 2021, when City Council approved a 59-storey design above an 11-storey podium containing 12,100m² of office space, supported by a $9.5 million Section 37 package. Site Plan Approval and Draft Plan of Condominium applications were filed that fall, but with the pandemic weakening downtown office demand, the project stalled and remained inactive through 2022 and 2023.
Now, Elevate Planning & Project Management has submitted new Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications to the City of Toronto on behalf of the developer. In the revised proposal, the tower is now planned to rise 206.24m, compared to 238m in 2019 and just under 200m in 2021, although contained within the same building envelope established by the 2021 approval. The new submission maintains the previously approved tower placement and setbacks.
The revised design totals 50,097m² of Gross Floor Area, resulting in a Floor Space Index of 20.9 times coverage of the 2,395m² lot, nearly identical to the 2021 approval, but down from 63,500m² from 2019. Of this, 49,393m² would be residential and 705m² non-residential, concentrated in retail and commercial space at grade and the second level. The plan calls for 738 residential units, split between 535 condominium suites in the tower and 203 rental apartments in the podium, secured for at least 25 years. Previous versions entailed 528 condominiums in 2019 and 540 in 2021.
The main design shift lies in the podium, where the replacement of the office floors with residential space has allowed a slimmer massing and increased step-backs. Where there were to be 11 storeys of office, 14 storeys of residential now fit. The design still incorporates public realm features secured in 2021, including a mid-block pedestrian walkway and widened boulevards. A POPS (Privately-Owned Publicly-accessible Space) of 265m² is planned at the corner of Inkerman Street, consistent with the earlier approval, with the potential to expand to 347m² if lane dedications are not required.
Indoor amenities would amount to 2,301m², distributed through the mezzanine, second, third, and 16th floors, while 674m² of outdoor terraces would be located on the rooftops of the second and 15th storeys. Six elevators are planned, equating to one for every 123 units, requiring considerably high-speed motors for adequate service.
Below grade, six levels of underground parking would house 168 vehicular spaces, decreased from 201, including 109 for residents, 55 for visitors, and four for institutional or other use. Proposed bicycle storage jumps from 639 in 2019 to 747 spaces, split between 667 long-term stalls and 80 short-term spaces.
Four subway stations are within a 5 to 10 minute walk: Bay station is roughly 350m north, while Museum, Wellesley, and Bloor-Yonge stations are all about 550m away. There is a TTC bus route along Bay along with east-west service on Wellesley. Cyclists benefit from dedicated bike lanes on Bay Street that connect south to the Martin Goodman Trail. University Avenue’s cycle tracks are under threat by the Province.
The proposal joins a cluster of high-rise activity in the Bay-Cloverhill and Bloor-Yonge area. To the west, 70 St Mary is planned at 40 storeys, while to the north, 50, 83, and 80 Bloor West are proposed at 70, 77, and 78 storeys. Southwest, 95 St Joseph is planned at 40 storeys. To the east, proposals include 10 and 25 St Mary at 59 storeys each, along with 619, 646, and 645 Yonge at 70, 75, and 76 storeys. Further northeast, 699 Yonge calls for 64 storeys, One Bloor West is under construction at 85 storeys, and 19 Bloor West aims for 99 storeys.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been republished to reflect a change in ownership of the project crom Canderel Residential to Fiera Real Estate.
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