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An 18-storey hotel is planned for a heritage-listed site in Downtown Toronto’s Discovery District, at the southwest corner of Bay and Elm streets. Designed by Arcadis for Lanterra Developments, the project would deliver 234 hotel suites while retaining and integrating the three-storey historic corner building fronting Bay Street. The proposal is situated within short walking distance of multiple subway stations.
Addressed to 650 Bay Street and 55 through 67 Elm Street, the rectangular property currently contains seven vacant, low-rise buildings, including a three-storey former hotel/commercial building at the corner and a series of three-storey rowhouses along Elm Street, all of which are listed on the City of Toronto’s Heritage Register. They are surrounded by a mix of institutional, medical, educational, commercial, and residential uses.
The three-storey corner building at 650 Bay Street was constructed in 1891, originally by the Canadian Temperance League, and later housed the J.G. Adams Dental Institute, one of Canada’s earliest public dental clinics. The rowhouses lining Elm Street also date primarily to 1891, reflecting Bay-and-Gable architecture, with 67 Elm Street added in 1905 in an Edwardian style. The developer has now submitted a Zoning By-law Amendment application to the City of Toronto.
The proposal would introduce a single 18-storey (52.4m) hotel building rising from a three-storey base. The design retains the corner building at 650 Bay Street, while the existing rowhouses would be removed and replaced with a new three-storey podium supporting hotel lobby and back-of-house functions. The building's height is restricted by the helicopter flight path to nearby Sick Kids Hospital.
The building would contain 234 hotel suites, all configured as studios, sertved by three elevators. Of the Gross Floor Area of 10,379m², 170m² would be allocated to retail uses at grade along Bay Street within the retained heritage structure. The Floor Space Index would be 11.46 times coverage of the 906m² assembly.
An escalator would connect the ground floor to a sky lobby and reception area on the second floor. A single underground level would support building functions, while two barrier-free vehicular parking spaces are provided at grade. Bicycle facilities include one long-term and one short-term space.
The site is an approximate 300m (five-minute walk) of TMU station on Yonge Line 1 and 400m (seven-minute walk) of St Patrick station on University Line 1. College and Queens Park stations to the northwest and northeast are about 650m away. Queen and Osgoode stations are roughly 800m away to the southeast and southwest, both becoming interchange stations with Ontario Line 3 in the future. Surface transit options are available nearby along Bay Street and Yonge Street, with Dundas and Carlton streetcar routes within walking distance. Cycling infrastructure includes on-street bike lanes on Bay Street and nearby routes along Gerrard and Elizabeth Streets.
To the south, proposals include Bay and Edward Condos at 19 and 22 storeys, a stale Atrium on Bay Expansion at 25 storeys, and the Toronto Coach Terminal Redevelopment with towers of 16 and 44 storeys. Westward, construction is well underway on The United BLDG at 54 storeys, alongside proposals such as the Hospital for Sick Children's Peter Gilgan Family Patient Care Tower at 29 storeys, 123 Edward Street with towers of 53 and 59 storeys, and 505 University Avenue at 63 storeys. To the east, 69-storey 8 Elm Street is under construction, as well as 85-storey Concord Sky, while nearby proposals include 15–17 Elm Street at 30 storeys, 18 Elm Street at 44 storeys, 372 Yonge at 85 storeys, and Chelsea Green, planned as three towers ranging from 31 to 90 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 Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | Arcadis, Bousfields, ERA Architects, Grounded Engineering Inc., Lanterra Developments |
