Location: 475 Yonge Street, Toronto
Developer: KingSett Capital
Architect: BDP Quadrangle
A hotel plaza in Toronto’s Church and Wellesley neighbourhood could be transformed into a skyscraper duo with a new public park.
In mid-September, an official plan and zoning by-law amendment application was submitted to city planners to construct a two-tower high-rise project reaching heights of 75 and 78 storeys at 475 Yonge Street. According to the application’s cover letter, the applicant previously obtained approval to build a 45- and 58-storey tower in 2017, but “updated policy directions and evolving context in the area,” has prompted them to reconsider the site’s plans.
The developer, KingSett Capital, recently proposed another high-rise condo project in Yorkville that would replace an existing office building.
The development site is located on the east side of Yonge Street, slightly north of the Yonge and Carlton streets intersection. The land spans one block boarded by Alexander Street to the north, Courtyard Lane to the east and Wood Street to the south. The Courtyard Marriott Hotel currently exists on the site, consisting of a 16-storey and nine-storey building that share a one-storey podium.
The hotel buildings would be demolished and replaced by the proposed mixed-use development, which would deliver 1,611 condo units between the two towers. Of the total units proposed, the breakdown would include 270 bachelor suites, 911 one-bedroom, 269 two-bedroom and 161 three-bedroom units. According to the application’s project data sheet, the residences would be tenured as condos.
The 75-storey Tower A would be built in the northwestern corner of the site, and the taller 78-storey Tower B in the southwestern corner. The western sides of the ground floors fronting onto Yonge Street would feature an inward, curved design, and house street-accessible retail space. Each tower would have a six-storey podium with outdoor rooftop amenity space on the top level and around the outer edges of the building, accompanied by adjoining indoor amenity facilities. Community space would be included on the third story of Tower A.
Entrances to the tower residential lobbies would be located off of Alexander Street (Tower A) and Wood Street (Tower B), next to internal access points to the four-level underground parking garage with 209 spaces. A total of 1,936 bicycle spots are also slated for the project.
In addition to the towers, the project would include a “significant outdoor open space.” A 1,258 square-metre Privately-Owned Publicly Accessible Space (POPS) would exist between the two skyscrapers, leading to a rectangular north-south public park at the far-east side of the site.
In the neighbourhood, construction continues at The Gloucester on Yonge while sales are ongoing at JAC Condos.
