Location: 30 Scollard Street, Toronto
Developer: Constantine Enterprises Inc.
Design Architect: Collaborative Architecture Lab (CAL)
Architect of Record: Zeidler Architecture
Skyscrapers are no stranger to Toronto’s illustrious Yorkville neighbourhood. Just a few weeks ago, details were released for a 79-storey tower planned for Bloor Street West by Parallax Development Corporation.
Typically, these mega-tall high-rises are packed with hundreds of condos, but a recent building application near Yonge and Scollard streets is proposing only 79 units within its 61 floors.
A new zoning by-law amendment application that was filed on December 31st, 2021 has proposed a 61-storey mixed-use building at 22-32 Scollard Street and 21-25 Davenport Road. While the tower would only include 79 units, the application documents state that office, retail, service commercial and recreational uses would be included as well.
The 1,058 square-metre development site is a triangular parcel located at the northeast corner of Scollard Street and Davenport Road, north of Yonge and Bloor streets. Ten buildings currently exist on the site, including four semi-detached dwellings, three detached homes, plus one two-storey and one single-storey commercial building.
Designed by New York-based CAL, the building would be arranged as a 50-storey residential tower supported by an 11-storey podium. Approximately 3,581 square metres of office space would be incorporated from the third to seventh floors. Below, 830 square metres of retail area would be added between levels one to two, taking up the mezzanine and the second floors of the tower’s podium.
On floors eight and nine, 952 square metres of recreational space would include a gym, a pool and paddle courts. Additional indoor and outdoor amenity facilities would be added on the 12th floor.
The podium would showcase a “contemporary architectural design” using triangular framing that would create “vertical rhythm.”
“The façade and tower incorporate glazing and lighter materials that provide views and allow natural light to permeate into the building, which assists in a ‘lighter’ tower appearance,” explains the application’s planning rationale by SGL Planning & Design Inc. “The design of the podium and tower will enable light to reach the public realm while contributing to the vibrancy of the street.”
Access to the new tower would be provided from Davenport Road, Scollard Street and a pedestrian passage along the west side of the building that links the two streets together. The office, residential and retail components of the tower would have separate entryways. Kwanzan cherry trees and shademaster honey locust would border the south and west sides of the building.
Of the 79 units slated for the tower, the breakdown would include 37 one-bedroom, 24 two-bedroom and 18 three-bedroom units ranging from 678 to 2,917 square feet in size. Each suite would have at least one balcony or terrace.
Although the tower would be steps away from Frank Stollery Parkette, the proposal also includes 193 square metres of landscaped open space.
Vehicle access to the site would be provided from Scollard Street. To park their cars, drivers would leave their vehicles at the Scollard Street entrance where an automated parking system with two elevators would take the cars down to a two-level underground parking garage with 100 spaces. The elevators would provide an exit for the cars via Davenport Road. A total of 113 bike parking spaces for long- and short-term use would also be included.
In the neighbourhood, construction is ongoing at Fifty Scollard Condos while sales are underway for The Pemberton.
