Lanterra Developments and architectsAlliance have been collaborating with the City and a neighbourhood Working Group towards a condo proposal for 501 Yonge Street that is acceptable to everyone, and have recently presented the latest iteration of the plan to the City's Design Review Panel for consideration. The next step will be a revised submission for a zoning amendment to the City's Planning Department.
 
Ward 27 Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam initiated the Working Group so that members of the community could have input into how this block is developed, concerned that the decisions made regarding this building would ultimately establish a precedent which would guide all redevelopment along Yonge between College and Bloor.
 
The 501 site is on the east side of Yonge between Alexander and Maitland Streets, with historic 3-storey buildings across Maitland to the north, and a row of largely heritage 3-storey buildings across the street on the west side of Yonge. Lanterra first came to the table with a proposal for twin 58-storey towers and a 5-storey glass podium, and the sheer height of the towers and the character and size of the podium have been a point of contention for the community since. As a result of the Working Group process, the project has undergone numerous permutations over the course of the past year. 

Elevation of 501 Yonge Street, rendering courtesy of Lanterra Developments

The project has been been presented twice before the City's Design Review Panel (DRP), and most recently on Feb 21, 2013. The latest scheme, image above, includes two towers—the north now at 23-storeys and the south at 52-storeys—and a podium that combines ground-level retail with several floors of disguised parking located above-grade due to the subway line that runs directly underneath the site. Lanterra emphasizes that the design remains in the conceptual realm, still very much a work in progress. The most significant modification is the drop in height of the north tower, which has been made to address the current neighbourhood context and the transitional nature of the site in regard to the heritage structures to the north along Yonge.
The DRP appreciated the revisions made since the project was last reviewed (October 2012), particularly the substantial reduction in height of the North tower, but emphasized these key areas they felt were still needing improvement:
1) The disposition of the massing of the building remains a significant concern and a priority. The DRP recommends the design be revised to comply with the City's Tall Building Guidelines, which establish a framework to regulate their height, form and contextual relationship to their surroundings. In particular, the Guidelines call for a minimum 25m distance between towers and a maximum floor plate of 750 square metres.
2) The DRP recommends that the two towers be distinct from each other and suggested that the contrast could be further developed through articulation and expression of the tower shaft and the base.
3) The design and materiality of the podium was generally well received, with one member suggesting that the base building expression was "bland" and not reflective of the character of Yonge St, once regarded as 'gritty'. Members recommend a refinement to the screening of the above-grade parking through the use of varied cladding and other mediums such as vine planting to soften the building edge. It was suggested that brick be used rather than stone, as it is more in keeping with the heritage character of the site. "The treatment of the parking enclosure must on one hand recognize the scale and rhythm of the heritage buildings to the north but at the same time contribute to the vibrancy of the street."
The evolution of the design of 501 Yonge has been greatly shaped by community input. Through the Working Group the neighbourhood has asserted its voice and helped develop a vision for what it wants for the future of this site. Although still not in its final form, some distinctly positive changes have been put on the table.
We will be back to cover more as this development progresses through the planning process. In the meantime, learn more about the project in the dataBase page and in the related Forum thread linked below. Join the conversation in the threads, or add your comment on this page.
Related Companies:  architects—Alliance, BVGlazing Systems, Isotherm Engineering Ltd., McIntosh Perry, NAK Design Strategies, Rebar Enterprises Inc, UCEL Inc.