Of all the Toronto's neighbourhoods now experiencing renewal, Yorkville has seen more than its fair share of change throughout the past hundred years. It started out at as a quiet village north of the city, but as the urban fabric expanded more businesses and residents moved to the area, and in the 1960s Toronto's burgeoning artistic community made its historic low-rise buildings home. Since then, for over the past 30 years as the artists have moved away due to higher and higher rents, Toronto's elite have made the area surrounding Yonge and Bloor one of Canada's premier centres for upscale shopping, top drawer restaurants, and luxury living. Now, as the city experiences this latest building boom, the demand for high-rise real estate is at a fever pitch in the neighbourhood. Included in this boom is the story of the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences which in 2012 moved its home base from Avenue Road and Yorkville to Bay Street and Yorkville. A recent image by UT Forum member Philofra pictures the 52-storey tower in all its glass-and-steel glory.

Completed Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences, image by philofra

Back at Avenue Road, the repurposing and renovation of the 31-storey brutalist landmark from hotel to condominiums is being presently being undertaken by Camrost-Felcorp. The plan includes a reworking of the two-storey podium to suit luxury retailers, and thereby revitalizing that stretch of Yorkville.

Along with the redevelopment of the former Four Seasons tower, Camrost is proposing to add a 38-storey mixed-use tower at the corner of Cumberland and Avenue Road, slimmed down somewhat since an earlier submission, as well as a 10-storey mixed use building that will front on to Yorkville Avenue. The whole project has been dubbed Yorkville Plaza. It would add a total of 1,803 residential units, with 363 parking spots to be located in 5 storey below grade lot which would serve residential, commercial, and Rideshare uses.

Below, the west elevation of proposal from the planning application depicts the existing 31-storey tower to the left and the proposed 38-storey tower to the right. The tower's signature architectural gesture by designers Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects is a nine-storey section projecting outwards over the gap between the buildings.

West Elevation of Yorkville Plaza, from planning application document

Although units in the 31-storey tower have been selling, the application has yet to be approved for the remainder complex. The final report—which you can read here—recommends approval of the development application by City Council, dependent upon the developers submitting a Traffic Study and a detailed Functional Pavement Marking and Signing Plan to the satisfaction of the General Manager of Transportation Services. We will keep you updated as the application and eventual building process go through over the coming months; in the meantime, check out the dataBase page linked below and the Forum thread to get in on the discussion.

Related Companies:  architects—Alliance, CCxA, DesignAgency, L.A. Inc., McIntosh Perry, Menkes Developments, Multiplex, NAK Design Group, WZMH Architects