The master-planned community of Concord CityPlace has grown from disused railway yards on Downtown Toronto's doorstep into one of Canada's most densely populated neighbourhoods in just over a dozen years. With most of the area built out or currently in the process of development, only one full lot remains unspoken for, the low-rise Concord CityPlace presentation centre at 23 Spadina Avenue. Many insiders and development enthusiasts have known for years that this site is destined to be the final phase of Concord CityPlace, informally known as the "Signature Towers". In mid-August, developer Concord Adex submitted an application to the City for a zoning by-law amendment and site plan approval asking for 75 and 64-storey towers each topped with another four-storeys of mechanical penthouses, revealing many details about the project in the process.

South elevation diagram, Signature Towers, Concord CityPlace

What we now know is that the development is designed by Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects, and that the taller of the two towers is proposed for a height of 247.23 metres, 87 meters higher than the 160 metre height that current zoning allows for. (It has always been expected that the height would exceed current zoning. Essentially every tower going up in Toronto today required amendments to allow for the planned height. Since in the passing of Ontario's Places To Grow Act in 2006, Toronto's permitted heights have been considered out-of-date.) 

North elevation diagram, Signature Towers, Concord CityPlace

The Signature towers will rise from a shared ten-storey podium containing retail, office and residential units. 3,990 square metres of office space is proposed (about 43,000 square feet), while 2,273 square metres of retail is proposed for ground level (about 24,400 square feet). The two towers, in their current proposal, would add 1,536 residential units to Concord CityPlace, broken down into 107 bachelor units, 1,132 one-bedroom units, 138 two-bedroom units and 159 three-bedroom units. The development would also include a garage with 724 parking spots.

West elevation diagram, Signature Towers, Concord CityPlace

We are now getting our first look at the renderings for this development as well, specifically the podium. Both renderings feature a legend, highlighting the various design aspects of the podium, which is still a work in progress.

Podium rendering, Signature Towers, Concord CityPlace

Both renderings depict what is referred to as a Public Art Panel, running vertically up the towers' indented notches, occupying all four indented sections on each of the towers. 

Podium rendering, Signature Towers, Concord CityPlace

We will return with updates as additional information on this development emerges. In the meantime, you can get more information in our dataBase file for the project, linked below. You can also join in on the conversation by checking out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment using the space provided at the bottom of this page.