Plans have recently been proposed for the redevelopment of a nine-storey office building in Toronto's Entertainment District. The proposal, filed by Capital Developments in partnership with iA Financial Group, envisions a 43-storey addition atop the existing building totalling 52 storeys and delivering 852 residential units with retail at grade.
The plans were submitted to the City in late-November and are currently under review. If approved, the project would represent an exciting revitalization of an underused office space within the City's downtown core.
"It's exciting for the neighbourhood because it allows what is frankly a faceless, derelict ground floor condition to be transformed with interesting retail and flex space, all the while producing net new housing supply, which is important to the city and to the overall community," Executive Vice President of Development at Capital Developments Geoff Matthews tells STOREYS. "It will bring people to the area and serve the future of the community well."
Sitting on on the west side of Peter Street just off Spadina, the 38,120-sq.-ft lot is centrally located and within close proximity to a number of amenities and transit options, including the planned Front-Spadina GO Station and the Ontario Line's Queen-Spadina Station.
"You have immediate access to first-order transit, and you have all the benefits of being able to walk, within about ten minutes, to some of the best restaurants and amenities that the city has to offer," says Matthews. "So you’re moving to what is already a great location and into a building that, in and of itself, is making it even better with its own design features and uses."
Designed by WZMH Architects, the building would utilize pre-cast brick panel to ensure the structure meshes well with the surrounding heritage buildings. Renderings depict a sleek building with brick and concrete featured on the lower levels and an eye-catching glass crosshatch pattern across the tower element.
As for the redevelopment of the existing office building, the idea is to retain, enhance, and reconfigure the structure to be more suitable for residential purposes and to better integrate with the mixed use character of the area, details the application's planning rationale.
At-grade, plans propose a residential entrance and 16,016 sq. ft of retail and commercial space, with 25,725 sq. ft of flex space replacing designated office space on level two that can be repurposed to meet market demand.
111 Peter St./WZMH Architects
From levels three to nine, you'll find residential units around the perimeter of the building with surrounding storage lockers, bicycle storage rooms, a bicycle maintenance area ,and access to the proposed bike/ shuttle elevator on the interior. On level nine — the top floor of the existing building — plans propose 1,625 sq. ft of indoor amenity space, and on the floor above, an additional 6,867 sq. ft alongside a 19,019-sq.-ft outdoor terrace that Matthews describes as an "outdoor oasis" with a children’s play area and pet relief space.
Across the base and tower above, the 852 residential units (24 of which will be affordable rentals) would be divided into 84 studios, 551 one-bedrooms, 133 two-bedrooms, and 84 three-bedrooms. Additionally, 128 of the units are designed with the capability to expand the unit size, meaning more family-sized units can be provided depending on demand.
Finally, vehicular parking will be available on the basement level, where residents will find 21 permanent spaces and four visitor parking spaces. Plus, an existing paid surface parking lot will be repurposed to house six visitor parking spots. The development would also offer 172 short-term bicycle parking spaces and 328 longterm bicycle parking spaces on the basement level.
