An ambitious proposal for a new 66-story mixed-use tower in downtown Toronto has been released as developers H&R REIT eye an approval looming late next year.
55 Yonge is the product of a collaboration between Canadian groups PARTISANS and Quadrangle, which was acquired by the UK group BDP at the beginning of 2019.
The tower will have retail spaces and over 180,000 square feet of office space easily accessible by the nearby King Street TTC subway station. The design also features space for nearly 500 one-, two- and three-bedroom residential units for lease at a site that currently hosts a 12-story 1958 building by modernist master Peter Dickinson.
Anchored by a cavernous base, the lattice facade stretches into an elongated high-rise that provides an updated take on podium typology and the mid-century modern style once popular in Canada’s largest city.
Toronto is changing, in part because of COVID-related vacancies and a new ban on tall buildings in the adjacent Corktown neighborhood that has amplified the need to re-imagine office spaces in a rapidly densifying area with a population that is expected to increase to 8 million by the end of the decade.
“It’s true community-building in a vertical context,” PARTISANS principal Alex Josephsons told the Globe and Mail.
This element is particularly stressed in the proposed building’s residential spaces, which will be serviced by a pool, gym, and open-air terrace where tenants can one day mix with workers overlooking one of the city’s busiest intersections.
The project’s all-Canadian team will meet with neighborhood associations in the interim and has begun making efforts to reach out to the community for feedback virtually with an anticipated completion date set for 2025.
4 Comments
Canadian and mid-American architecture always seems a step ahead of the coastal schlock
I like it
A+ for how it touches the ground and the pedestrian arcade. A bit Yamasaki if you ask me - very elegant.
I don't love the rest of the form, but that doesn't really matter. Partisans is definitely doing some interesting work!
it's a weird take on a normal idea, which is probably a good thing. i'm eager to see what results.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.