A prominent government office building in midtown Toronto could soon be torn down to make way for a high-flying residential tower that would soar far taller than anything else in the surrounding area.
Developer Fitzrovia Real Estate has proposed to bring a new rental tower to the site of an existing 1964-built office building at 135 St. Clair Avenue West.
Located on the southeast corner of Avenue Road and St. Clair, the site is currently home to a 14-storey office building that houses the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, at least until its lease expires in 2025.
Goldberg Group
The current building boasts a Modernist design typical of mid-20th-century office buildings, and while the building lacks heritage protections, its clean architecture will surely be missed by some.
Goldberg Group
Plans call to replace the existing office building with a 49-storey tower rising just over 161 metres in height, containing 631 rental units and boasting a design from Hariri Pontarini Architects.
Hariri Pontarini Architects
The majority of the building’s floor area of over 51,000 square metres would be dedicated to residential units and supporting amenity space, including a sprawling two-level amenity area just below the tower’s mid-section that will offer commanding views of the Toronto skyline thanks to the site’s position perched atop the former Lake Iroquois shoreline.
Hariri Pontarini Architects
In addition to the residential space, the tower is set to include a small retail component at street level, a Bloomsbury Academy childcare space and even a virtual healthcare clinic that will be operated remotely by the Cleveland Clinic.
Hariri Pontarini Architects
Plans call for up to 214 cars to be added to local roads via a vast four-level underground parking garage serving the new building, with parking spaces included alongside a sizeable bike parking component with capacity for almost 730 bicycles between residents and visitors.
Hariri Pontarini Architects
Much of the transportation load of the new tower is expected to be absorbed by the Avenue Road stop on the TTC’s 512 St. Clair streetcar, which runs right outside the front door.
The current proposal is just the latest in an evolving series of plans dating back almost a quarter-century.
The site was previously envisioned to be redeveloped with a much shorter tower than what is being proposed in 2024, comparable to the heights of other nearby residential developments constructed in the years since a new tower was first pitched for this location.
The tallest building in the immediate area is the former Imperial Oil building, converted into the Imperial Plaza condo development in 2015, with a height of just over 96 metres.
Closer to the project site is Imperial Plaza’s sibling project, Blue Diamond Condos, which rises just over 88 metres — considerably shorter than the tower proposed at 135 St. Clair West.
Aside from its leap in height compared to the local context, the project is notable in the unconventional land arrangement that will see Fitzrovia develop and lease the property for a 100-year term, while the land’s Germany-based ownership will retain the actual property title.
Hariri Pontarini Architects
