Images for revitalization plans of Toronto’s College Park have been revealed, and include a three-tower complex with more than 2,300 housing units, a new retail space and a hotel.
On Tuesday, GWL Realty Advisors (GWLRA) unveiled the plans for the area located on heritage land, saying it’s a “once-in-a-generation revitalization” of the Yonge and College intersection.
This new proposal is based on an Art Moderne and Art Deco-inspired 37-storey retail building plan from nearly one hundred years ago, which never came to fruition due to the Great Depression crisis which impacted many ambitious architectural projects.
The original structure was designed by Montreal architects Ross & Macdonald in 1930, and named Eaton’s College Street until the Eaton’s Centre opened in 1977. Its Eaton Auditorium, located on the seventh floor, served as a stage for live performances, but was abandoned. In 2000, GWLRA took over the building and restored the venue, which is now known as The Carlu.
The newly revealed plans include three mixed-use residential towers, which the owners say will merge old and new Toronto architectural styles, with Art Deco and sculptural elements that reflect the 1920s skyscrapers.
Its Central Tower would be 96 storeys high at 333.3 m, while the North Tower would be 75 storeys at 265.2 m, and South Tower 65 storeys at 228.1 m, according to a GWLRA spokesperson.
GWLRA’s Vice President of Development Daniel Fama says the plan would revitalize the area’s heritage and add 2,334 new housing units, a hotel, retail and entertainment spaces, and a “new public space that makes sense for the Toronto of today.”
“Toronto has waited nearly 100 years to see a completed vision for College Park come to life,” he said in a statement. “College Park will be a major cultural destination.”
College Park currently houses a shopping mall, office spaces, residential properties, and a path to the subway.
The new project, developed by design companies Hariri Pontarini Architects (HPA), ERA Architects and PUBLIC WORK, has already been submitted to the city, and needs to go through zoning and approval processes to come to life.
GWLRA emphasizes that it wishes to restore the original heritage of the area by keeping the original building and aiming to complete Ross & Macdonald’s Yonge Street podium design, which would “connect passersby to a Parisian-style vitrine shopping experience,” as well as an expansion of The Carlu with more outdoor terraces and spaces for conferences. This podium is planned to be 12 storeys high at 45 m.
GWLRA says the building would also include a plan for better subway connection, with College Park cut by an indoor ribbon-like raised pathway that would link College and Yonge to a grass atrium and outdoor public space.
The developers hope that the atrium would encourage community building, with a space for the public to stay in and access the plaza to the streets, decorated with native plantings, a new tree canopy, and rolling hills.
“We want to rev up the intensity of the public experience with a stronger sense of urban forest and more access to light. The building would fully embrace the public realm,” PUBLIC WORK Principal and Co-Founder Marc Ryan said.
GWLRA says that the construction of the building would make efforts to minimize disruptions for residents, businesses and commuters, considering that College Park provides access to the TTC College Station, which receives over 250,000 riders weekly.
The company has now launched a website named College Park 100, where residents can look over details of the proposal and the history of the land, and are encouraged to share feedback and suggestions.
