33 Avenue Road Condo Tower Proposal Changes in New Design

A proposal to redevelop the northeast corner of Avenue Road and Yorkville Avenue first appeared on UrbanToronto’s front page in 2012, and after another change to the project’s team, a new version of the proposal has appeared in a new rezoning application. Before we dive into what’s being proposed by developers First Capital and Greybrook Realty Partners, let’s take a look back at the various designs and teams that preceded the current plan.

2012’s proposal from Empire Communities called for a 38-storey condominium tower, designed by Zeidler Partnership Architects with Richmond Architects. This plan would subsequently be resubmitted to the City at 35 storeys with an almost identical design, before eventually reappearing in 2014 with new plans.

The 2014 plan saw First Capital partner with Empire Communities, expanding the site area in hopes of securing zoning for a 40-storey condominium tower. Once again designed by the team of Zeidler and Richmond, the project incorporated a sweeping curve in its massing and a playful incorporation of the existing York Square, a group of seven Victorian homes which were been integrated into Yorkville’s first commercial redevelopment way back in 1968 by renowned architects Jack Diamond and Barton Myers.

The team of Empire and Greybrook Realty Partners returned with a new 30-storey plan for the site in early 2016, submitting a proposed “vertical forest” with terraces lined in greenery and a more respectful integration of York Square, still by the design team of Zeidler and Richmond.

With the same team on board, this “vertical forest” plan was refined in May, 2016, reduced to 29 storeys, and featuring facades of copper-hued panels to complement the greenery.

Now, in 2020, the project has been resubmitted with a new team led by developers First Capital and Greybrook, and now being designed by Giannone Petricone Associates and BBB Architects. This new design would rise 29 storeys to a height of 125.1 metres—a slight increase from the previous plan—with a total gross floor area of 29,332 m². The existing York Square Victorians on site are absent from the latest plan. The majority of this GFA is planned as residential space, at 24,879 m², or 84% of the total GFA. The remaining 4,454 m² is proposed as retail space housed within the first three floors of the building.

The retail component would include a prominent corner space, referred to in planning documents as the ‘jewel box.’ Set to act as a gateway to the complex, this retail unit would be separated from a new community space by a pedestrian mews that connects to York Square, where a privately-owned public space will be positioned in the middle of the site’s frontage along Yorkville Avenue. East of York Square, retail spaces would line a second pedestrian mews leading to a new entrance of the Yorkville Village Mall.

A limited selection of just 100 condominium units—increased from 74 in the previous proposal—would be spread across the tower. In an unusual unit breakdown, no studio or single-bedroom units are planned, with the building planning larger suites only; 88 two-bedroom units and 12 three-bedroom units.

A four-level underground garage would contain a total of 220 vehicular parking spaces, divided between 210 long-term resident spaces and 10 short-term visitor spaces. 126 bicycle spaces are also planned for residents with local commutes, with the majority to be provided on the P1 underground level.