On March 9th, a rezoning application for the site of the Marriott hotel at the northeast corner of Yonge and Wood was submitted to the City of Toronto. The pair of high-rise towers—65 and 45 storeys tall—at 475 Yonge Street have been proposed to replace the mid-century hotel complex, which stretches between Wood and Alexander streets on the east side of Yonge.

Left: West elevation (fronting Yonge, looking southeast) Right: East Elevation (looking west), image courtesy of Quadrangle

Designed by Quadrangle Architects, the proposed towers—rising to heights of 220 and 160 metres—would replace the 16 and 9-storey hotel buildings with much greater density. Rising from a flat 5-storey podium fronting Yonge Street, the towers would add 988 residential units to the growing area. In addition, a 289-room hotel component is included in the plans, replacing some of the existing hotel suites.

A graphic explaining the evolution of Quadrangle's massing strategy sheds some light on the proposed built form. As shown below, moving the towers away from Yonge Street reduces shadow impact on nearby 11 Wellesley Park, while the sculpted forms increase tower separation, allowing residential suites more natural light, and further mitigating new shadowing. A public space at the east end of the site is also planned, strengthening the existing mid-block pedestrian connection while attempting to create a sense of continuity with the Alexander Street Parkette to the north. The proposed landscape plan was drafted by Ferris + Associates.

A graphic explaining the design rationale, image courtesy of Quadrangle Architects

The hotel suites would be distributed among the podium and the taller north tower, while the 45-storey south tower is proposed with only residential suites. The 988 residential suites are configured as 78 bachelor (10%), 611 one-bedroom (62%), 181 two-bedroom (18%), and 99 three-bedroom (10%) units.

A close-up of the Yonge Street frontage, image courtesy of Quadrangle

In the podium, two floors of retail are proposed along the Yonge Street frontage, extending around to the corner of Alexander Street (above). A total of 302 parking spaces are proposed within a 4-storey underground garage, at a ratio of 0.3 spaces per unit.

The east frontage of the podium features a public plaza (and potential art installation), image courtesy of Quadrangle

Submitted to the City yesterday, the proposal is in its very early stages. As such, the design and massing should be considered highly preliminary and subject to revision. It is too early to tell what kind of project could eventually be realized, and it's possible that the design so far exists more as a template for re-zoning of the site, rather than a concrete plan for the new development. The developer is KingSett Capital.

The planning rationale highlights a changing urban context, image courtesy of Hunter & Associates via City of Toronto

If eventually built, the development would join a very quickly transforming neighbourhood, with several of Toronto's tallest new buildings currently underway in the immediate vicinity (above). We will make sure to keep you updated as the plans continue to take shape, and more details emerge. In the meantime, check out our newly created dataBase file for more information. Want to share your thoughts about the proposal? Leave a comment in the space below this page, or join in the ongoing discussion on our associated Forum thread.