The recently-rebranded Eaton Chelsea Hotel, the largest hotel property in Canada, could soon be redeveloped into a massive mixed-use project that would replace the existing building with four new towers at 33 Gerrard Street West, just west of Yonge. Earlier this week, the City of Toronto received a rezoning application proposing towers at heights of 80, 74, 50, and 46 storeys rising on the current site of the T-shaped 26-storey hotel. In total, the proposal is asking for 1,897 residential units and 300 hotel rooms on the site.

Aerial view of the existing hotel, image retrieved from Apple Maps

The 80 and 50-storey towers would be situated at the north end of the site, directly south of the 78-storey Aura at College Park development. Aura will surely be cited as a precedent for the sky-scraping heights being proposed. The 74 and 46-storey towers would be located at the southwest corner of the site, a notable increase in height from the neighbouring 33-storey condominium tower at 38 Elm Street. The southwest corner of the site is also the proposed site of a mid-rise mixed-use retail and office commercial building offering collaborative work space.

Aerial view of the existing hotel, image retrieved from Apple Maps

The proposed new density would be bisected by a new east-west mews that would reconnect Walton Street, which has been cut off from Yonge Street since the construction of the hotel in the mid-1970s. A north-south pedestrian walkway would also provide a mid-block connection between Gerrard Street and Elm Street.

In total, the development would include 164,306 square metres of space, made up of 139,289 square metres of residential gross floor area, 17,133 square metres of hotel gross floor area, 5,776 square metres of office gross floor area and 2,108 square metres of retail gross floor area, for an overall density of 17.5 times the area of the lot.

We currently have little more information about this major redevelopment proposal, though we will be sure to return with updates as more information becomes available. In the meantime, let us know what you think of the plans by leaving a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page, or check out the associated Forum thread.