There are many transportation projects underway in Toronto. Most of the headlines revolve around the major Ontario Line project or the scandal-plagued Eglinton LRT. But let's not forget the Finch West LRT, which is almost complete and could even overtake Eglinton as Toronto's newest transit line. While development activity on Finch can't quite keep up with the Eglinton Line, there are still numerous new proposals to increase density along the main transportation corridor.
One such proposal is at 3434 Weston Road, south of Finch and the future Emery LRT station. Here, Pinemount Developments and Elysium Investments are proposing two towers of 35 and 39 storeys designed by Icon Architects. The project would include a total of 832 residential units with retail space at ground level.
Rendering looking northwest, image courtesy of Icon Architects
The site currently houses a single-story shopping center with several restaurants and retail stores, as well as parking. The existing buildings will be completely demolished to make way for the new development.
Existing shopping center on the property, image via Google Streetview
The two towers sit on a shared 7-storey podium containing approximately 1200sqm of commercial space spread across four ground-level retail units. The podium will contain three levels of above-ground parking as well as two levels of underground parking. Interestingly, the above-ground parking spaces on the north, east and south sides of the second and third floors are surrounded by residential units, meaning the parking garage is not visible from the street.
Ground floor plan, image courtesy of Icon Architects
Second floor plan, image via submission to the City of Toronto
The base of the podium is wrapped in a three-story, angular glass facade on the east and south sides. Renderings show it as a highly reflective, silver-colored glass surface faceted at different angles, creating a sculptural base for the building reminiscent of origami, reflecting a fragmented image of life on the passing street. The faceted glass is supported by angled columns at ground level, creating a branch-like effect that has become a signature feature of Icon's projects.
Rendering looking west, image courtesy of Icon Architects
In contrast to the angularity of the base, the towers rise above it with a rectilinear grid of windows. The monotony of the window walls is broken by a hierarchy of slats and mullions with different spacing and thicknesses, creating irregular patterns across the facades.
Rendering looking south along Weston Road, image courtesy of Icon Architects
Common areas are located on the fourth floor, with 1664 sq. m of outdoor space extending to an expansive rooftop terrace. The apartment mix includes 75 studios (9%), 335 one-bedrooms (40%), 340 two-bedrooms (41%) and 82 three-bedrooms (10%). Each tower has three elevators, averaging 139 units per elevator, although this number may be slightly higher in the taller north tower.
Fourth floor plan, image courtesy of Icon Architects
A rezoning application has been submitted for the project and the city is currently awaiting approval to proceed with the project.
UrbanToronto will continue to monitor the progress of this development, but in the meantime you can learn more about it in our database file linked below. If you'd like, you can join the conversation in the associated project forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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