Toronto office building would be torn down for enormous 70-storey tower

A gargantuan residential tower has been proposed to replace a commercial office building in Toronto's increasingly cramped Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhood.

A Modernist office building dating back to the mid-20th century is the latest target for this development-packed area, with the owner proposing a full teardown to make way for a 70-storey residential tower that would stand as one of the tallest in not just the neighbourhood, but the entire city.

The existing office building at 120 Eglinton Ave. E. — located just west of Redpath Avenue — is one of the original buildings in the area constructed during a boom that followed the 1954 opening of the first TTC subway line, which at the time terminated at Yonge and Eglinton.

Modernist towers lined the blocks east of the station while slab-style apartment buildings were constructed on the blocks to the north and south, and the area boomed on the heels of the new subway line.

But history is now repeating, and with the Eglinton Crosstown LRT soon to (finally) enter service as the TTC Line 5, the area is witnessing a much more pronounced vertical boom.

Developer Ruth Reisman Ltd. has filed plans that would see the current 11-storey office building demolished and replaced with a soaring tower rising almost 232 metres above Eglinton Avenue East.

The building would rank as the 12th-tallest building in Toronto if completed today, though with the current building cycle of very tall towers, it will be overshadowed by many other high-profile builds in the surrounding area.

The tower's design from Core Architects features a faceted exterior that would be executed using a mix of clear and spandrel glazing, metal panels, and a whole bunch of aluminum mullions.

Aside from its potential visual interest on the local skyline, the project would introduce 555 residential units to the ever-densifying heart of midtown Toronto. 

While the tenure of these units is not specified in the language of the application documents, one file of the many included in the submission does indeed check off "condo" under unit tenure, though this is not necessarily a confirmation that the owners have chosen that path at this early stage.

In addition to residential space, the building's podium would include over 187 square metres of street-fronting retail along Eglinton Avenue East.

The City's Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan currently mandates that 100 per cent of existing office space be replaced within new developments, though amid a downturn in demand for commercial space, the developer is seeking an Official Plan Amendment that would exempt the property from the regulation. 

A surprisingly minimal parking component of just 50 spaces would serve the entire development, suggesting that most residents would be expected to rely on the TTC's Lines 1 and 5 to get around town.