Group of Toronto buildings to be torn down for huge condo tower

A block of beat-up old storefronts on Toronto's Queen St. E. could soon be razed to make way for yet another high-flying condo tower.

A new development application filed with the City of Toronto in late November spells the potential end for a block of low-rise retail properties spanning 329-345 Queen St. E., just west of Parliament Street.

Developer Generation Capital has applied to bring a soaring 49-storey tower to the site, a redevelopment scheme requiring the demolition of existing vacant properties.

The project features a minimalist design from design architects—Alliance, which would rise just over 162 metres above Queen St. E. if approved as currently proposed.

A total of 545 new homes are proposed within the tower, primarily planned as condo units incorporating seven existing rental units, which would be lost to demolition.

While most of the block would indeed be reduced to rubble, the proposal would retain the existing three-storey building at 339-345 Queen Street East — formerly the headquarters of WE Charity — which is planned to reopen as a new Toronto Public Library branch in 2028.

The new library branch would be complemented by 470 square metres of commercial retail space spread across the new development's ground floor and mezzanine level.

Among the unique features on offer to future residents is an amenity space wrapping around the tower's mechanical penthouse.

The space includes a proposed indoor amenity space measuring just over 98 square metres, which will open up to an outdoor roof deck measuring almost 275 square metres.

Positioned along the south side of the top level, the indoor and outdoor amenity spaces would offer all residents the skyline views typically reserved for occupants of upper-floor suites.

The proposal also seeks to bring a public amenity for the neighbourhood in the form of a proposed public park at the southwest corner of the site.

An area measuring just over 384 square metres along Berkeley Street is proposed for dedication to the City as part of a land exchange, introducing new public space to the increasingly dense neighbourhood.