{"id":18271,"date":"2023-06-15T20:34:03","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T03:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/city-developer-settle-on-single-tower-to-replace-downtown-novotel\/"},"modified":"2023-06-15T20:34:04","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T03:34:04","slug":"city-developer-settle-on-single-tower-to-replace-downtown-novotel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/city-developer-settle-on-single-tower-to-replace-downtown-novotel\/","title":{"rendered":"City, Developer Settle on Single Tower to Replace Downtown Novotel"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In the heart of Downtown Toronto, a revised development proposal is set to replace the Novotel Hotel at 45 The Esplanade<\/a>. This would result in significant intensification of the site, while still retaining hotel suites for city visitors. UrbanToronto previously covered the development<\/a> last year when two towers, proposed to be only 20m apart, were planned for the site. Now, a settlement between the City and the developer has resulted in a compromise \u2014 given that short 20m distance \u2014 in order to bring a single tower to the site. With a much larger floor-plate than most Toronto towers \u2014 1,350m\u00b2 instead of 750m\u00b2 \u2014 the design employs a reflective glass section between two distinctively detailed ends to lessen the visual impact of the tower’s atypical size.<\/p>\n

Looking southwest to 45 The Esplanade, designed by Arcadis for Republic Developments<\/span><\/p>\n

The site is located on the south side of The Esplanade, between Yonge Street and Church Street. It is home to the nine-storey Novotel Hotel, which recently served as a shelter during the pandemic. It has since been refurbished and reopened as a Novotel hotel again. The hotel is in the city’s St Lawrence neighbourhood, a prime location for visitors, nearby landmarks such as the St Lawrence Market, St James Cathedral, Meridian Hall, and Berczy Park.<\/p>\n

Looking east to the Novotel hotel, image retrieved from Google Street View<\/span><\/p>\n

Whereas\u00a0Republic Developments<\/a>‘ original proposal called for a two 36-storey towers, the revision calls for a single 39-storey mixed-use condominium building. Toronto City Council accepted the new plan at its May 5, 2023 meeting, instructing the City Solicitor to advise the Ontario Land Tribunal, to which the proposal had been appealed, of the settlement. Only technical matters remain before the Official Plan and Zoning amendments required by the proposal are finalized.<\/p>\n

Looking southwest to the previous design for 45 The Esplanade, designed by IBI Group for Republic Developments<\/span><\/p>\n

The new design by Arcadis \u2014 the Amsterdam-based global firm that acquired Toronto-based IBI Group in Fall 2022<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0utilizes glass to create the appearance of two distinct buildings. The building is to be 124.9m in height, slightly taller than the previously proposed towers. Located in the podium, the hotel would have 141 suites, while the total number of residential units has gone up from 682 to 726. The podium would remain seven storeys and include ground floor retail and hotel use.\u00a0Despite the higher number of units, with these changes the total gross floor area (GFA) proposed has decreased from 54,034m\u00b2 to 52,976m\u00b2, while with six residential elevators indicated in the architectural drawings, the building would be significantly above the threshold of 1 elevator per 100 units.<\/p>\n

Looking northeast to 45 The Esplanade, designed by Arcadis for Republic Developments<\/span><\/p>\n

The redesign eliminates the similar appearances of the two towers in the previous proposal. Instead, the western side would feature a more curved fa\u00e7ade compared to the east side. The middle section would comprise of reflective vision glass, serving as the visual separator of the two sides, and align with the hotel lobby entrance at grade facing The Esplanade. The residential lobby entrance would be to the east, with retail entrances at the west and east ends.<\/p>\n

Ground floor plan showing the residential, hotel, and retail entrances, image from submission to City of Toronto<\/span><\/p>\n

The proposal includes 1,948\u00b2 of amenity space, including 722m\u00b2 of outdoor amenities on the eighth floor above the podium. This would be a decrease from the 2,227m\u00b2 and 861m\u00b2 respectively of the previous submission.<\/p>\n

An aerial view of the site and surrounding area, image retrieved from Google Maps<\/span><\/p>\n

Below grade, the resubmission retains the three levels of underground parking. The number of total vehicular parking spaces has only slightly decreased to 207, with 45 for visitors. For bicycles there would be 700 long-term and 84 short-term parking spots.<\/p>\n

Looking southeast to the podium, designed by Arcadis for Republic Developments <\/span><\/p>\n

The site is less than 400m east of Union Station with its TTC local, GO regional, and national rail services, and is a few blocks south of the King Street streetcar line. It also has close to access to the Gardiner Expressway.<\/p>\n

UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you’d like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.<\/p>\n

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UrbanToronto has a research service,\u00a0UrbanToronto Pro<\/a>, that provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area\u2014from proposal through to completion. We also offer\u00a0Instant\u00a0Reports<\/a>, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter,\u00a0New Development Insider<\/a>, that tracks projects from initial application.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n