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At the southwest corner of Dundas Street East and Church Street in Downtown Toronto, CentreCourt is preparing to bring a 52-storey residential tower to land that is now mostly a surface parking lot. The IBI Group-designed complex will also incorporate the fully restored historic corner building that currently sits on the site, acting as an architectural counterpart to the modern brick and stone podium around it that will boast over 2,000 ft² of new retail space engaging the sidewalk.
We spoke with Mansoor Kazerouni, Global Director of Buildings at IBI Group, about the design. "The vertical brick expression on either side of the heritage facades at the lower podium levels extend its rhythm and materiality across the north and east frontages, relating in particular to the existing and emerging character along Church Street, where 252 Church’s primary entrance will be located," Kazerouni told us.
"The podium frontage along Dundas Street will offer tall, grade related retail that will straddle the corner and occupy the space within it," Kazerouni continued. "The podium is set lower along Church Street in response to the lower built form historically present along this street, stepping up to 7 storeys on the east with stacked outdoor amenity terraces above that are oriented towards Dundas Square."
Looking upward to the tower portion of the building, we can begin to see the building's unique character. "The clean black and white metal panel ‘piano key’ expression on the upper podium picks up on the vertical rhythm and spacing of the windows and pilasters of the heritage facades," says Kazerouni. "Playing off each other, this juxtaposition provides a striking contrast and visual interplay of the old and the new, and the simple and the ornate."
Upon completion, the condo — right down the road from Yonge-Dundas Square — will be home to a total of 681 residential units, ranging in area from 300 to 720 ft² with studio units, one-bedrooms, one-bed-plus-dens, two-bedrooms, and two-bedroom-plus-den suites all available. Some podium units will feature rooftop terraces on levels 3, 4, and 5. The base of the building is planned to welcome retail fronting onto both Church and Dundas Streets.
The building will also offer a total of 18,000 ft² of amenity space. The building will have outdoor terrace space, and its interior amenities will consist of a co-working space, a spacious game room and lounge, and a 5,600 ft² fitness studio. The fitness centre of 252 Church will also be unique, as it will include a CrossFit studio and a specially designated Peloton lounge.
Centrally located, the building will be just steps from Ryerson University, the Toronto Eaton Centre, and Dundas Station, and within close proximity to the Financial District, making the location ideal for both students and working professionals alike.
More details will be released in the future, as CentreCourt releases new images of the project weekly ahead of launching its sales for the building.
You can learn more from our Database file for the project, 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.
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