Gargantuan towers set to rise above College Park landmark, tallest reaching 344 metres
A trio of residential towers—65, 75, and 96 storeys—will be built atop the Art Deco landmark at Yonge and College, pending City Council approval later this month.
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Three enormous residential towers—one approaching the height of the CN Tower's observation pod—are poised to reshape the downtown skyline above the iconic Art Deco College Park building at the corner of Yonge and College.
Great-West Life Realty Advisors (GWLA), the asset management arm of Canada Life's parent company, unveiled plans last July to construct towers of 65, 75, and 96 storeys. Following design revisions, the tallest will rise over 344 metres, bringing its top floor nearly level with the CN Tower's observation deck.
The proposal has been recommended for approval ahead of an East York community council meeting on July 8–9. If approved, it will advance to City Council for final consideration during the July 29–31 session. The rezoning would permit development within protected view corridors of both City Hall and Old City Hall—an amendment requiring City Council endorsement.
A rental housing demolition application must also clear approval; the developer will be required to demolish 210 existing rental units on site and replace them with 216 new rental units, offer existing tenants the right to return at similar rents, and provide financial compensation.
The three towers will collectively contain over 2,340 residential units plus hotel, commercial, and retail space. The existing College Park building—a major event venue housing The Carlu—will be preserved and integrated into the new complex. A 600-square-metre parkland dedication at the southwest edge of the site will expand the existing public space.
The original 1920s vision for the site, designed by the firm Ross & Macdonald, called for a massive Art Deco skyscraper at Yonge and College. The Great Depression scaled those plans back dramatically, leaving the iconic but truncated building that has stood for roughly a century.
