Location: 241 Church Street
Developer: Graywood Developments Ltd
Architect: Turner Fleischer Architects
A gas station and convenience store on a prominent downtown Toronto intersection is looking to get a second life as a residential high-rise tower.
On December 18th, 2020, a Zoning By-law Amendment application was submitted to the city to construct a 53-storey mixed-use tower with 521 condo units at 241 Church Street. The lot, located on the northeast corner of Church Street and Dundas Street East, is home to a single-storey Esso gas station and a Circle K in Toronto’s Garden District.
Graywood Developments acquired the 241 Church Street site from Couche-Tard after closing on its ninth private real estate development fund, according to reporting from RENX in November 2020. At the time, Graywood Developments had disclosed its intention to redevelop the site into a 53-storey high-rise tower, but no formal application had been submitted.
Of the tower’s proposed 521 condo units, the breakdown would include 96 studios, 200 one-bedroom units, 171 two-bedroom units and 54 three-bedroom units, averaging between 452 and 1,022 square feet in size, according to the project data sheet. Previous reporting by RENX also noted that Graywood Developments was complementing between condos and purpose-built rentals for the 241 Church Street tower.
The rectangular property in question spans approximately 14,488 square feet with vehicle access from Church Street and Dundas Street East. The paved lot is flanked by Dalhousie Street to the east and Ryerson University’s George Vari Engineering & Computer Centre immediately to the north, explains the planning rationale by Bousfields Inc.
The 53-storey building would be supported by an eight-storey podium, occupied by retail space on the ground floor fronting Church Street and Dundas Street East, and residential uses from levels two to eight. The tower would encompass 369,225 square feet of gross floor area, and top out at 168.55 metres. The ground floor is also shared by the residential lobby in the floor’s southeast corner and bicycle storage.
To avoid podium cantilevers over the sidewalk, the building’s podium draws from the nearby Sears Building and the George Vari Engineering & Computer Centre as design inspiration with a series of feathered architectural setbacks, explains the rationale.
The tower portion extends 45 storeys above the podium. A total of 18,277 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity space would be located throughout the project. Levels 9 and 53 would house the indoor amenity area, occupying the entire floor plate. The outdoor amenity area would join into the indoor spaces, located on the rooftop of the podium and on the 53rd floor’s terrace.
A four-level underground parking garage accessible from two vehicle elevators off of Dalhousie Street would provide 63 spaces for exclusive resident use. Approximately 530 bicycle parking spaces have also been proposed for the building.
In the neighbourhood, sales are underway for 199 Church Condos, while registration is open for PRIME Condos.
