Five St. Joseph Brings
Big Change to Yonge Street
A new mixed-use project is setting the standard for future development along Yonge Street between Charles and College Sts. Five St. Joseph shows how to mix history and density.
MOD Developments CEO Gary Switzer (snapped across from the site with project partner Graywood Developments' David Hamilton) tells us the city looked to Five as a template for how development should occur along the underdeveloped parts of this section of Yonge. The project incorporates heritage architecture (like the four-storey brick facade of the old Rawlinson Cartage warehouse building on St. Joseph Street, seen below) while adding density via a new 48-storey glass condo. Gary says the city loves the tower's deep setback. “It preserves the historic scale of Yonge.”
 The condo tower (below) sits 30 metres back on the site, behind a stretch of five rebuilt and restored 19th century buildings along Yonge. These will house a 4k SF RBC Royal Bank and a 2k SF Aroma Espresso Bar at the corner of Yonge and St. Joseph, with residential units on the upper floors. There'll be 7k SF of retail in the new structure built behind the warehouse facade, including a large restaurant, with additional food-related retail along St. Nicholas St., which runs along the western portion of the site. “This area is under-serviced by interesting restaurants,” Gary says.  Five St. Joseph and neighbouring condo developments are increasing the area's population and spurring demand for better retail space, says David, noting that Five is attractive to bigger-name tenants because it provides them with “commercial certainty.” The opposite is true for properties across the street, he notes, where retailers exist on month-to-month leases and landlords are reluctant to invest in upgrades, “because they know the wrecking ball is coming someday.” |
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Allied Expands Its King West Kingdom
Allied Properties has added another King West property to its portfolio. The REIT announced Tuesday it's acquired 485 King St W for $8M. The property, located on the south side of King at the foot of Brant Street, between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street, has 13k SF of GLA and 3k SF of surplus land. A three-storey building built in 1896 as a textile warehouse, 485 King West has sat mostly dormant in recent years, with its windows boarded. (But now where will neighbourhood kids set all their ghost stories?) It is among the only remaining brick-and-beam buildings along this section of King West that hasn't been redeveloped.
 485 King West is between Allied's 469 King West property and the buildings it owns at 489, 495 and 499 King West. The firm plans an intensification project that will incorporate all five King West properties, with a new office tower at King and Brant. (Prior to this deal, it was like trying to eat a sandwich without owning the meat between the bread.) Nearby, Allied recently bought 460 King West (above), formerly Global Village Backpackers hostel, for $15M. Allied now owns everything on the west side of Spadina between Adelaide Street and King West, and most of the entire stretch on the north side of King West between Brant and Spadina.
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Top 10 Cities With
the Most Development
After two years atop the Forbes list of American cities with the most construction, New York has to settle for runner-up. To see who came in first (hint: you're looking at its skyline), keep reading on our website. |
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Men Behave 'Boldly' For Worthy Cause
More than 170 members of the commercial real estate industry took part in last Thursday's Men Behaving Boldly fundraiser, sponsored by Cushman & Wakefield (and led by its Future Leaders group) in support of Peel Children's Aid Foundation. Snapped at the event: Cushman & Wakefield's Michael Caplice, Nicholas Kendrew, Marc Delena, Trevor Romoff, BJ Bahl and Brandon Aitken. On hand were industry players and sponsors from Manulife Real Estate, DREAM, Oxford Properties, Crown Property and Colliers International. “The premise ... is men standing tall, being bold and working together to raise money for less fortunate youth in the community,” event chair Craig Trenholm tells Bisnow, adding the evening is “known to be boisterous" but all in good fun. |
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Last Night at Bisnow's LA Power Women!
Last night at the historic and elegant Casa del Mar in Santa Monica, over 400 joined us to honor the Top 60 women in LA commercial real estate. Leading up to the awards, we profiled these amazing leaders and role models in a seven-part series, which we'd like to share with you today: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 and Part 7. To learn more about Bisnow's Power Woman initiative, click here. |
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The Bisnow Agency
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Get Bisnow Education's
Latest Video: Entrepreneurial Real Estate Moves
Get into the real estate entrepreneurial game – and win! Bisnow Education's latest instructional video explains how you can buy real estate as a knowledgeable, careful, savvy investor. Peter Linneman, Wharton's Real Estate program founder and chairman, shares his extensive experience in bite-sized, five-minute, digestible spoonfuls. Whether you seek a mom-and-pop-type property or something larger, you'll learn the menu of alternatives open to you, and the pros and cons that go with each of them. See the process from the investors' side as well as the party doing the managing. This video is available to you for just $99, or purchase the entire Bisnow Education library for only $449. Watch a sample here, and order yours for personal enrichment or staff training. For group licenses, contact Will Friend at will@bisnow.com. |
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