Facing Toronto’s historic Cathedral Church of St. James, this residential project sets a new precedent for urban renewal, by finding an imaginative way to balance the developer’s need for density with the City’s urban design criteria for the St. James precinct. A slender point block tower focusses density at the along the south and east edges of the site, at the intersection of Adelaide Street East and Church Street. Along Lombard Street to the north, a four-storey pavilion harmonizes with the scale and materiality of the 19th century commercial streetscape.

A through-corridor between the pavilion and tower, and paved laneways through the new landscaped square, create a network of interior and exterior mid-block connections into the surrounding network of 19th century Toronto streets. Spire complements the restoration of the St. James Cathedral Centre, also completed by aA on behalf of the Anglican Archdiocese of Toronto.

Recognition: City of Toronto - Urban Design Award of Excellence