Canadian City Proposals II

[Urbmtl]

1225-1249, rue Metcalfe | 98m | 28s | Groupe Tsatas | Sid Lee Architecture | 60-room hotel and 84 housing units





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Le George II | 77m | 26s | ACDF | 227 affordable housing units






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[trueviking]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

^
This looks more like something they'd build in Winnipeg.

Does Winnipeg build uglier buildings than other cities? I wasn’t aware of this stereotype. What is it based on?

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by Urbmtl

1225-1249, rue Metcalfe | 98m | 28s | Groupe Tsatas | Sid Lee Architecture | 60-room hotel and 84 housing units

I like this, simple with some nicely aligned setbacks.

[WhipperSnapper]

It's a girthy building. I would have expected a lot more units so they shouldn't end up as typical shoeboxes with a window at one of the narrow ends.

The facadectomy is the epitomy of a facade slapped onto a larger contemporary building. I hate that each tier is a completely different design. It lacks elegance and emphasizes the girth than the verticality. Neither do I find this popular trend adds more architectural interest than if they just went with the same design for each tier.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

It's a girthy building. I would have expected a lot more units so they shouldn't end up as typical shoeboxes with a window at one of the narrow ends.

The facadectomy is the epitomy of a facade slapped onto a larger contemporary building. I hate that each tier is a completely different design. It lacks elegance and emphasizes the girth than the verticality. Neither do I find this popular trend adds more architectural interest than if they just went with the same design for each tier.

Shocking, WS needs to rebut whatever I say. As predictable as a common proverb.

Each tier is not completely different either. Pretty sure most forumers' eyes work that use ssp.

[WhipperSnapper]

Whippersnapper derangement syndrome.

[cranes]

Waterloo Region Updates

22 Weber St W Kitchener

https://archive.ph/T1Ccb#selection-4529.101-4535.45
OLT sides with developer’s plan for tower in Kitchener heritage district
The proposal would see a 19-storey apartment building constructed on what is currently a parking lot.

Sept. 23, 2025 - The Ontario Land Tribunal has approved a developer’s plan for a 19-storey tower at the edge of a Kitchener heritage conservation district.
The decision helps pave the way for the redevelopment of a property at 22 Weber St. W., near Queen Street North. The site is currently a surface parking lot.
A 30-day period in which a party to the case may request a review from the tribunal or a judicial appeal of the decision expires Oct. 17.
The proposal calls for a 19-storey rental apartment building with 167 units and storage for at least 173 bicycles, either within the units or a secure bicycle storage room.
No vehicle parking spaces are required, as the property sits within a major transit station area where intensification, transit and active transportation uses are all encouraged.
The developer initially launched an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) a few years ago when the city failed to respond to the application for official plan and zoning bylaw amendments within a prescribed time frame...

The Ontario Land Tribunal has ruled in support of a developer’s plan to build a 19-storey apartment building at 22 Weber St. W. in Kitchener. Mathew McCarthy/Waterloo Region Record file photo


https://experience.arcgis.com/experi...tive_5584%3A44



32, 36 and 38 Grand Ave. Cambridge

https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-...bunal-11255720
Council sidelined as developer takes Galt tower plan to tribunal
City officials in Cambridge are pledging changes after a missed deadline allowed developers of a contentious downtown high-rise project to skip local approval and head straight for tribunal review | Keegan Kozolanka

Sep 24, 2025 - Cambridge council didn’t even get a chance to either follow a staff recommendation to turn down a massive tower proposal in Downtown Galt or approve it before it got appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) due to a staff error on timing.
A proposal to build a 28-storey tower at 32, 36 and 38 Grand Ave. was slated to be considered at the Tuesday evening council meeting but it had been pulled from the agenda when the addendum was published on Monday.
A developer had pitched the building made up of a six-storey podium with ground floor commercial spaces topped by a 22-storey residential tower with 328 units. Parking would be included in the podium with 134 spots for residents, 16 parking spaces for the adjacent restaurant and 83 indoor bicycle parking spaces.
The staff report recommended council turn it down, calling the proposed height increase, floor space increase and setback reduction as contrary to its planning policies.
At the meeting, general manager of planning and development Hardy Bromberg explained the official plan and zoning bylaw amendment for the Grand Avenue tower had been pulled from the agenda because the developer was appealing to the OLT on the grounds of a non-decision by council.
Under the Planning Act, applicants can appeal an application where no decision has been made by council within 120 days of a submitted complete application...

https://skyrisecities.com/forum/thre...tecture.42181/








9, 33 & 47 Erb St W Waterloo

https://archive.ph/QFfWn#selection-4215.26-4256.0
Waterloo’s tallest tower is proposed at 39 storeys — on a flood plain in the heart of the city
Final approval rests with the province because of flood risks that are deemed manageable on Erb Street West.

Oct. 1, 2025 - The tallest tower proposed in Waterloo drew praise and criticism when city council got a first look at it.
Momentum Developments aims to build 39 storeys on Erb Street West, beside Waterloo Public Square in the city’s downtown.
The tower would have 412 apartments. One-third would have two or more bedrooms.
Current plans are to make it a rental building. However, this could change if the developer sees a renewed market to sell condominiums, city hall was told at a public meeting Sept. 22.
The tower would replace a parking lot, near the Ion rail transit station across the street from the 13-storey Marsland Centre office tower.
...The provincial government will have the final say because the site is partly on a flood plain, which brings safety considerations. Flood risks have been assessed as manageable in a technical report that’s under provincial review...

https://www.engagewr.ca/9-33-47-erb-st-w



167 - 171 King St S Waterloo

@ZEBuilder 09-30-2025

This is now finally a public facing application.

As expected it is VanMar leading the application but Urban Legend is also involved. All the consultants, to the suprise of no one, are the usual suspects for VanMar/Urban Legend, Kirkor is the architect, MHBC is doing planning, Paradigm is doing traffic, WalterFedy is doing civil works, and CVD is doing the geotech.

The towers are 37 and 33 floors as I stated a couple of months ago with a maximum height of 123m (bylaw allows for 81m), they will be the second and third tallest in Uptown proposed (for now...), the development will be entirely 1 and 2 bdrm units. There will be a total of 834 units, 238 will be 2 bdrm (29%), 596 will be 1 bdrm (71%). It will be a phased development with phase 1 fronting Caroline being the 37 floor building, phase 2 will be 33 floors and front King. The 37 floor building will have 4 elevators meaning 1 elevator per 109.5 units and the 33 floor building will have 3 meaning 1 elevator per 132. Best practice is 1 elevator per 100 units, but this isn't completely horrible.

In order to make this work they will be moving the heritage building to a different portion of the site but maintaining it on site.

In total there will be 790.68 sqm of retail space, this will all front King, it will be regular units and the historical building will become a restaurant. There will be 758.97 sqm of indoor amenity space all within tower 1 and 1182.46 sqm of outdoor amenity space on top of the podium.

As for parking there will be 403 spots, good for a ratio of 0.48 per unit. For bike parking there will be 256 good for 0.3 per unit, City of Waterloo bylaw is 0.5, Kitchener bylaw is 1.0 (bad ask by VanMar). All of the parking within the building will be above ground in the podium which makes for a rather unpleasant street presence.

VanMar is asking for relief from setbacks along King and Caroline particularly for the upper podium parking levels which will extend to the property line (very bad ask), bylaw requires a 4-5m setback, for context the property line is effectively the edge of the existing sidewalk so it will be an imposing podium, if they matched Circa 1877 next door which roughly abides with the bylaw it would be more reasonable, it also isn't that difficult to do.

Urban Design Brief: Z2523_167-171KingStS_Urban_Design_Brief_20250819.pdf
Arch Set: Z2523_167-171KingStS_Plans_Pack._Site_Plan_and_Floor_Plans_20250819.pdf
Engage Page: 167-171 King St S | EngageWR
Renders: Z2523_167-171KingStS_Buiding_Renderings_20250819.pdf

https://archive.ph/Li8i8#selection-4849.88-4849.119
Historic home of Waterloo brewers might become a restaurant beside tall towers
VanMar Developments proposes to incorporate the Kuntz-Labatt house into a redevelopment alongside two towers taller than 30 storeys in Waterloo’s downtown.

Oct. 4, 2025 - ...City council will get its first look Monday at a new proposal for two adjacent towers: one at 37 storeys and one at 33 storeys. The towers would be about 300 metres from Waterloo Public Square in the downtown.
VanMar Developments proposes the towers to replace Erb and Good Funeral Home, which is relocating to Kitchener from its longtime home at 167-171 King St. S.
The towers would have 834 units: 596 with one bedroom and 238 with two bedrooms. It’s estimated just over 1,400 people could live in them.
“While the tenure of the units is intended to be condominium, it is likely there will be owned units that would be rented out,” according to a report filed with city hall by a planning consultant.
...Council has signalled its support for the heights proposed by VanMar, in a planning document it sent to the province for approval in July.
But council will not decide on the tower project Monday, pending further planning review. City approval is required to tweak planning regulations around density, setbacks and outdoor areas.
The shorter tower would overlook King Street. The taller tower would overlook Caroline Street. The towers would sit on top of a shared, five-storey podium that provides 403 parking spaces, almost one for every two units. Retail space is planned on the ground floor.
The developer proposes to incorporate the historic Kuntz-Labatt house into the project. The house might be used as a restaurant after it is moved slightly closer to King Street and put on a new foundation.
The two-storey house was built of yellow brick in Italianate style in the 1880s.
The Kuntz family, prominent brewers, and other notable residents lived there, according to city hall’s heritage register. The house is known for its graceful verandas and is officially designated as historic.

Rendering of a restaurant that might operate inside the historic Kuntz-Labbatt house in Waterloo after it is incorporated into a redevelopment. MHBC


CTV Kitchener Oct 6, 2025: Proposed development for funeral home in Waterloo
CTV’s Krista Simpson finds out what the developers want to do with the Erb and Good Funeral Home.
• Video Link

https://www.waterlooregionconnected....9820#pid119820

[koops65]

Waterloo’s tallest tower is proposed at 39 storeys... really?

What about the three 41 floor towers at 170 Northfield?

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Urbmtl

1225-1249, rue Metcalfe | 98m | 28s | Groupe Tsatas | Sid Lee Architecture | 60-room hotel and 84 housing units





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Le George II | 77m | 26s | ACDF | 227 affordable housing units






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I am very eager to see more Montreal proposals, so please keep 'em coming. Alas, there are few forumers left from my beloved hometown.

[Urbmtl]

This summer, the Canada Lands Company unveiled three master plans for the development of its properties in the Montréal area.

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Bassin Wellington

2,800 housing units, 50% of which are off-market, featuring a new artisan’s district and a new waterfront area.

Sid Lee Architecture

https://www.clc-sic.ca/real-estate/wellington-basin











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Pointe-de-Longueuil

More than 5,000 units, 20% of which are off-market, with green spaces, a sustainable mobility hub, and access to the waterfront.

Sid Lee Architecture


https://www.clc-sic.ca/real-estate/pointe-de-longueuil










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Redevelopment of the former NFB headquarters

700 units, 50% of which are off-market, located near the REM, featuring social diversity and heritage preservation.

NOS Architectes

https://www.clc-sic.ca/real-estate/cote-de-liesse-0

[J.OT13]

Ottawa's first modern curtain wall office building (built in 1952-1954, though heavily, but tastefully, renovated in the 1980s) will be demolished and replaced with a 23 floor residential high-rise.

Though I'll miss the old office building for its rounded corner, clean blue glass and granite, the new building will provide a much needed population boost, retail space and wider sidewalks.

What it looked like when it opened vs current form.



A bit of history: https://urbsite.blogspot.com/2010/01/commonwealth.html

And the new, pretty bland, proposal:







https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...9#post10497479

[905er]

WTF Ottawa. demolish the office and replace it with that?
The nation's capital deserves much better design.

[James Bond Agent 007]

I dunno, looks OK to me. Maybe not the most exciting design in the world but not terrible either.

[J.OT13]

Turns out they did start with a corner curve in their design, but the City's "Urban Design Review Panel" pushed them to simplify the design. Ottawa's UDRP is made up of just the most boring architects in existence.

[MonctonRad]

Posted in the PEI section by TGK:

Originally Posted by TGK

Shovels in the ground April 2026.

This is located on lower Queen Street in downtown Charlottetown, which is dominated by a low rise red brick architectural style, which has not changed much in the last 100 years. This mixed use proposal is designed to preserve the current streetscape while giving this block a major refresh.

I rather like it.

[someone123]

It seems okay but why is there no ornamentation on the corner brick component that fits in with other buildings on the street? It always has to be a stripped down modernized interpretation. There is a tendency to use 4-6 kinds of cladding on a medium sized building and they are allergic to elements like cornices.

The grey box on top doesn't really fit in with the character of Charlottetown.

[jc_yyc_ca]

A couple of buildings proposed for the parcel adjacent to Calgary's new library. They're calling it Library Square.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by jc_yyc_ca

A couple of buildings proposed for the parcel adjacent to Calgary's new library. They're calling it Library Square.

[URL="https://calgary.skyrisecities.com/forum/threads/calgary-library-square-21m-6s-bankside-lola.41208/page-2"]

I really like that there's a plan to fill in the holes in this long-neglected streetscape, and make the addition architecturally sympathetic. But it almost looks like a facadectomy of a building that doesn't exist, with the five-storey brick facade, complete with cornice, wrapping around a wider, taller plain grey box. Why make building that looks like facadism right out of the box? Why not just make the entire thing out of brick?

It's similar in that sense to the Charlottetown proposal below: part attractive brick, part featureless grey panels.

[zoomer]

i'd love to see city development staff discourage metal panels - so overdone right now. I get it, they're cheap (relatively) and easy to install and housing affordability is top of mind for everyone. Too much grey and white panels on low to mid-rise buildings across the country.

No something completely different, the lands owned by the Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Victoria, known as the Cathedral District now. Large scale long term development plan by the church which includes the Cathedral, some homes, their school, etc. An interesting section of downtown that is more residential and with several massive redwood trees in the area doesn't' feel like you're downtown, but a lot of development is occuring and will be occurring all around it. This looks to be a bold vision in terms of originality but the unit count seems small. Recently the very pro-housing not as concerned about height city council recently lamented that this BC Housing project was not bold enough with the hope that they would come back with more units. But first the BC Housing subsidized housing:B

900 units in 9 buildings ranging from 6 to 20 storeys. Anticipated buildout 10-20 years.

Comprised of 559 market rental units, 196 low-income units where rent is geared to income (replacing the existing units), and 145 non-market units operated by a non-profit. Of the 900 units, there will be 446 studio and one-bedroom units, 319 two-bedroom units, 114 three-bedroom units, and 21 four-bedroom units.



Beyond the massing they're about to begin building the first building on this site, and it'll be a shuffling as they tear down the old townhouses, so starting with this modest one that's decent for social housing. By the way this is on the north east edge of downtown:

U shape building with a courtyard:

Building 1 of Evergreen Terrace by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Ok, back to the Cathedral Proposal, sorry got distracted.

500 Units on Christ Church Cathedral lands

Potential for six buildings to be built over the next 15 to 20 years on the 1.4-hectare property. The buildings could range from six to eight storeys, with one 18-storey tower. The slim tower in behind the church is an homage to an additional church tower that was never built. The actual heights are all over the place, but expect clarity coming this fall as per this Church statement:

"Over the first half of 2025, the project team has been working with the City of Victoria to refine the Cathedral Commons rezoning application. After several iterations responding to City requests and recommendations, we believe that we are nearing a version of the masterplan that will be forwarded to City Council at a Fall 2025 Committee of the Whole meeting"



Christ Church Cathedral District - Concept Plans by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Christ Church Cathedral District - Concept Plans by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Christ Church Cathedral District - Concept Plans by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Christ Church Cathedral District - Concept Plans by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

You can see in this proposal for a something called Pacifc Arbour Six (27, 11 and 10 storeys) which is kitty corner to the Cathedral they're trying to make their case for increased height by showing what's happening all around:



Broughton, Quadra and Fort Proposal - May 2025 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Here is their proposal:



Pacific Arbour Six by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

and directly across from the Cathedral on the YMCA lot is this proposal:



851 Broughton - YMCA site by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



851 Broughton - YMCA site by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Finally in the historic section of downtown the building in the middle is new (and will include a small heritage building) and the on both sides the buildings shows are under construction and should be completed next year. Replaced a parking lot and non-heritage structures.



Victoria Transmission - 1885 Government St by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Victoria Transmission - 1885 Government St by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Victoria Transmission - 1885 Government St by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Sorry for the rambling narrative, lol - I'm nearly finished a Victoria development tracker which I'll share which will be map based with lots of pictures, video, news stories, etc so it'll be easier to follow.

[Cowtown_Tim]

It'll be nice to see those empty parcels get filed in.

Originally Posted by jc_yyc_ca

A couple of buildings proposed for the parcel adjacent to Calgary's new library. They're calling it Library Square.