FIVE Condos at 5 St. Joseph

Toronto, ON

FIVE is a residential development in downtown Toronto, located just off Yonge Street and south of Bloor. Blending traditional urban industrial architecture with contemporary design, the 425,000-square-foot project restores a 1905 Gothic Revival brick warehouse at the corner of St. Joseph and St. Nicholas Streets. The building’s refurbished façade—featuring newly configured windows, roofs, and storefronts—is the largest heritage retention of its kind ever undertaken in Toronto and now serves as a dramatic entrance archway beneath a striking 46-storey residential tower.

The development also preserves nearly half a block of historically significant buildings on Yonge Street and retains the original paving stones along St. Nicholas Street. In recognition of its design excellence and heritage preservation efforts, the project received two BILD Awards in 2011: Project of the Year – High-Rise and Best Building Design.

Project Facts
Client
Graywood Developments, MOD Developments
Location
Toronto, ON
Status
Completed 2017
Size
425,000 sq. ft.
Partner
David Pontarini
Selected Awards

2011 – Building Industry and Land Development Association, BILD Awards, Best Building Design

2011 – Building Industry and Land Development Association, BILD Awards, Project of the Year, High-Rise

Recent Press

FIVE Condos Focuses on the Details as Construction Continues

"HPA have demonstrated their commitment to high quality design solutions as well as possessing the management and coordination skills to deliver large, complex urban projects."

—Gary Switzer, CEO, MOD Developments

Integrating heritage buildings with a modern sculptural tower, the design of 5 St. Joseph creates a vibrant relationship between restoration and contemporary design. Located on St. Nicholas—a quiet, Victorian-era lane that connects the busy tourist area of Yonge Street to Queen’s Park and the University of Toronto campus—the project boasts access to both an active urban connection and a pedestrian-scaled residential neighbourhood.

In the heart of Toronto’s historical district, this project is a marriage of old and new—combining turn-of-the-century industrial façades with modernist lines, extensive glazing, and a high-rise residential tower.

The elegant tower features contiguous glass curves, undulating balconies, and a 6,000-square-foot outdoor roof garden. To activate the St. Nicholas Street laneway and encourage a pedestrian thoroughfare, new façades inspired by the former buildings will include space for retail uses.

While remaining proportionate in scale to its site, the tower serves as the signature attraction of the project. The 48-storey tower features façades with undulating balcony panels, articulated with fritted glass that cascades down to meet the rooftop of the historical podium below.