5959 YONGE STREET CONDOS TO TRANSFORM NORTH YORK’S
YONGE AND CUMMER NEIGHBOURHOOD
 
Rarely in Toronto’s history will a mixed use residential and commercial development so positively transform an entire neighbourhood as the new towers 5959 Yonge Street Condos will impact North York’s Yonge Street and Cummer Avenue intersection.
 
Located on the east side of Yonge Street on a former car dealership and surrounded by 1950’s era one storey buildings, 5959 Yonge Condos, being developed by Ghods Builders, founded in 1979 by Ghasem Ghods, will create the momentum for a new urban streetscape on what has been until now, a rather overlooked stretch of Yonge Street.
 
“Ghods’ vision is what provided us with our direction and the architectural inspiration for this development,” says Clifford Korman, principal at Kirkor Architects and 5959 Yonge’s lead architect. “The whole site, its presence, connectivity and scale is a reflection of what Ghasem Ghods envisioned in order to transform this intersection.”
 
5959 Yonge will be the catalyst for the emergence of Yonge and Cummer bringing urban design, retail, connectivity on Yonge Street and life to the area as the new centre of this neighbourhood, sparking the possibilities for further development in the immediate area.
 
The location between Finch and Steeles Avenue is one of the largest sites on Yonge Street, and as a result, needed a very comprehensive massing study done to determine how best the concept, the design and the proposed new project would fit into the neighbourhood.
 
“It is a very complex urban design that is creating a vertical neighbourhood,” says Korman. “We needed to ensure the north-south and east-west traffic flow to and from the existing residential neighbourhood was preserved and enhanced, and we wanted to set a standard above what currently exists. We have done that with a very strong urban development that fits comfortably into the neighbourhood and has a very special connection to Yonge with canopied new walkways in the pedestrian realms for shopping and dining.”
 
Knowing the impact 5959 Yonge would have on the area, Kirkor Architects set out blending imagination and inspiration, resulting in a specifically clean, elegant and sophisticated design.
 
“We knew the density of this site could be easily accommodated at an extremely efficient and visually strong design,” says Korman. “We have very tall, thin, clean buildings, giving us height, tremendous vistas down Yonge Street to downtown, and the connectivity to Yonge Street the residents will want. The exterior is a combination of squares and black and white solids and voids, which create constantly changing images so there are two different looks to the building during the day and again at night.”
 
It is very clear that the vision of Ghasem Ghods, backed by the thought and the design of Kirkor Architects will have a rare and transformational impact. 5959 Yonge will be the emergence of the heart of the next major neighbourhood on Yonge Street.