Concord Adex has unveiled plans for the final phase of CityPlace, which includes the vast condo community’s tallest towers yet (plus an exclusive rooftop dog park!). Development VP Gabriel Leung walks us through what his firm has in store for its last hurrah on the old railway lands.

Preliminary plans for CityPlace’s final undeveloped site—known as Block 22—call for two condo buildings (75 and 64 storeys, with 1,500 units) that share a 10-storey podium. There’ll be 25k SF of shops and eateries at all four corners of the building base, says Gabriel, whom we snapped at the CityPlace sales office. The podium’s second floor will include 40k SF of boutique office space, well suited for independent professionals. The podium's top level will have a cantilevered pool, basketball court and 25k SF of outdoor amenities, including a private dog park (plus two pet spa areas, for post-park cleanups).

Street-level experience is of great importance here, given CityPlace’s reputation as a sterile condo community lacking in vibrancy and character (and good places to grab a bite.) Concord Adex aims to remedy this by adding eateries and large patios at the base of the new building, particularly along Bremner Street where it curves down toward Rogers Centre (as seen below). “The area’s perfect for patios,” Gabriel says. “It’ll help animate the street.”

Concord Adex is also working on the development of new storefront design criteria aimed at “encouraging more variety and liveliness and expression in the retail facades,” Gabriel says. CityPlace may be the ultimate master-plan community, but for its final phase the builder is seeking to make it look just a little less like one. "We want to encourage individual retailers to do their own thing."