
GWLRA Reveals Proposal for Unprecedented Heritage Restoration and Expansion of College Park
Eminent local design firms Hariri Pontarini Architects, ERA Architects and PUBLIC WORK plan to realize century-old vision for Toronto landmark and introduce a new mixed-use development
July 8, 2025 (TORONTO, Canada) – GWL Realty Advisors (GWLRA) has unveiled plans for the once-in-a-generation revitalization of College Park. The proposal includes a heritage restoration, with a three-tower mixed-use complex, and reimagined outdoor spaces. The redevelopment of College Park will transform the intersection of Yonge and College into an essential retail and cultural hub as the building marks its centennial in 2030. The proposal has been developed with leading Toronto design firms Hariri Pontarini Architects (HPA), ERA Architects and PUBLIC WORK.
“Toronto has waited nearly 100 years to see a completed vision for College Park come to life,” says Daniel Fama, Vice President of Development, GWLRA. “We intend to restore and protect College Park’s heritage, while introducing 2,334 new housing units, a new hotel, new retail and entertainment space, and new public space that makes sense for the Toronto of today. College Park will be a major cultural destination.”
Heritage Architecture: Completing the Original Podium
A century ago, College Park was conceived as a lavish 37-storey retail landmark – a “City Within a Block” rivaling New York’s Rockefeller Center. However, the Great Depression meant renowned architects Ross & Macdonald’s original, grand vision for the Art Moderne and Art Deco building had to be scaled back.
GWLRA’s ambitious proposal will not only break from the architectural practice known as “facadism” by retaining the full building, it will also see Ross & Macdonald’s original design for the Yonge Street podium completed. The proposal includes restoring the spectacular grandeur of the interior arcade, which would reconnect passersby to a Parisian-style vitrine shopping experience. The proposal would also protect and expand The Carlu, the historic Art Deco event venue on the building’s seventh floor, with outdoor terraces and more indoor space for conferences.
“College Park is one of the most significant works of architecture in Toronto,” says ERA Architects Principal Scott Weir, who also worked on the 2003 restoration of The Carlu. “For its whole existence, College Park has never reached its full potential. This project is our chance to get it right for the beginning of its second century.”
New Additions: Three Towers with 1920s Design DNA
The proposal includes three mixed-use residential towers, designed by HPA, that compress the 100-year gap between old and new Toronto architecture. The towers’ design embraces the Art Deco heritage architecture of the podium, with sculptural elements that echo the verticality and setbacks of 1920s skyscrapers, subtly grounding the project in the city’s past.
To better connect the entry points and the subway to the public realm, HPA has designed a striking ribbon-like raised pathway that winds through College Park’s interior, linking College and Yonge to a glass-encased atrium and outdoor public space at the rear. This feature would make wayfinding between more intuitive, while blurring boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces.
“Our starting point for the new College Park architecture was to embrace ERA’s heritage work and ideas from the early 1920s,” says Founding Partner David Pontarini. “We intend to respect the building’s architectural DNA and bringing that up vertically into modern towers that contribute back to the skyline. If you squint, College Park would look like one development, built at one time.”
Landscape Design: Intensifying the Public Experience
GWLRA’s plan also considers how the public realm surrounding College Park can rise vertically. PUBLIC WORK, the studio known for innovative civic design projects like The Bentway, will reimagine the plaza backing on to College Park in conversation with HPA’s glass atrium. The addition of a new tree canopy, native plantings, a rolled landform, more topographic variation, and design elements inspired by The Carlu, would encourage the public to linger, and better connect the plaza to Yonge and College Streets.
Higher up, rooftop gardens inspired by the 1920s idea of the architectural “urban mountain” would sit atop a series of plateaus, accessible from the sky lobby where the heritage building meets the new towers.
“College Park would mark a new metropolitan culture in Toronto by demonstrating how public and urban vitality can expand from the park and the street, inside and out, from the ground floor into the sky,” says PUBLIC WORK Principal and Co-Founder Marc Ryan. “We want to rev up the intensity of the public experience with a stronger sense of urban forest and more access to light. The building would fully embrace the public realm.”
College Park 100: Fostering Public Dialogue
The neighbourhood surrounding College Park is one of the busiest and most densely populated areas in the city. GWLRA’s development application also includes improvements to streetscapes and transit access. Throughout construction, GWLRA will work hard to minimize disruptions to residents, businesses and the 250,000 commuters that pass through the TTC’s College Station each week.
As part of the redevelopment, GWLRA has launched College Park 100, a website and event series that explores the site’s history while fostering public dialogue about its future. Insights from these discussions continue to inform the design process, with more programming planned throughout the pre-development and construction phases.
“Community engagement has been and will continue to be robust and essential,” says Daniel Fama. “This is just the beginning of a multi-year, iterative process, and we encourage the public to stay involved and share feedback through College Park 100.”
GWLRA has formally submitted a development application to the City of Toronto. The proposal has yet to be approved, and a construction timeline has not been confirmed. Developed on behalf of GWLRA’s client, The Canada Life Assurance Company, College Park will be allocated as an investment to the Canada Life participating life insurance account.
For updates, public events and opportunities to engage with the project, visit collegepark100.com.
For more information or to arrange interviews, contact kg&a:
Kevin Ritchie
647-204-9384
kevin.ritchie@kga-inc.com
Katarina Prystay
647-973-9222
katarina.prystay@kga-inc.com

GWL Realty Advisors Inc. generates value by creating vibrant, sustainable communities that engage, excite and inspire. As a leading Canadian real estate investment advisor, we offer asset management, property management, development and specialized advisory services to pension funds and institutional clients. Our diverse portfolio includes residential, industrial, retail and office properties as well as an active pipeline of new development projects.