The Weston family is spearheading a bold vision to reshape a quieter corner of Toronto, unveiling plans for a landmark mixed-use development that could redefine the Yonge and St. Clair intersection.
Wittington Properties, the family’s property arm, is advancing a project called St. Clair Square that would bring three residential towers, a performing arts centre, and extensive public realm improvements to an area currently lacking cultural vitality. The scheme involves approximately 1.6 million square feet of new construction alongside the existing shopping complex and two office towers.
Construction is pencilled in to commence in 2027, with the entire complex built simultaneously rather than phased.
A Who’s Who of World-Class Architects
The development has assembled an impressive roster of designers. New York’s Kohn Pedersen Fox is handling urban design and two towers standing 37 and 46 storeys respectively, alongside a private amenity building called the Ravine Club. The Swiss practice Herzog and de Meuron – famed for London’s Tate Modern and Beijing’s Olympic stadium – has designed a 24-storey tower containing just 72 generously proportioned apartments. The flagship building, created by Canadian architect Omar Gandhi in collaboration with Bruce Mau Design, will house a performing arts centre.
“The goal is to create something that belongs to everyone,” said Jay Cross, the New York-based real estate executive leading the project for the Westons. “This isn’t about building for a select few – it’s about adding something meaningful to the city’s fabric.”
Jay Cross, who graduated from the University of Toronto’s engineering school in the 1970s, frames the undertaking as an extension of Toronto’s midcentury ambition. “I recall when they placed the antenna on the CN Tower,” he told The Update Desk. “That’s Toronto to me – a city with the nerve to attempt trendsetting projects.”
The area currently serves a different purpose. Office blocks house medical practices and private offices for wealthy individuals. One visits for routine appointments rather than leisure.
The Cultural Heart of the Scheme
The performing arts centre represents perhaps the development’s most significant public contribution. Occupying the space where Delisle Court now stands on the west side of Yonge Street, the building will feature a trapezoidal atrium constructed from mass timber – hefty wooden beams encased in glass and adorned with a sculptural lattice. The roughly 300-seat performance hall will accommodate chamber music and theatre, while a flexible flat floor will enable diverse events.
The southern section is envisioned as a cultural hub, with its structure incorporating rammed earth. Wittington hopes to attract a relocated Toronto Public Library branch to the site – the existing Deer Park branch occupies a deteriorating building nearby, though no formal agreement has been reached.
An independent not-for-profit body will govern the cultural centre.
Rethinking Urban Living
The scheme prioritises pedestrian experience. A car-free public square – an L-shaped space designed by landscape architects PUBLIC WORK – will anchor the development. Facades will feature hand-laid brick and small retail units, carefully curated to define the neighbourhood. Mr. Cross indicated shops would generally not exceed 1,000 square feet each, echoing the scale of nineteenth-century main streets. Restaurants will occupy second-floor spaces.
Vehicular access funnels underground, with loading and back-of-house operations consolidated in a concourse beneath the development. A public park occupies the northern edge.
The Herzog and de Meuron tower makes an architectural statement. Its rectangular base dressed in travertine – the beige Italian limestone favoured by the Romans and modernist pioneer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe – rises to a tower of two-storey apartments. The wavy form pays homage to Finnish architect Alvar Aalto and a 1920s Mies van der Rohe proposal.
For this commission, Wittington conducted a private competition among four architects. Three – including Herzog – are Pritzker Prize laureates, the architectural profession’s highest international recognition. Such a decision is unusual; developers typically favour established relationships, and firms of Herzog’s calibre command premium fees.
“Great projects demand great designers,” Mr. Cross explained simply.
Lessons from Manhattan
Mr. Cross previously served as a senior executive at Related Companies in New York, where he directed development of the US$25-billion Hudson Yards project. That scheme, encompassing office towers, apartments, retail, and cultural facilities, attracted substantial criticism as an insular corporate enclave. Mr. Cross identifies clear lessons: Hudson Yards contained excessive luxury retail, insufficient neighbourhood-serving amenities, and a protracted construction timeline.
St. Clair Square aims to avoid these pitfalls. The aim is distinctly democratic.
“We want it to be a place to go for all Torontonians,” Mr. Cross stated.
The original planning approval in 2023 encompassed four towers; the revised proposal reduces this to three, plus the cultural centre. Mr. Cross frames this as beneficial for residents, who will enjoy greater privacy.
“We are thinking about the very long term.”
Why it Matters
The St. Clair Square project represents more than another luxury development – it offers a template for how substantial private investment can serve broader civic interests. By assembling world-class architects, prioritising public space, and learning from controversial precedents like Hudson Yards, the Weston family has the opportunity to demonstrate that elite residential projects need not exist in isolation from their communities. For Toronto, a city still searching for its architectural identity in the twenty-first century, the outcome will reveal whether ambition, taste, and deep pockets can indeed produce something for everyone – or whether the centre will remain defined by dental appointments and quiet streets.
