Empress Walk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Empress Walk is a large condominum and retail complex at the intersection of Yonge Street and Empress Avenue in the North York Centre area of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Developed by Menkes Development, Phase 1 was completed in 1997 and Phase 2 by 2000. The lower portion is a three-storey retail mall (lower level with access to the North York Centre (TTC) subway station) covering 240,000 square feet topped with a 95' dome. There is a 3035-seat movie multi-plex owned by Empire Theatres. Above are two 34-storey residential towers with a total of 745 units between them.
Behind the Empress Walk complex on its east side is Princess Park, commemorating the original sites of the first municipal building and fire hall of North York. The clock tower from the fire hall has been reconstructed and serves as the centrepiece for the park. Across the street are Mel Lastman Square, former North York City Hall, North York City Centre office tower and Novotel.
It was built as part of Mel Lastman's bid to create a downtown in North York to rival the old city of Toronto. It remains a hub of activity with condominium projects being built today.
In 2000, the property was acquired by Riocan REIT, a Canadian real estate investment trust.
Empress Walk represents the first of many new condominiums along Yonge Street between Sheppard Avenue and Finch Avenue. Notable complexes built are:
- Tridel's NorthTown buildings (4 phases)
- Pemberton Groups Pulse buildings (2 phases)
- Estates on Avondale
- Grandview Estates (2 Phases + Townhouses)
[edit] Major Retailers
- Empire Theatres (63,644 sq. ft.)
- Future Shop (20,202 sq. ft.)
- LCBO (3,238 sq. ft.)
- Loblaws Empress Market (60,100 sq. ft.)
- Staples Business Depot (28,970 sq. ft.)
[edit] Pre-Empress Walk
Prior to the building of Empress Walk, the east side of Yonge Street did not have the zoning capacity to build condominiums but only office space and retail stores. A deal was made with City Council to re-zone the area on the condition that the developers had done the following without municipal funding:
- rebuild Earl Haig Secondary School
- rebuild McKee Elementary School
- rebuild Mitchell Field Community Centre
- re-align Doris Avenue to prevent thru-way traffic in a residential area connecting Bayview Avenue and Yonge Street.
At the time, this decision was a very popular one in the community because Empress Walk would contribute opportunities for entrepreneurs and also revitalize the aging community. Earl Haig Secondary School, McKee Elementary School and Mitchell Field Community Centre were buildings which drastically required rebuilding or advanced renovations however, funding was not available. The entire rebuilding of this community was completed without the use of tax revenue.