| Empress Walk | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | condominium and retail complex |
| Address | 5095 Yonge Street Toronto,Ontario M2N 6Y7 |
| Construction started | 1995 |
| Completed | Phase 1 - 1997 Phase 2 - 2000 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 34 |
| Design and construction | |
| Developer | Menkes Developments Ltd. |
Empress Walk is a large Canadiancondominium and retail complex inToronto,Ontario, Canada. It is located at the intersection ofYonge Street and Empress Avenue in theNorth York Centre area of theNorth York district It was developed by Canadian-developers Menkes Developments Ltd. Phase 1 was completed in 1997 and Phase 2 was completed in 2000. It became an important retail complex inNorth York following its construction.
The podium of the complex is a three-storey retail mall. It covers 240,000 square feet (22,000 m2) topped with a 95 feet (29 m) dome, that highlights one of the longest unsupported escalators in North America to give access to the movie theatre from the ground floor. There is a 3,035-seatCineplex Cinemas movie multiplex featuring a state of the artIMAX Theatre. The lowest level has underground access to theNorth York Centre subway station.
Above the retail complex are two 34-storey residential towers, known as the Pinnacle and Royal Pinnacle, with a total of 745 units between them. Major retail anchors inside Empress Walk includeLoblaws,LCBO,Shoppers Drug Mart,Cineplex Cinemas,PetSmart, andDollarama.
Since the 1970s, local politicianMel Lastman wanted to turn central North York into a second downtown for Toronto. Until 1998, a separate city from Toronto with the regional government of Metropolitan Toronto. Lastman began a wave of development proposals that eventually led to a large number of high-rise and government buildings being constructed along Yonge Street, leading to the creation ofNorth York Centre within the larger existing neighbourhood ofWillowdale.
Menkes Developments Ltd. constructed many of the condominium complexes in North York Centre including, Gibson Square, Ultima, Broadway. It initially proposed the development in the early 1990s,Toronto Centre for the Arts and other developments were already underway in North York at the time. In the mid-1990s, Menkes put forward a proposal for a mall and residential complex in the center of North York Centre. This move coincided with the1998 Toronto amalgamation where the surrounding cities and oneborough became part of the City of Toronto. While controversial, many districts such as North York prospered in the years following the move.[1]
Empress Walk was built as part of Mel Lastman's bid to create a downtown in North York to rivalToronto's. Empress Walk remains a hub of activity, while also spurring on new condominium projects being built north and south of it today. Its residential building, which was completed at the same time as the retail complex, was for decades one of the tallest buildings in North York until being surpassed by newer developments such as the Hullmark Centre.
Empress Walk and other major developments in the nearby area meant North York Centre became a second central business district for the City of Toronto from the 1990s onwards. The plans for Empress Walk meant that theNorth York Centre station could be integrated with the new mall, giving residents of the towers access to theToronto subway system.
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. It features the façade of the former Township of North York Municipal Offices from the 1940s, while the bell/clock tower from the fire hall has been reconstructed and serves as the centrepiece for the park.
Across the street, and connected via the TTC tunnel, areMel Lastman Square, theNorth York Civic Centre, theNorth York City Centre office tower andNovotel. Next door, and connected via a passageway is the 5075 Yonge Street tower, withScotiabank and Upper Madison College.
In 2000, the property was acquired byRioCan REIT, a Canadian real estate investment trust.
