The Massey family name has already towered large over Toronto for over a hundred years; when completed in 2016, the Massey Tower will loom sixty storeys over Yonge Street, right around the corner from the historic concert venue Hart Massey built. The Massey Tower is being built by MOD Developments, whose previous project, Five, won a BILD Best High-Rise Design of the Year award in 2012. The interiors are by Cecconi Simone (Monde Condominiums, One Bloor).
MOD plans to incorporate the 1909 beaux-arts-style Bank of Commerce building into the tower's street level. The Commerce building had been derelict for twenty years, mostly noted for the mountains of pigeon poop and accumulated garbage covering the stairs and sidewalk around it. MOD cleaned it up, restored the original mosaic floors, and now use it as their sales office; eventually it will be the building's lobby. The building site backs onto Victoria Street, and a large portion of that land is being donated to Massey Hall to help with their upcoming expansion and renovations. In another nod to Massey Hall, suites in the Tower are named after famous musicians who played the venue. This could lead to some inspired marketing slogans; how about "Watch the Sundown from the balcony of your Gordon Lightfoot suite".
· Signs of Life in a Slab of History [National Post]
· One Last Look at 197 Yonge Street Before It's Condo Time [blogTO]
· The Old Bank of Commerce at 197 Yonge Street [Historic Toronto]
· Historical Timeline of Massey Hall [Massey Hall]
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