Via Bloor is located at Bloor Street East and Parliament Street, at the northern edge of Toronto’s St James Town neighbourhood. The Tridel development includes two residential towers (38 and 46-stories) atop a shared five-story podium with at grade retail. A wedge-shaped privately owned public space (POPS) is located at the eastern corner of the site.

To address a large grade change across the site, the POPS seating area is wrapped to the south by terraced planters and a staircase. Filled with native perennials and trees, the cascading green planters introduce important green space to the site, while the planter walls form additional flexible seating. Permanent white bistro tables and chairs add another level of flexible seating in the space.

Along the streetscapes on Howard and Parliament Streets, staggered rectangular planters and maple, gingko, and silver linden trees in silva cells create a rhythm and animate this wide pedestrian zone. Large circular stone pots mark the retail entrances along the length of the building. An outdoor lounge on the 4th floor, and an amenity terrace with a swimming pool and lounge area on the 5th floor podium level provide space for residents to entertain and relax. Both residential towers feature green roofs. The project was designed concurrently with the Howard Street Parkette, a new City of Toronto neighbourhood park located at Howard Street and Edgedale Road at the west end of the development.

JRS was the landscape architect on the project from design through construction. The project met the City of Toronto’s requirements for TGS Tier 2 and is pursuing LEED Gold Certification.