The Crossways is a mixed-use residential/commercial complex in the west end of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, Canada, located at the intersection of

Bloor Street West Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River (Ontario), Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it e ...

and

Dundas Street West Dundas Street is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways— 2, 5, and 99—followed long sections ...

. It stretches across most of a city block.

History

In 1971, developer Consolidated Building Corporation agreed to buy the four-acre site, home to a bread factory, from Corporate Foods (now

Canada Bread Canada Bread Company, Ltd. is a Canadian producer and distributor of packaged fresh bread and bakery products. The company operates 17 bakeries and employs over 4,800 employees across Canada. Purchased by Grupo Bimbo (BIMBOA:Mexico) on May 23, 2 ...

Architecture

The complex consists of twin 29-storey (92 m) triangular brick towers, with a broad, terraced podium at their bases. One level of the podium contains an indoor mall. The Crossways was designed in the

Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

styleEmporis.com
/ref> by architects Webb Zerafa Menkès Housden Partnership and built by Consolidated Building Corporation. It was completed in 1974 as a 111,480-square-metre (1.2 million square feet) mixed-use project. The mall's interior was a cohesive series of spaces characterized by strong 1970s design features such as walls clad in brick from floor to ceiling, brown brick floor tiles, lacquered and evenly spaced wood slat ceilings, and massive globe-light lanterns mounted onto the walls. The retail mall section was renovated in 2012 and 2013, and it no longer exhibits the original 1970s design features. The project won a 1977 award in residential building design from the Canadian Housing Design Council, a body funded by the

Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) (french: Société canadienne d'hypothèques et de logement) (SCHL) is Canada's national housing agency, and state-owned mortgage insurer. It was originally established after World War II, to help re ...

. A 3,900-square-metre (42,000 square feet) addition, designed by architect Chris A. Montgomery, added two floors of commercial office space to the roof of the existing complex and connected to the existing retail mall.Chris A. Montgomery Architect website
/ref> The enclosed 7,900 square metre (85,000 square foot) mall at the base of the twin apartment towers has more than 40 stores and services, composed of small independent businesses and services. For many years, until the late 1990s, the mall had a regular-size grocery store on its lower level, initially a Food City and subsequently an IGA store. In addition, there used to be a Boots Drug Store in the mall. File:Swpl018.JPG , A swimming pool is provided for tenants File:View from the terrance of The Crossways, Toronto.jpg , A terrace has a view of the

CN Tower The CN Tower (french: Tour CN) is a concrete communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built on the former Railway Lands, it was completed in 1976. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway c ...

File:'Crossways Commercial and Housing Complex', Toronto.jpg , The mall entrance from Dundas Street West

Ownership

The complex is owned by Creccal Investments Ltd.

References

External links

The Crossways website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crossways, Toronto, The Buildings and structures completed in 1974 Shopping malls in Toronto Brutalist architecture in Canada Buildings and structures in Toronto WZMH Architects buildings Twin towers 1974 establishments in Ontario