Empress Walk is a large condominium and retail complex at the intersection of Yonge Street and Empress Avenue in the North York Centre area of North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was developed by Canadian-developers Menkes Developments. Phase 1 was completed in 1997 and Phase 2 in 2000. It became an important indoor mall in North York following its construction. The podium of the complex is a three-storey retail mall covering 240,000 square feet topped with a 95 feet dome, the highlight being the longest unsupported escalator in North America to give access to the movie theatre from the ground floor. There is a 3035-seat Cineplex Cinemas movie multiplex featuring an state of the artIMAX Theatre. The lowest level has underground access to the North York Centre subway station. Above are two 34-storey residential towers, known as the Royal Pinnacle, with a total of 745 units between them. Major retail anchors include Loblaws Empress Market, LCBO, Cineplex Cinemas, PetSmart, and Best Buy.
History
Since the 1970s, local politician Mel Lastman wanted to turn central North York, until 1998 a separate city from Toronto with the regional government of Metropolitan Toronto, into a new downtown for Toronto. He 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 of North York Centre within the larger existing neighbourhood of Willowdale. Menkes Developments first announced proposals to construct 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 the 1998 Toronto amalgamation where a number of outlying cities and townships became part of the City of Toronto. While controversial, many districts such as North York prospered in the years following the move. 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 north and south of it today. It's residential buildings which were completed at the same time as the retail complex was for decades one of the tallest buildings in North York. Due to demand in North York, buildings such as Hullmark Centre, are now much taller than Empress Walk. Empress Walk and other major developments in the nearby area meant North York Centre became a major business hub for the City of Toronto from the 1990s onwards. The plans for Empress Walk meant that the North York Centre station could be integrated with the new mall, giving residents of the towers access to the Toronto subway system.
Nearby
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, are Mel Lastman Square, the North York Civic Centre, the North York City Centreoffice tower and Novotel. Next door, and connected via a passageway is the 5075 Yonge Street tower, with Scotiabank and Upper Madison College. In 2000, the property was acquired by RioCan REIT, a Canadianreal estate investment trust.
