The redevelopment of the property bounded by Soho, Phoebe, and Beverley streets is an expression of downtown urbanity in what was once a part of a fine-grained 19th century village. In the 1790s, this site was part of a Park Lot Crown grant to Family Compact member Peter Russell. Over the next century and a half, the grant lands were subdivided and a neighbourhood evolved. North of Queen Street, shops and a jumble of housing and industry were built cheek by jowl. South of Queen Street more industry and warehouses sprouted.

Over the 19th and 20th centuries, the Soho, Phoebe and Beverley block acquired a foundry, a chemical works, a livery, a row of semi-detached homes, a warehouse, a church, a paper company, and offices. The Weston “Model Bakery” (c.1897) was on the north side of Phoebe.

Today the area remains varied with mainly retail, offices, and a 1990s infusion of high-rise housing, although the pattern of redevelopment is at a larger scale. Liberalized zoning has contributed to a renaissance in reinvestment in the area.

“The Phoebe” will be an entirely residential project of 230 suites on two acres. In order to fit into the neighbourhood, it is designed as three separate buildings, each of a different size and aesthetic expression, with parking out of sight, underground. The architectural style relies on the “Victorian Industrial” feel of the area, with expansive glazing and brick detailing. The buildings are organized around a tranquil courtyard, and the extra-wide Soho Boulevard, a legacy of the Park Lot subdivision, will be landscaped.

Bronwyn Krog