A bold new condominium tower could soon transform a quiet block just northwest of Davisville subway station in midtown Toronto.

New plans filed with the City seek to bring a 21-storey condo to 21 and 25 Imperial Street, featuring a striking design from architects BDP Quadrangle that references the Mid-century modern design movement of the 1960s.

Development firm Resident is seeking approval to build the new 247-unit complex on a site currently occupied by a low-rise dentist office and a four-storey office building, both of which would be levelled to make way for the ambitious new plan.

Facing south to the proposed condo tower at 25 Imperial Street.

The current blueprint  is an evolution from a smaller-scale project initially submitted in February 2021 calling for a 14-storey residential building at 25 Imperial. This proposal would evolve in a fall 2022 resubmission addressing comments from City staff, followed by a further resubmission in July 2023, increasing the scope to a 19-storey tower.

Later that year, the developer entered into an agreement to acquire the adjacent property at 21 Imperial, and while closing is not projected to occur until January 2025, the increase in footprint size is driving the latest increase in height to 21 storeys — a change that comes with an impressive redesign.

The tower's base features playful references to the apartment towers of the mid-20th century. Its exterior expression bears some resemblance to the work of Estonian-born Canadian architect Uno Prii, whose space-age buildings defined by swooping, sculptural curves were constructed across Toronto during the apartment boom of the '60s.

Positioned just east of the open stretch of the Line 1 subway between Davisville and Eglinton stations, the tower's scalloped south facade would stand as a prominent landmark for passing commuters on southbound trains.

View facing southeast over the Imperial Street bridge spanning the Line 1 subway trench, where passing commuters will catch a glimpse of the new tower.

While the proposal is several times the height of existing buildings on this block, it is actually relatively restrained considering the high densities tabled on nearby sites, with an adjacent development site currently seeking two towers as tall as 53 storeys.

Aerial view facing south over the proposed development, in context with the much taller towers proposed to the south and east.

Locals concerned about increased traffic can also breathe easily, as the project has no proposed parking component. Instead, residents and visitors would be expected to rely on an included 273 bicycle parking spaces and the nearby Davisville subway station.