The Toronto Design Offsite Festival (TO DO) is back and it’s bigger than ever! Taking place January 15-21, 2018, #TODO18 is Canada’s largest cultural celebration of design with over 100 events, exhibitions, and installations forming Toronto’s design week.

Going into its 8th year, TO DO transforms Toronto into a hub for creativity, taking design and art out of the studio and into the urban sphere, and bringing people together to celebrate contemporary culture. They provide opportunities for emerging talent, and engage the community with exceptional and accessible public programming.

Yonge + St. Clair will be participating for the first time with exhibitions, talks and tours all throughout the neighbourhood. A week’s worth of art and festival programming will be anchored by three immersive installations designed by leading, architecture and design firms Gensler, IBI Group and superkül. There will also be an exhibition by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind exploring the latest assistive technology for those who are visually impaired.

Rounding out the programming will be two interactive sessions. The first is a talk called “Undo Toronto” where speakers from each of the participating design firms are bestowed the power to go back in time and undo one thing about Toronto, while proposing an alternative vision. The second is a TO DO Tour: Creating Communities Through Art which is a tour of the area led by three of the city’s leading public art experts, Ilana Altman, the Director of Programming at The Bentway, Patricio Davila, Associate Dean at OCAD University and Anjuli Solanki, Director of Community Programs, STEPS Initiative.

Don’t miss out on these incredible events, read below for more details.

Installations:

#ohdeer by Gensler

The Space Between by IBI Group

Second Life by superkül

Events:

Talk: Undo Toronto w Opening Reception Event to follow

Tour: Creating Communities Through Art

CNIB: Smashing Barriers, Creating Vision

Love a good contest? Want to win great prizes from some of our local Yonge + St. Clair businesses? Then head over to our Instagram page TODAY to enter our thrice weekly “Yonge + St. Clair Holiday Contest”. We’re giving you the chance to win BIG each Monday, Wednesday and Friday up until December 22nd where we will be giving away a GRAND PRIZE!

So far we’ve given away prizes from Book City, Moksha Yoga, Roots Canada, Mary Be Kitchen AND Blowdry Lounge!

Follow us today @yongestclair

Holidays are Better at Yonge + St. Clair

This year we are partnering with CHUM FM for their annual CP24 CHUM Christmas Wish program which has become one of the largest distributors of toys to children in need in the Greater Toronto Area. In 2016 the CP24 CHUM Christmas Wish in conjunction with Toronto Social Services assisted approximately 300,000 people in need through toy and financial support.

From December 4th-15th you can bring any toy donations in the form of new, unwrapped toys for newborns to kids 18 years of age to the main lobby of either 30, 40, 55, 1 and 2 St. Clair W, as well as 1, 2 and 21 St. Clair E. And with your help, we hope to bring the magic of the holidays to those in need of assistance this holiday season.

GIFT IDEAS

Children in the age groups below are sometimes difficult to shop for and often overlooked by donors. Please use these helpful tips to help give a kid a Christmas.

Infants & Babies:

– Age appropriate by the manufacturer’s age rating (0 – 6 months) and (3 months+) are in highest demand
– No ‘button’ eyes or noses – features must be soft and sewn on securely
– Package should say ‘Infant Friendly’ or ‘Baby’s First’, ‘Infantino’, etc.
– Developmental toys (Fisher Price, Baby Einstein, Playskool, Leap Frog Baby)
– No small parts

Children Ages 10 to 18 Years Old:

– Gift cards in the $25-$30 value range would be best (Hudson’s Bay, Wal-Mart, HMV, Cineplex, Gap, Stitches, Chapters, Coles, Old Navy, Garage, Blue Notes, La Senza, etc.)
– Electronic games, age-appropriate board games
– Sports equipment (soccer, basketball, football, hockey, skateboards, scooters, etc.)
– Roller blades, ice skates, snow boards
– Bicycle helmets
– Cosmetics (age appropriate: 16 – 18 years old)
– Personal care and grooming gift packs
– Hair products and accessories (curling irons, blow dryers, shavers, beard groomers, etc.)
– Diaries, journals
– Creative and craft supplies
– Purses, knapsacks/backpacks

Thank You For Giving A Kid A Christmas

Check out the vendors below!

More to be announced soon!

Corktown Soap         A Word in the Woods        Spirit of Vera        Blue Oliphant

Scotch/Rye        Whiff Collection        Sarah Campbell Art

Stephen Brule Photography        Patrick Hunter Art & Design        Dark Side Jewellery        Mumbleweeds        A Little Leafy

Double Space Studio        Christine Miller Art

Backing to the Future        Maria Lopez Jewelery Design        Raw Redemption

Whole food for the soul is the philosophy behind Mary Be Kitchen, Yonge + St. Clair’s newest restaurant. With a strong emphasis on health, wellness, and community, we think they make a perfect addition to the neighbourhood.

We asked co-founder Sarah Huggins to tell us more about this philosophy, how the restaurant came to be, and why they chose Yonge + St. Clair. Find out more below.

What is your professional background?

I am a lawyer by training and spent 10 years practicing law at a large law firm downtown before going to work in-house at the Toronto International Film Festival. In my free time I developed recipes, photographed food and kept a food blog that chronicled my (mis) adventures in feeding my family.

Tell us about the story of Mary Be Kitchen and how the name came to be.

Mary Be Kitchen is an homage to healthful home cooking; it’s the kind of food we would all cook and eat at home if only we had the time to do so. Lots of roasted veggies, leafy greens, whole grain salads, stews, antibiotic and hormone free grilled chicken, organic grilled tofu and comforting stews. So we thought it was fitting to give it a feminine persona, and we named it after my grandmother Mary.

Why did you choose Yonge + St. Clair?

We live in the neighbourhood with our family, and wanted to create the type of place that we felt was missing in the area. The kind of place we would want to go to on a regular basis, not just to eat but to drink great coffee and tea (we pour Pilot brew and espresso and Genuine Teas), have a glass of local wine or craft beer, meet a friend or colleagues, read a newspaper over weekend brunch, or get some work done. I see it as a bit of a community hub for the area, and I love that our guests are already coming in and using it for that purpose. For me it’s more than just another restaurant; it’s a gathering space, a meeting room and a community resource.

The fact that the intersection is undergoing a huge refreshment right now is just the icing on the cake for us. We are so excited to be part of revitalizing this awesome part of the City’s history. Many people would know that this is the site of the original Fran’s restaurant (for 61 years, in fact). We had a fellow in for lunch the other day who told me he worked the grill here back in the 50s. This was the hottest place in town in those days, and we hope it will be again.

Your menu looks incredible. What is the philosophy behind it?

We call it “whole food for the soul.” Good for you, but free of the diets, gimmicks, fads and labels that can be intimidating for people. It’s the kind of food you can eat every day and feel healthy and satisfied, not deprived. It’s a sustainable and joyful way to be and to eat.

Tell us more about the architects who designed the interior (which looks fabulous by the way!)

We worked with Reflect Architecture — Trevor Wallace and his colleague Sonja Tijanic. They designed a couple of great downtown restaurant spaces (Wilbur and Quantum Coffee among them). As midtowners, we were constantly lamenting that we had to travel downtown to find cool spaces to eat and hang out, so we wanted to bring a little of that downtown experience uptown. I hope we succeeded.

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions Sarah!

MARY BE KITCHEN
21B St. Clair Avenue West
hello@marybekitchen.com
416.792.7596
Weekdays 8AM-9PM
Weekends 9AM-3PM

photography: Cameron Bartlett

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Slate Asset Management announces new Buca restaurant concept from King Street Food Company coming to Yonge + St. Clair in 2018

November 1, 2017 (Toronto) – Slate Asset Management reveals that King Street Food Company will be bringing a new Buca concept to the north west corner of Yonge + St. Clair. The announcement is the latest in a series of exciting changes to the neighbourhood as Slate continues to re-establish the intersection as a destination address.

“Food, like design and art, has the ability to elevate neighbourhoods and communities; no one understands this more than the team at King Street Food Company. We are thrilled that they are bringing their expertise to Yonge + St. Clair,” says Lucas Manuel, Partner at Slate Asset Management. “This is going to be a marquee destination for the community, and another compelling reason for Torontonians from outside the area to come and see the changes taking place at Yonge + St. Clair.”

“We are extremely excited to bring a new Buca restaurant and concept to the thriving community at Yonge + St. Clair and couldn’t be more pleased to work with Slate on this project,” said Peter Tsebelis, Partner and Managing Director, King Street Food Company. “We understand that the dining experience is different for everyone and we look forward to learning more about those working and living in the area to provide the best possible experience for guests joining us from within or outside the neighbourhood.”

This latest announcement comes as Slate prepares to completely renovate the podium at 2 St. Clair West in an effort to revitalize the pedestrian level and retail strip. The renovations will be helmed by global architecture and design firm Gensler, who has already completed extensive work in the area including the podium façade at 2. St. Clair East and the recently revealed “Ravine Bench.”

“The existing podium is the result of a series of renovations and modifications over the last 40 years. We want to peel away the layers and strengthen the relationship within the surrounding area,” says Steven Paynter, Associate, Gensler.

The new podium will allow for a two-level space with double-height ceilings at the corner and an outdoor patio at grade. “The goal is to introduce a sense of volume and grandeur, forming a beacon for animation and street life throughout the day and at night,” says Paynter.

Slate is in a unique position to contribute to the ongoing revitalization of Yonge + St. Clair, having acquired 10 properties in the area, including all four corners, over the last four years. Since 2016, Slate has introduced a new 8-storey mural by international street artist Phlegm, and ushered in a series of public space improvements, including the aforementioned Ravine Bench.

These public space improvements have been augmented by a series of community initiatives including the introduction of a farmer’s market and Food Truck Thursdays during the summer months, activations on all four corners of the intersection and the recent Yonge + St. Clair Pop-Up Store in support of the Canadian Cancer Society.

For more information and high res images please contact kg&a

Vakis Boutsalis
Vakis@kga-inc.com
416-578-1741

Katy Creates
katy@kga-inc.com
416-537-0954

Slate Asset Management L.P. is a leading real estate investment platform with over $4 billion in assets under management. Slate is a value-oriented manager and a significant sponsor of all of its private and publicly-traded investment vehicles, which are tailored to the unique goals and objectives of its investors. The firm’s careful and selective investment approach creates long-term value with an emphasis on capital preservation and outsized returns. Slate is supported by exceptional people, flexible capital and a proven ability to originate and execute on a wide range of compelling investment opportunities. Visit slateam.com to learn more.