Amexon Development Corp. is partnering with Missoni, one of the world’s most recognizable fashion houses, on an upscale Toronto high-rise project which will mark the Italian designer's debut in Canadian real estate.

The fashion house’s haute couture sensibility will be all over MISSONI SKY, which is proposed as a 60-storey luxury tower with 795 units. It is to rise from an eight-storey brick podium housing a 177-suite, five-star boutique hotel.

MISSONI SKY is to be built on the former site of the Grand Hotel, which was demolished in 2020, in Toronto’s King-Jarvis Design District right next to a new Hyatt hotel. 

According to Ashling Evans, general manager of real estate development at Amexon Development Corp., the neighbourhood's tapestry is perfect for a project like MISSONI SKY, which is being designed as an artwork in its own right.

“It’s already a design district with more than 40 design showrooms and furniture showrooms that are more high-end, as well as a lot of art galleries and so forth,” Evans told RENX. “For Missoni, they want to develop their design in areas that already have a lot of these elements.”

MISSONI SKY and the neighbourhood

The neighbourhood is already home to a slew of other condominium and hotel projects, and it’s also amenity rich with St. Lawrence Market a stone’s throw from the MISSONI SKY site. Additionally, the Eaton Centre and Massey Hall, which very much conform to the development’s vibe, are within walking distance.

Evans added Toronto Metropolitan University, George Brown College and the nearby Financial District enrich MISSONI SKY’s building fundamentals, which she expects will be reflected during the sales cycle, slated to begin soon.

Amexon is eyeing completion in 2029.

“Intensification in the downtown area is a key element for creating additional housing,” Evans said of the eight-year development plan for MISSONI SKY (which has been under way for the past couple of years). “That was always the plan.”

But such a uniquely branded development will bring something to the city’s real estate market it seldom sees. Another fashion luminary, Karl Lagerfeld, brought his vision to Midtown Toronto’s Art Shoppe Lofts + Condos in 2016, and the globally recognized NOBU brand is building a tower on Mercer Street in the downtown.

Evans believes that, when MISSONI SKY is complete, it will be unlike anything Toronto real estate has ever seen.

“This is definitely going to redefine luxury living,” she said, adding that the collaboration began about three yeas ago. 

“Besides being a world-renowned fashion house, Missoni also has a home line. One of the reasons we chose to work with them is they have a furniture, fabrics and textile line. It’s a home line with high-end furnishings and accessories and that’s where they worked together with our design team to be able to implement the Missoni design into the project itself.”

Branding power for Missoni, Amexon

Like its fashion house counterpart, Missoni Home is renowned for its iconic usage of zigzag patterns and vivid colour schemes, which will be present throughout MISSONI SKY’s lobbies, rooftop terraces, amenities and residential suites.

As a glass tower, it will have views of Toronto’s ever-expanding skyline and Lake Ontario.

“MISSONI SKY represents the successful translation of our brand’s style into an immersive living experience,” Alberto Caliri, creative director of Missoni Home, said in a news release. “This development brings Missoni’s artistic essence to life, infusing every corner of the tower with our distinctive approach.”

Like MISSONI SKY, the boutique hotel beneath is also designed to take guests through a visual journey by using a confection of clean lines, vast glass walls, artwork and fine materials.

Amexon has a development history in Toronto spanning over four decades.

Last month, Amexon’s The Residences at Central Park, located in Bayview Village, won an IPAX Americans Property Award for Best Sustainable Residential Development in Canada. 

That 12-acre project, consisting of five towers, used cutting-edge green technologies and became the first large-scale residential project on the continent to include an electric vehicle charging station in each one of its more than 1,500 parking spaces.

Atypical amenities package

MISSONI SKY, too, is to provide an EV charging station at each parking space. It will also be replete with the latest eco-friendly tech, including green roofs that reduce energy use and absorb rainwater, as well as rooftop reflective solar panels to supplement the building’s power. It will also have enhanced thermal building envelopes to augment energy efficiency, and advanced mechanical systems to optimize airflow and air filtration for healthier interior milieus.

The amenities are also atypical for Toronto condos with the inclusion of indoor and outdoor saltwater pools and shaded cabanas. Even the fitness studios will incorporate art.

“It’s a win-win collaboration,” Evans said. “They have very distinctive style and they’re very easily recognizable in terms of their fashion, with the zigzag element, but even with their Missoni Home element. That’s why it made sense: we wanted to have a branded residence that’s very iconic and distinct. 

"And with the connection between fashion and luxury living, we’ve done just that.”