In late-December, University Health Network (UHN) announced that it had purchased the office building at 522 University Avenue, located at the southwest corner of University Avenue and Elm Street in the Toronto’s Discovery District.
UHN said it paid $79,250,000 for 522 University Avenue, which is also known as the National Life Building. Factoring in the size of the building, the purchase price translates to approximately $377 per sq. ft.
The vendor was Industrial Alliance Insurance And Financial Services Inc., which operates as iA Financial Group. For the site, iA Financial Group had submitted a development proposal in 2022 for a 49-storey residential tower designed by WZMH Architects that would be constructed above the existing office, bringing the tower to 64 storeys.
In July 2024, the City of Toronto said that it intended to designate 522 University Avenue as a heritage property, calling the National Life Building “a fine example of Monumental Modernist architecture utilizing precast concrete cladding in Toronto” that is “valued for its role in defining, maintaining and supporting the character of the University Avenue Precinct, one of Toronto’s major streets and a significant ceremonial avenue that is home to a collection of significant buildings associated with important corporate institutions in Toronto’s history.”
The building was constructed in the early 1970s by John C. Parkin — whose firm was then known as Parkin, Searle, Wilbee, & Rowland — for the National Life Assurance Company of Canada (NLACC), which had occupied the site since 1930. The NLACC is a subsidiary of Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.
A rendering of 522 University Avenue and the previously-proposed residential addition. / WZMH Architects
Under the ownership of University Health Network, which consists of Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, and the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, among others, the National Life Building will be used as an expansion space for Toronto General Hospital and the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
The services that will be located at the National Life Building are still being finalized, but may include an early cancer detection program, a new prostate cancer centre, a centralized cancer digital intelligence team, and enhanced supportive care.
“UHN”s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre has experienced growing patient volumes and has reached capacity,” said UHN in a press release. “The new building creates additional space for UHN, Canada’s leading research hospital, to pursue new clinical and research breakthroughs in cancer, develop innovative treatments and technologies, enhance adoption of artificial intelligence and educate the next generation of cancer experts, and ultimately set new standards of cancer care that will improve outcomes for cancer patients worldwide.”
UHN said funding to support the operations out of 522 University Avenue will, in part, come via the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation (PMCF).
“Our role at the Foundation is to support the Princess Margaret’s vision to lead the world in understanding, preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer to accelerate a world free from the fear of cancer, benefitting not only patients at The Princess Margaret, but across Canada and globally,” said PMCF President & CEO Dr. Miyo Yamashita. “The acquisition of 522 University Avenue will create brighter tomorrows for cancer patients everywhere.”