721 
UrbanToronto often focuses mainly on hectic pace of development within the city's downtown, but that doesn't mean that Toronto's building boom hasn't also benefitted the inner and outer suburbs. Three recent proposals in North York, all on major transit routes, represent some positive architectural and urban changes coming to the larger city. These projects are all entering the public consultation phase of the planning approvals process, with none at the marketing phase yet.
2800 Keele Street:
Designed by KFA Architects & Planners, this site proposal consists of one 11-storey contemporary tower on the northwest corner of Keele St. and Victory Drive, just north of Wilson. The building would consist of 237 residential units - including 48 Bachelors, 117 1-Bedrooms, and 72 2-Bedrooms - along with 255 below-grade parking spaces. Commercial retail space and 8 at-grade parking spaces (for visitors and retail) will make up the ground level. This type of height in the area isn't necessarily unprecendented, with a 10-storey residential building just to the south.
Currently on the site is a 1-storey mid-century former post office.
591 Finch Avenue West
Modified from an earlier application for a 10-storey all-residential building, this latest proposal adds 2 storeys, bringing the unit total up to 78. 73 underground parking spaces are proposed. Located just west of Finch and Bathurst, the land is currently a parking lot. The design by Keith Loffler Mcapline Architects, is also contemporary glass, includes 1 three-bedroom unit, 32 two-bedroom units, and 45 one-bedroom units. Compared to the neighbourhood, the proposal actually maintains the status quo in terms of height: its tallest neighbour is a 22-storey building to the north, and its shortest is a 12-storey apartment to the south.
3-5 Kingslake Road and 3 through 21 Allenbury Gardens
This development represents one of the largest densification projects in the city, with a proposal for 1034 new residential units within 5 towers and three blocks of townhouses. Currently an aging Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) site, TCHC has partnered with Fram Building Group to replace all 127 social housing units and build an additional 900 condominiums and 7 rentals. The design is by Brook McIlroy | Pace Architects. The 3-storey townhouses would mainly line Allenbury Gardens and Kingslake Road, with the 5 towers looking out over Fairview Mall to the south and Highway 404 to the east. The proposal also includes substantial public realm improvements, including a new park in the centre of the site, a renovation of Fairview Library, streetscape improvements along Fairview Mall Drive and Don Mills Road, and improvements to Godstone Park. Most of the new social housing units will be in the form of 2-bedroom apartments and 3-bedroom townhouses.
It remains to be seen how many changes will be made to these development plans as they wind through the community consultation and planning approvals process, but at the very least they represent some ambitious densification and re-invigoration in suburban Toronto.
