North York, like Toronto's other two former outer boroughs, Etobicoke and Scarborough, features a mix of predominantly low-rise single-family residential with pockets of high-rise sprinkled here and there. Most of the North York and Etobicoke were built-out this way by the 1980s, while building-out Scarborough has continued into the 2000s. Now however, virtually all of the 'greenfield' developable areas are gone, and new developments in Toronto's suburbs are going up on 'brownfield' sites, where obsolete strip plazas and industrial buildings make way for new development.

With the coming of the subway and the promise of further rapid transit expansion, increased demand for compact and convienient living enviroments mean that new towers are springing up on these infill sites on major transit corridors. One such major development located where the 404 meets Sheppard Avenue is called Heron's Hill. The Monarch Corporation has been developing this three-phase project over the course of several years now, and we have recent photos that show the current state of progress across the site.

Heron's Hill Development Under Construction, image by drum118

The first phase of this project is known as Legacy, seen above right. It consists of a 25-storey residential tower paired with a 5-storey podium arm that runs along Sheppard. Street front retail can be found at ground level facing Sheppard, which is hidden from view in this photo from southwest of the project.

Heron's Hill Development Under Construction, image by drum118

The second tower is known as Ultra, seen above left, in the background. It is the tallest of the three at 38 storeys and topped off a few months ago. Its crane has now come down and efforts to ready the suites for occupancy are underway.

Heron's Hill Under Construction, image by drum118

Most of the action in this master planned community is now concentrated on the third and final phase of the project—Yorkland—which has been rising over the past several months on the way to its final height of 30 storeys. It and Ultra also have podium sections which will form a courtyard space in amongst all three phases. Graziani + Corazza Architects are the designers of the whole project.

Heron's Hill Under Construction, image by drum118

We can expect to see more densifying infill developments like this in Toronto's suburban areas as land values remain high and the City's official plan aims to steer new homes towards transit friendly locations. Accordingly, Heron's Hill joins other master planned projects along Sheppard, like The Daniels Corporation's NY Towers, Concord Adex's Concord Park Place, and ELAD Canada's Emerald City, all the to the west is transforming this area in a similar way. More is on the way to the east as Tridel builds down the block at 'Atria' and CityCore Developments brings their first Harmony Village project onstream.

Check back for more updates as Monarch's Heron's Hill develops. In the meantime you can check out UrbanToronto's dataBase page below for many renderings and more info, or join in on the disucssion in one of our associated Forum threads.

Related Companies:  Graziani + Corazza Architects, LiveRoof Ontario Inc, Mattamy Homes