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Since its establishment in 2008 as a means to maximize the value of City-owned lands, Build Toronto has spurred development plans for a handful of high-profile sites, including Ten York Street and 4050 Yonge Street. The latest project proposed for a Build Toronto site is for a larger plot of land than either of the two listed above, but is in a less intensively area of the city: this property backs on the Lakeshore East rail corridor in Scarborough, and calls for a low-and-mid-rise residential development along with a new park.
Located at 253 Markham Road, at the corner of Dunelm Street a short distance north of Eglinton Avenue East, the proposal seeks rezoning for two mid-rise residential buildings fronting Markham Road and eleven blocks of stacked townhomes fronting Dunelm, with a proposed 0.44 hectare (1.10 acre) landscaped park occupying the eastern portion of the subject site. In total, the plan proposes 431 residential units spread out over 13 structures. The architect for the proposal is RAW Design with landscaping by NAK Design Strategies.
In the southwest corner of the site, the first phase would be a mid-rise of 11-storeys with a six-storey section. It would provide 129 units.
At the northwest corner, the remainder of the Markham Road frontage will be occupied by a second phase 9-storey building with a 7-storey east wing, containing a total of 88 residential units. The two structures would be joined by single-storey link, housing a 6,000 square-foot outdoor garden terrace amenity area on top of it. This space will connect to the indoor amenity spaces for both buildings.
East of the two mid-rise structures, much of the residential density proposed for the site comes in the form of eleven four storey stacked townhouse buildings, housing a total of 214 units.
The residences will be served by an underground parking garage containing a total of 444 parking spaces, while an additional 25 surface spaces would be found at grade. While the ratio of parking spots to units exceeds 1:1 owing to its suburban location, the project will also have 401 bicycle parking spaces (361 for residents and 40 for visitors), which will be housed both in the underground garage and at grade. Automobile movements will be aided by a new private drive running north/south through the site, while a new network of internal pedestrian walkways aims to create a walkable environment.
The subject site amalgamates various properties, including the Build Toronto-owned 20 Dunelm, the City of Toronto-owned 253 Markham Road, 12 and 30 Dunelm Street, and a 0.15-acre strip of land abutting the adjacent rail corridor, currently owned by Metrolinx. The City-owned properties are currently in the process of being transferred to Build Toronto ownership, with purchasing arrangements already underway for the Metrolinx-owned land as of a few months ago.
Build Toronto's page for the proposal site outlines a number of goals, including the provision of a range of housing types, the creation of new park space, pedestrian integration, minimized parking visibility, integration of affordable housing, and proper neighbourhood scale.
Excluding the proposed public park, the development would achieve a modest Floor Space Index (FSI) of 1.50, with the townhome component falling in line with the densities of the surrounding low-rise housing found to the east and northwest, and the mid-rise component with massing and density in line with the high-rise rental towers found both north and south of the subject site.
We will return with additional updates as further information about the development emerges. In the meantime, you can review current information by visiting the project's dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment using the field provided at the bottom of this page.
