Since the turn of the millennium, Yonge and Sheppard has consistently been one of Toronto's most relentlessly active development hubs. Yet, while the sites straddling the Yonge Corridor—and to some degree the 401—has quickly transformed the area into a high-rise cluster, many of the surrounding neighbourhoods retain an entirely different character.

The 245 Sheppard Avenue west site, looking southeast, image via Google Maps

Moving west along Sheppard, high-rise towers abruptly give way to low-rise offices and single-storey bungalows past Yonge Street. Four blocks west of Yonge, however, the PineLake Group has proposed 11-storey residential development at 245 Sheppard Avenue West, bringing a sort of middle ground to an area—in between Yonge and Bathurst—characterized by sharply contrasting typologies. 

245 Sheppard Avenue West, looking southwest, image via submission to the City of Toronto

Located on the southeast corner of Sheppard and Senlac, the 3,115.5 m² site also fronts onto Bogert Avenue south of Sheppard. Designed by WZMH Architects, the 105-unit condominium project would replace a diverse mix of uses on the (currently) low-rise site, which is occupied by a private school and a three-storey commercial office building fronting Sheppard, with single-family homes along Bogert. 

Existing context, looking northeast from Senlac and Bogert, image via Google Maps

Along the Sheppard frontage, where the building rises to its full 11-storey height—albeit with setbacks above the 5th and 9th floors—442 m² of retail space is proposed, complementing a widened sidewalk featuring landscaping by Terraplan. Rising to a height of 36 metres (excluding the mechanical penthouse), the project's scale aligns with the 36-metre right-of-way on Sheppard, thereby meeting the City's criterion for a 'mid-rise' development.

A closer look at the Sheppard frontage, image via submission to the City of Toronto

To the south, the transition to the more intimate residential context of Bogert Avenue is negotiated via a row of seven three-storey townhomes. Clad in brick, each of the townhome suites comes in a three-bedroom + den configuration, with parking integrated into the project's two-level, 118-space underground garage.

Looking northeast from Senlac and Bogert, image via submission to the City of Toronto

On Sheppard, the 11-storey mid-rise includes 98 residential units, with a breakdown of 60 one-bedroom, 31 two-bedroom, and 7 three-bedroom suites. In total, the development includes 14 three-bedroom units, which represents 13% of all suites. With a gross floor area (GFA) of 11,790 m²  proposed on the 3,115.5 m² property, the project features an overall Floor Space Index (FSI) of 3.78.

We will keep you updated as more information becomes available as the proposal makes its way through the City of Toronto's planning process. In the meantime, more information is available in our dataBase file, linked below. Want to share your thoughts? Leave a comment in the space below this page, or contribute to the conversation in our associated Forum thread.