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Just west of the Queen Street West and Dufferin Street intersection in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood, a new proposal spearheaded by Dermot Sweeny of Sweeny &Co Architects Inc. seeks rezoning for the development of a 0.158-hectare (0.39-acre) site at 6 Noble Street. Currently occupied by a single-storey commercial building built around 1940 and an attached surface parking lot with 8 spaces, the proposal would see the site transformed with a 14-storey mixed-use building rising 51.3 metres to the top of the mechanical penthouse level.
The project's design fuses the modern glass-and-steel vernacular with a "masonry frame" stretching from the top of the second level up to a height of five storeys on the north and west facades, and eight storeys on the south and east facades. This frame mirrors the heights and massing of adjacent structures to create a contextual relationship between the new and the old. Both the ground and mezzanine floors would be set back approximately 1.5 metres from Noble Street's two frontages (the street makes a 90-degree turn around the subject site), with the intent of becoming a concrete canvas for commissioned installations by local artists.
The inclusion of stepbacks above the fifth floor of the north and west faces would emulate the height of the adjacent converted industrial building at 24 Noble Street. Stepbacks would also be included above the 8th floor on the south and east facades, while further stepbacks on levels 12 and 13 would create terrace space for proposed outdoor amenity terraces. Capping the structure's northeast corner would be a recessed mechanical penthouse level.
Plans call for a 1,050 m3 replacement for the Performing Arts Studio that currently occupies a portion of the subject site, housed within the ground and mezzanine levels of the building's base. Two at-grade live/work units would also occupy the ground level. Above, a total of 172 additional residential units are proposed, coming in a mix of 93-1 bedroom units, 64-2 bedroom units, and 17-3 bedroom units. 27 of these residences would be designated as accessible units.
Residents of the development would have access to a total of 403 m3 of indoor amenity space located on the second floor of the structure, connecting with a 204 m3 south and west facing outdoor space that includes an 88 m3 children's play area at its west end. Two additional outdoor amenity areas would be located on the 13th and 14th levels, sized at 90 m3 and 72 m3. The 14th floor terrace would include a community garden where residents could plant and tend to their own produce.
The site would be served by a two-level underground parking garage containing 76 parking spaces, 65 of which would be for residents, with the remaining 11 reserved for visitors. In addition, 182 bicycle parking spaces would be provided on-site, with 34 spaces on the ground level (including 12 exterior spots), 25 on the P1 level, and the remaining 123 on the mezzanine level.
We will return as new details about the proposal emerge. In the meanwhile, you can review current images and information by visiting the project's dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment using the field provided at the bottom of this page.
