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It's not news that Toronto is growing rapidly. Development applications have been flooding into the City's planning department in recent years, mostly for high-rise, high-density developments with a mix of uses. While these applications are typically Downtown or along subway lines, low- and mid-rise proposals are popping up all over the city, mostly for townhomes. At 3000 Kennedy Road in Scarborough, however, something very rare for the 416 is being proposed; here it's a rezoning and subdivision plan for single family homes.
Where the existing Valleyview Gardens nursery currently stands, CIM Kennedy Creek Inc. is proposing to build 41 single-detached housing units. The development would not have direct vehicular access to Kennedy Road, but would extend local road Fort Dearborn Drive into a spiral to accommodate the new houses, terminating at a new cul-de-sac. A walkway would connect the subdivision to Kennedy Road.
The design of the single-detached houses are reminiscent of those built in the 1980s and 90s, albeit with some differences. Designed by David Johnston Architect, the houses would be three storeys tall, with a two-car garage and two residential storeys above. While garages would not protrude from the front of the home on their own, front doors would still be recessed. The average square footage of the houses range from the low to high 2,000s, providing at least three bedrooms.
Seven of the houses are proposed to face Kennedy Road with a front door, and a front yard. The other 34 homes have back yards. The sides of all 41 homes facing Fort Dearborn Drive are essentially driveway spaces leading to garages.
While the City and other GTA municipalities have seen developers propose all forms of higher density housing of late, newer low-rise residential buildings have largely been in the form of row or stacked townhouses. This proposal begs the question of why higher density isn't proposed here, given Kennedy Road's status as a major suburban arterial with TTC bus service. While efforts across Toronto to transform suburban tower-in-the-park areas into new urban places through intensification, this proposal treats Kennedy Road merely as a high-speed road as opposed to a street, with the much of it lined with fences.
CIM wants this project to be viewed as merely an extension of the mature neighbourhood that surrounds it. The proposed setbacks of the houses keep the alignment of the current built form, with the majority of houses having a frontage setback of 9.2 metres, 7.5 metre rear setback, and side setbacks of 0.6 and 1.2 metres.
We will update you as this development works its way through the planning department. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts on the project by leaving a comment in the space provided below, or join in on the conversation in our associated Forum thread.
