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Initially proposed in May of 2013, a 7-storey mixed-use condominium designed by Teeple Architects for Monocle Developments at 180 Sheppard Avenue East contained 22 residential units with commercial at ground level. The rezoning and Official Plan Amendment (OPA) applications were refused by Toronto City Council after the applicants and City Staff failed to reach a settlement. After nearly two years of no public information regarding the project's status, new zoning and OPA applications have been submitted to the Planning Department.
Now, the project originally dubbed as Monocle Condos no longer includes Teeple Architects nor Monocle Developments. Rather, the project has been redesigned, this time by HOK Architects for Marpake Holdings Limited.
A number of major revisions have been made from an architectural and program standpoint. To begin, the overall gross floor area (GFA) has been reduced from 3,130 m² to 2,578 m² while the overall height of the building is now one floor lower at 6 storeys, or 84 ft high. Below grade, the original plans for two below-grade parking levels has been fully scrapped due to the floor plate area being too small. Instead, 23 parking spaces will be provided at grade, accessed through the Dudley Street frontage, and reducing the overall amount of ground level retail space to 60 m².
The building typology on the second floor includes an optometry office, while a commercial office would occupy the third floor. The fourth floor will see single level residential units, while 2-storey units occupy the 5th and 6th floors. The residential breakdown sees a drastic decrease in the number of proposed units, from 22 down to 7. They are comprised of two 1-bedroom units (645 ft²), three 2-bedroom units (1,292 ft²), and two 3-bedroom units (1,744 ft²).
The massing of the proposed building features stepbacks on every level o the north side, descending on a 45 degree angular plane toward adjacent low-rise dwellings. A number of cladding elements are proposed to treat the building. The residential component will see a combination of brick veneer, wood cladding, aluminum framed windows, and tempered balcony glass. The commercial levels of the building are proposed to be clad in a combination of curtainwall windows and patterned concrete, while a dark grey screen will frame the Dudley Street entrance to the parking garage.
Additional information and renderings can be found in the project's dataBase, linked below. Want to share your thoughts on this development, and how it compares with the original design? Feel free to leave a comment in the space provided on this page, or join in the ongoing discussion in the associated Forum thread.
