A rezoning application has been received by the City for a mixed-use building stretching along the 300 block of Davenport Road. Submitted by Urban Strategies Inc on behalf of Cityzen Development Group and Greybrook Realty Partners, the site, just west of Bedford Road, proposes a unique change to the North Yorkville public realm. Initially submitted in 2013 as a 10-storey structure from 314 to 326 Davenport Road, the new design by BBB Architects now starts with 306 Davenport—the northwest corner of Davenport and Bedford Road—and reaches all the way west to 326.

Looking northwest to 306-326 Davenport, image via submission to City of Toronto

Davenport Road follows an old native trail that traced the shoreline of glacial Lake Iroquois. The trail–which stretched east of the Don River and West of the Humber River–was the longest of its kind in Ontario. The building's design is a response to the irregular lot, contained between Davenport Road, Bedford Road and the under-utilized Designers Walk Lane.

Currently, 306 Davenport is home to a mixed residential and commercial building with adjacent ground level parking. Standing west of this is 310 Davenport Road, a 2-storey commercial building. From 314 to 326, the Designers Walk buildings are 2.5 storey commercial and office spaces, housing numerous interior designers and home decor retail spaces.

Looking northwest podium of 306-326 Davenport, image via submission to City of Toronto

With a sloping design and unique building massing, the architect plans to reinforce the design district and enhance public realm, “strengthening the identity and legacy of the Designers Walk campus.” The ground level 2-storey commercial space gives preference to design and studio-related businesses, with addition of restaurant and cafe spaces. Creating a more vibrant public realm, two pedestrian walkways will perforate the southeastern ground level. These walkways connect the bordering streets to the laneway and create visual interest. This reconfigures the Davenport Road frontage to “reflect the rhythm of shops and services along these streets.”

Looking northwest into crossway of 306-326 Davenport, image via submission to City of Toronto

Above the commercial podium a total of 122 residential units are proposed. From the 4th floor in a northwest to southeast direction, the step up design continues to the 16th storey, with an open terrace space between the 5th and 9th floors. From the 17th storey up, rises as a slender tower to 27 floors and its proposed height of 96 m / 316 feet. Each residential unit includes an outdoor space designed with a ‘vertical forest’ component to contain extensive vegetation and plantings. 

Looking northwest to 306-326 Davenport skyline, image via submission to City of Toronto

From the total gross floor area of 27,242m², the base commercial space makes up 2,833m² of this. 242m² of indoor amenity space is included, along with a 5th floor terrace for resident use. The development's 122 residential units would consist of 37 2-bedrooms, 46 2-bedroom plus dens, 26 3-bedrooms, and 12 3-bedroom plus dens.

Parking, loading and other “back of house” services are accessed from Designers Walk lane at the rear of the site. Partial repaving of this laneway is proposed to promote “liveliness on the street and enrich the urban experience.” A total of 201 parking spaces will be available in an underground parkade of which 161 spaces will be provided for residents, the remaining being 28 retail and 12 visitor spaces. 140 bicycle spaces will also be included, 122 of which are to be used by residents, the remaining 18 for visitors.

Looking northwest to 306-326 Davenport 5th floor terrace, image via submission to City of Toronto

As the majority of the neighbourhood contains retail and commercial buildings, the developer is set on introducing the new residential spaces as a way to create a complete community. The unique architectural design, “vertical-garden” massing and interconnected retail spaces are intended to achieve this. The surrounding area is seeing an increase in development, with several high-rise building proposals currently approved. Community consultation as this proposal develops, although no future dates have been announced.

We will return with updates as additional information on this development emerges. In the meantime, you can view more renderings and get building facts by visiting the project's dataBase file, linked below. Want to join the discussion? Visit our associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.