The stretch of Wellington Street between Spadina and Portland through Toronto's Fashion District is a hotbed of development plans. The street has a collection of low and mid-rise converted heritage warehouse structures, new condos, and a couple remaining surface parking lots. While Toronto's largest current development, The Well, is under construction along the south side of the street, several of the other properties on both sides currently have proposals moving through the planing process. The latest infill proposal to be added to that list was submitted to the City at the start of the month, and it seeks rezoning to permit a 17-storey, mixed-use development at 462 Wellington West.

Site of 462 Wellington West, image via submission to City of Toronto

Proposed by Verve Senior Living, the project would primarily replace one of the remaining surface parking lots with a new 5-storey building along the east side of an existing 5-storey, heritage listed office building, while more new density would be stacked up in volumes that gradually step back as the building rises to a total of 17 storeys at the north end of the site. The new elements are designed by Giannone Petricone Associates while the heritage integration is tasked to specialists GBCA Architects. The new building's primary use would be as a seniors' residence, while new commercial space would be found on parts of the first through fifth floors.

Looking north to 462 Wellington West, image via submission to City of Toronto

The diagram below shows how various uses would be spread across the building. The building would meet Wellington Street with 1,250 m² of restaurant space on the ground and second floors. On floors three through five, 6,530 m² of new office space is planned. Above, an amenity level on the 6th floor would serve the seniors' units above, which would be housed on levels 5 through 17. Other amenities are planned for basement levels, the second level, and space beside the mechanical penthouse atop the building.

Diagram of 462 Wellington West, image via submission to City of Toronto

The seniors' residence would bring 101 independent living suites, 15 assisted living suites, and 15 memory care suites. Independent living suites would be offered in studio, one-bedroom, one-bedroom + den, two-bedroom, two-bedroom + den, and three-bedroom + den layouts. These rooms would be equipped with sleeping areas, bathrooms and kitchenettes. 

Looking northwest to 462 Wellington West, image via submission to City of Toronto

An innovative arrangement has been worked out for parking, placing it to the north of the site under the KING Toronto development. Tenant and visitor vehicular access for both developments is proposed via a ramp entrance under the new building on Wellington, connecting to the B2 level of KING Toronto where 105 parking spaces would be included for 462 Wellington.

The project site is located immediately west of the 1,000 m² 'Cat Park' designed by Claude Cormier + Associés (mirroring their popular recent redesign of Berczy Park in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood with its dog fountain and associated features). The park is coming as part of the KING Toronto and The Well developments to the north and south of it, and will tie those projects together via a pedestrian walkway. This proposal would help to animate the park, while a piece of land at the north end of the 462 Wellington lot would become a new Privately Owned Publicly-accessible Space (POPS), connecting with the park to form an L shape.

Additional information and images can be found in our database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.

* * *

UrbanToronto has a new way you can track projects through the planning process on a daily basis. Sign up for a free trial of our New Development Insider here.