Located west of Yonge along Sheppard Avenue, overlooking Earl Bales Park in the West Don Valley, Greatwise Developments is proposing to transform the existing rental housing complex located at 325 Bogert Avenue into a new multi-tower high-rise development. First proposed in 2017, the project was appealed to the LPAT and reached a settlement last year, with a recent resubmission for rezoning bringing to light the details of the revised application.

Rendering of the revised proposal, image courtesy of Greatwise.

Currently existing on the site is a complex of 10 interconnected 4-storey apartment blocks constructed in 1969, containing a total of 415 rental units. The original proposal from 2017 would have demolished 7 of the 10 existing rental buildings while constructing 6 new towers ranging in height from 21 to 27 storeys and two new townhouse blocks, containing a total of 1,765 residential units (including the 148 retained rental units and 269 replacement rental units). Also included in the previous proposal was a new public park on the eastern edge facing onto Easton Avenue; westward extensions of Bogert and Poyntz Avenues; and a new pedestrian access into the ravine to the west.

Rendering of the original 2017 proposal, image courtesy of Greatwise.

Following the LPAT hearing, the proposal has been revised from 6 towers down to 4 towers and has removed most of its townhouse units. With that comes a reduction in the number of residential units, down to a total of 1,368, which still includes the same number of retained and replacement rental units. The tower heights remain within range of the previous proposal, measuring in at 19, 21, 25, and 27 storeys, while the project still includes the public street extensions, public park, and retained apartment building components. Core Architects remain as the designers of the development.

Site plan, image courtesy of Greatwise.

Phase 1 of the development is slated to be a single townhouse block in the southeast corner of the site, south of the new public park. Originally incorporating 40 stacked townhouses, the project has been scaled back to only provide 5 townhouses located in this single block.

Phases 2 and 3 involve the construction of Tower 2 and its mid-rise component in the northeast quadrant of the site, fronting onto Sheppard West. Originally planned to be two 21-storey towers on a shared 8-storey podium, this block has been revised down to a single 21-storey tower with an 11-storey podium stretching to the east, which steps down to meet the low-rise neighbourhood adjacent to the site. Included in the building is 220 market residential units, 209 replacement rental units located in the mid-rise component, and 836 square metres (9,000 square feet) of retail space - the only retail included in the whole development.

View from the southeast, image courtesy of Greatwise.

Phase 4 involves the construction of Tower 1 in the northwest quadrant of the site fronting onto Sheppard and the ravine. Originally proposed at 21 storeys with a 12-storey podium, it has been scaled down to a 19-storey tower with an 8-storey podium and now contains 230 market dwelling units.

View from the northeast, image courtesy of Greatwise.

Phases 5 and 6 comprise the construction of Tower 5 and its podium, situated at the centre of the site, west of the park and north of the retained apartment buildings. This block was originally slated to contain two towers of 25 and 21 storeys sitting on 8- and 2-storey podiums respectively, but has been scaled down to a single 25-storey tower with a 6-storey podium that extends toward the east. The block will contain 230 market residential units and the remaining 59 replacement rental units, which will be located within the podium.

View from the northwest, image courtesy of Greatwise.

Finally, Phase 7 involves construction of the tallest tower - Tower 4 - on the western edge of the site, rising to a height of 27 storeys atop a 6-storey podium. The height of the tower remains the same as the original proposal at 27 storeys, but the height of the podium has been reduced from 12 down to 6 storeys. A further 265 market residential units will be included on this block.

View from the southwest, image courtesy of Greatwise.

The revised project has now been submitted for rezoning, and after receiving approval, will need to go through the Site Plan Approval process for each individual building on the site before construction can begin. We will keep you posted as updates become available, but in the meantime, you can tell us what you think by checking out the associated Forum thread, or by leaving a comment in the space provided on this page. Additional information and images of the original proposal can be found in our database file for the project, linked below.

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