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One of Toronto’s longest-running current development proposals has recently been revised. Ghods Builders' 5959 Yonge Street has been resubmitted for rezoning, altering elements of the application at a time where it’s reaching it’s 10th year awaiting approval. Located just north of Yonge and Cummer Avenue on the east side of the street, the size of the 2010 proposal was far out of line with the City’s expectations for the site, proposing several towers between 13 and 43 storeys in height. Sitting outside the North York Centre Secondary Plan, the parcel has not traditionally been expected to accommodate density like the area of North York between Sheppard and Finch has. As such, the project has been at the OMB/LPAT since 2011. Despite this, sales began for the building's condominium units in 2014 without zoning approval. OMB-led mediation continued throughout 2017 and 2018, an effort that was likely in vain, given that the project was later cancelled in 2019, when purchasers were refunded their initial deposits. Now, Ghods new application includes new land assembly and reconfigured towers in hopes of obtaining approval. The project is adjacent to Sorbara Group’s 40-storey 5995 Yonge application that was submitted in November.
The diagram below outlines Ghods' latest proposal, with phases 1, 2 and 3 denoted by buildings A, B, C, D, E, and F. Sorbara's proposal noted in the top left as building H, the adjacent Building G, and an additional 44 storey tower (Building I) noted in the bottom left corner are all outside this proposal.
Six buildings are contemplated in the first three phases of the proposal, an increase of 1,978 units in the block bounded by Cummer Avenue to the south, Yonge to the west and Wedgwood to the north. A new public road would bisect the development on its east side. The tallest heights would be shifted towards Yonge, with two 46-storey towers proposed. 28 and 32-storey buildings would sit behind, with a 12-storey mid-rise further east that steps down to the adjacent low-rise neighbourhood. A four-storey stacked townhome building is considered for the north-east corner of the site, with the other option being the allocation of parkland at that location.
Phases 1 and 2 of the reworked proposal calls for 1,699 condo units in buildings A,B,C, and D; 157 more than what was proposed in the most recent 2016 submission. Despite the difficulty arranging approvals for the original scheme, the developer has decided to submit a more aggressive proposal, potentially due to the provincial government preparing to build the Yonge North Subway Extension over the next decade, including a stop and Cummer and Drewry.
Designed by Kirkor Architects, the first four buildings of phases 1 and 2 would both rise in pairs from a shared 4-storey podium. The towers would use a window-wall façade treatment and rows of balconies across their elevations.
The proposal would also include just under 35,000 ft² of retail for the area and 2,141 parking spaces below grade.
Despite the new submission, the OMB/LPAT file for this project remains open, with a new pre-hearing scheduled for March 2020.
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 below.
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