Oakville 157 Cross Avenue | 203.5m | 61s | Distrikt Group | Teeple Architects

mininamib said:
Like much of Oakville.
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Change it!

Seriously.

Email the applicant, and Planning and say something like " I could support this if it brought the best of old Oakville (Lakeshore) but with massive density. But it needs to have warmth and colour and some sense of charm and vibrancy at street level.

Then provide an example. Developers love templates.

Maybe Allies and Morrison's work at 2150 Lakeshore, or the proposed work up at the Canada Goose Factory site (give them links in the email) "This is supportable density"

Of course, use your own words, form letters go to the bottom of the pile; and choose whatever examples you like. But the applicant will be looking for a path to money; and planning for a path to peace, or at least to attract some support.

Give'em some help.
 
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Its too bad we do not have a thread on Midtown Oakville Redevelopment - there is a lot of proposed development for this area, and the Town is heavily involved in planning.

On a local blurb, a report came through on the recent (mostly positive) feedback to revised proposals on the overall concept of the area. In short, a haircut to the tower heights (from a max in the 40's to the 20's) and in the added population (from 50,000 plus to 35, 000 or so). With the balances pushed to other Go Train Station nodes i.e. Bronte.

Don't have a chance to research further tonight, but will look into this when I have a moment.
 
The Province recently posted the following (and see Link) re their mandated Oakville Midtown TOC (and the associated MZO orders) proposal that the Province has been trying to ram past any opposition.

Once again, the town had developed a planning document for the area, which enhanced densities to required levels and added improvements to the transit node centered on the GO/VIA station. The province seeks to override these plans with their 11 tower plan which adds absurd densities to this small area.

The Link to the Beaver article: https://www.insidehalton.com/news/p...cle_29f84144-1bb3-5a02-b165-87b73bb69105.html

The link to the Government announcement: https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/025-1368




Provincial priority request for four (4) Minister’s Zoning Orders for the Transit-Oriented Community in the Town of Oakville​


ERO number
025-1368
Notice type
Regulation
Act
Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990
Posted by
Ministry of Infrastructure
Notice stage
Proposal
Proposal posted
December 3, 2025
Comment period
December 3, 2025 - January 17, 2026 (45 days) Open
Last updated
December 3, 2025
There is no requirement to post this notice on the Environmental Registry of Ontario, but we want to hear your thoughts. Submit a comment and tell us what you think. Learn about the consultation process and types of notices on the registry.
This consultation closes at 11:59 p.m. on:
January 17, 2026
Submit a comment
Follow this notice

Proposal summary​

The Minister of Infrastructure is considering whether to make four (4) Minister’s Zoning Orders for a Transit-Oriented Community in the Town of Oakville. The Ministry is seeking input that may help inform the Minister’s decision-making.

On this page​

  1. Why consultation isn't required
  2. Proposal details
  3. Supporting materials
  4. Comment
  5. Connect with us

Why consultation isn't required​

Part II of the Environmental Bill of Rights Act, 1993 does not apply to proposals to make a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) under subsection 47(1) of the Planning Act, or to amend or revoke an MZO under subsection 47(8) of the Planning Act.
Although not required, the Ministry is providing public notice of this request for a zoning order.

Proposal details​

The Minister of Infrastructure is proposing to make a Minister’s Zoning Order for each of the following lands in the Town of Oakville:
  • 217 and 227 Cross Avenue, and 571, 581, 587-595 Argus Rd (“Site 1”)
  • 157 and 165 Cross Avenue (“Site 2”)
  • 166 South Service Road East, (“Site 3”) and
  • 590 Argus Road (“Site 4”)
Together these lands will up the Oakville Transit-Oriented Community (TOC). The Minister of Infrastructure will be seeking approval to have the above-noted lands designated as transit-oriented community lands as contemplated by section 2 of the Transit-Oriented Communities Act, 2020.
Pursuant to Order-in-Council 589/25 the Minister of Infrastructure shares authority, with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, to make Ministerial Zoning orders under s. 47 (1) (a) of the Planning Act for transit-oriented community lands.
Site 1 is approximately 1.26 hectares. It is bound by a small low-rise commercial building and Argus Road to the west, Cross Avenue to the south, low-rise commercial buildings to the east, and Argus Road to the north. See location map below for further details.
Site 2 is approximately 0.96 hectares. It is bound by a low-rise commercial plaza to the west, Cross Avenue to the south, a low-rise commercial plaza to the east, and a low-rise commercial building to the north. See location map below for further details. These sites are currently occupied by medical offices, retail and commercial buildings, fast-food restaurants, surface parking lots, and vacant lands.
Site 3 is approximately 1.19 hectares. It is bound by a low-rise commercial plaza and surface parking to the west, a low-rise commercial building to the south, a low-rise commercial building to the east, and South Service Road East to the north. See location map below for further details.
Site 4 is approximately 1.54 hectares. It is bound by a surface parking lot to the west, Argus Road to the south, low-rise commercial buildings to the east, and South Service Road East to the north. See location map below for further details
The requested Zoning Orders would permit the development of:
  • Site 1: 3 mixed use buildings, 49, 52 and 56 storeys tall with a maximum Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 147,478.73 square metres including 4,179 square metres of non-residential GFA.
  • Site 2: 2 mixed-use buildings, 52 and 56 storeys tall with a maximum GFA of 103,639.07 square metres including 4,318 square metres of non-residential GFA.
  • Site 3: 3 mixed-use buildings, 49, 50 and 56 storeys tall with a maximum Gross Floor Area of 134,651.16 square metres including 4,018 square metres of non-residential GFA.
  • Site 4: 3 mixed-use buildings, 45, 51 and 56 storeys tall with a maximum Gross Floor Area of 151,894.89 square metres including 2,420 square metres of non-residential GFA.
The proposed Zoning Order will include exceptions to the requirements of the Town of Oakville’s Zoning By-law including, amongst other things, building height, setbacks, maximum lot coverage, density, dimensions of accessible parking, and any requirement for Inclusionary Zoning and community benefits. This approach is designed to better reflect evolving market conditions and support the delivery of a transit-oriented community.
To help ensure decisions are made in a transparent manner and support government priorities, the Ministry is seeking feedback on this proposal that may help inform a decision.
 
I'm the first one to support height and density almost anywhere but this TOC proposal is grotesquely overscaled and entirely disconnected from reality. There is no market demand for anything even close to what is being proposed here.

Not to mention this fiasco is political suicide for the local conservative MPP Stephen Crawford, because hell hath no fury like a scorned Oakville NIMBY, and if this MZO moves ahead as currently contemplated he will absolutely get the boot in the next provincial election.
 
the City's plan for the area is frankly massively underdensitied for the level of transit access and amount of infrastructure they want to build in the area.

We can debate if the MZO plan is too much, but the city wants "5-20 storeys" throughout the area. It's not realistic.

As usual, the City plays games on NIMBYism and instead of creating a reasonable, actionable plan, passes something untenable to the point the province has to step in and approve some equally bad, albeit higher density, developer led plan. The best outcomes come somewhere in the middle where appropriate densities can deliver key amenities and infrastructure.

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innsertnamehere said:
the City's plan for the area is frankly massively underdensitied for the level of transit access and amount of infrastructure they want to build in the area.

We can debate if the MZO plan is too much, but the city wants "5-20 storeys" throughout the area. It's not realistic.

As usual, the City plays games on NIMBYism and instead of creating a reasonable, actionable plan, passes something untenable to the point the province has to step in and approve some equally bad, albeit higher density, developer led plan. The best outcomes come somewhere in the middle where appropriate densities can deliver key amenities and infrastructure.

View attachment 701883
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The town's plan does allow for developers to go beyond these height thresholds so long as they provide some sort of community benefits (affordable housing, community space, etc.) There is no limit to how high they can shoud they provide community benefits, only the maximum FSI limit applies (which could result in 40-45 storeys being built at maximum if other parts of the land are open space). So it will end up being more dense than the building thresholds map you posted, its just a matter of how much more dense.
 
A historical anecdote. Around 25 or so years ago, a relative worked at the optician shop in a small strip mall on the north side of Cross Street from the Oakville GO station. She lost her job when the store closed - due to redevelopment of the site - right across from the GO station - to become the new Home Depot store. From my perspective, this would be a totally inappropriate use for the site, being a five minute walk to the GO station, and it should be residential. I contacted the Oakville planning department to find out how this was happening, and whether anything could be done to direct the site towards residential development.

The response from Oakville Planning was not supportive - the developer had brought forward the request for retail zoning, they saw no issues with it, and that was what they were going to proceed with. There did not appear to be any interest in trying to direct use of this site towards residential.

Of course - if the site had been developed for residential sometime in the late 1990's early 2000's, the densities would have been much closer to what Oakville would have wanted. So the City of Oakville does not get much sympathy from me at this point. I believe the appropriate saying would be: 'Ye shall reap what you shall sow'.
 
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KAR246 said:
The town's plan does allow for developers to go beyond these height thresholds so long as they provide some sort of community benefits (affordable housing, community space, etc.) There is no limit to how high they can shoud they provide community benefits, only the maximum FSI limit applies (which could result in 40-45 storeys being built at maximum if other parts of the land are open space). So it will end up being more dense than the building thresholds map you posted, its just a matter of how much more dense.
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Not really. 6 FSI isn't that much actually, especially if you start throwing in significant community benefits in there, and besides, Oakville can't compel developers to provide benefits under the Planning Act outside of a Community Benefits Charge anymore either. CBC benefits apply regardless of any bonusing. And that's only for the 4-5 sites that fall within that 6 FSI zone.

I will also note that the MZO does propose community benefits - a new community centre and public library included.

Yes, 6 FSI could get you ~40 storeys, but only with significant amounts of open space around the buildings and smaller podiums. Height of buildings in these areas can actually be deceptive - 6 FSI is actually not all that dense. Most modern detached residential areas hover around 1 FSI! Surely more than 6x the density of a detached home next to the GO Station is appropriate?
 
innsertnamehere said:
View attachment 701936

Not really. 6 FSI isn't that much actually, especially if you start throwing in significant community benefits in there, and besides, Oakville can't compel developers to provide benefits under the Planning Act outside of a Community Benefits Charge anymore either. CBC benefits apply regardless of any bonusing. And that's only for the 4-5 sites that fall within that 6 FSI zone.

I will also note that the MZO does propose community benefits - a new community centre and public library included.

Yes, 6 FSI could get you ~40 storeys, but only with significant amounts of open space around the buildings and smaller podiums. Height of buildings in these areas can actually be deceptive - 6 FSI is actually not all that dense. Most modern detached residential areas hover around 1 FSI! Surely more than 6x the density of a detached home next to the GO Station is appropriate?
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It is important to note that the 6 FSI includes space dedicated for roads, dedicated town parks, etc.
Though I do agree these densities are still quite low. I think that combined with the TOC the density would be far more appropriate, and it would achieve some nice variability building heights.
 
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