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In February 2000, the OMB approved the appeal for the demolition of the two 12-storey concrete apartment buildings located at 310 and 320 Tweedsmuir Avenue to make way for two shinier 30-storey towers that will bring approximately 600 new residential units to the Bathurst and St. Clair neighbourhood. With the redevelopment being undertaken by Morguard and Page + Steele, the towers will have 3- and 7-storey podiums, with a 2-storey amenity building situated at ground level between the towers, alongside 4 levels of underground parking. The north tower will be rental units, while the south tower will be condominiums.
Although the two buildings had been vacant for many years already, with the last few tenants moving out in 2009, the $2 million demolition of the concrete slabs began during mid 2010, as we can see through the picture taken by UT forum member panther5125:
Unlike many other demolition and redevelopment projects that Toronto has seen over the years, the Tweedsmuir project has special significance and history that should be noted. Built during the 1960s and designed by architect Peter Dickinson, the previous buildings located at 310 and 320 Tweedsmuir were completed just months prior to the architect's death, and were the last residential buildings in Toronto designed by him that epitomized of his design approach of luxury apartments. It originally had 100 rental "executive suit" apartments, plus 146 affordable rent units. But as mentioned in a 2010 City document, the Tweedsmuir case is one of the most significant cases in Toronto's history since its 1998 amalgamation in respect to the demolition of rental housing. 310 and 320 Tweedsmuir was the first case ever presented to the OMB that dealt with the matter, in which the February 2000 decision by the board serves as the foundation for supporting the City's position on future similar appeals "that rental housing units must not be demolished unless the rental units are replaced as part of the redevelopment, and that the tenants looking their homes are treated fairly. Since the Tweedsmuir decision, tenant protection and rental housing replacement have become the standard requirements for redevelopment and intensification applications it the city's Official Plan."
With that being said, out of the 600 new units to be built, 146 will be affordable rents, in which old tenants who have lived in the previous buildings as far back as 1995 will be given the right of first refusal to rent the new units. Their rents will not exceed the sum of their previous rent back in February of 2000 plus half of the difference between previous rent and the new maximum rent (new maximum rents ranges fro $725 for a bachelor unit; $950 for a 1-bedroom and $1,135 for a 2-bedroom unit).
With project completion date expected for 2013, construction is well underway, as illustrated by the many photos uploaded onto the UT forum by members:
UrbanToronto will be sure to stay on top of the redevelopment of 310 and 320 Tweedsmuir Avenue. Do you have any pictures or comments about this project? Join the UrbanToronto forum thread here and have your say.
| Related Companies: | PCL Construction, U31 |
