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Planning documents have been resubmitted for a 2.1 hectare site located at 3450 Dufferin Street, across from Yorkdale Shopping Centre in northwest Toronto. The three-tower mixed use development would contain residential and commercial restaurant uses. The project is being pursued by the Gupta Group whose Easton’s Group of Hotels division currently owns and operates a 12-storey Holiday Inn hotel on the site.
In March of this year, the City Solicitor recommended City Council accept a settlement offer with Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments. New supporting documents have now been submitted as a response with the required changes and are currently under review by the Ontario Municipal Board/Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. Some of the alterations of note include changes in tree species within the on-site public park, and an adjustment to residential bicycle parking spots. Additional information regarding traffic flow has been studied, due to the project abutting the 401 to the north.
Striking changes have been made to the exteriors of the three IBI Group-designed buildings. As seen in the latest architectural plans, the proposed towers rise from a 2-storey podium which connects them all. Where the original Plan featured curved facades for with wraparound balconies for Tower A, in the northwest corner, and Tower C, in the southeast corner, the new glass towers are rectilinear in appearance and feature segmented balconies that are placed around the towers in an abstract manner.
Perhaps the biggest adjustment to the original plan is the elimination of a hotel component to the residential and retail mix. Along with this, the three towers have taken a drop in height in this update. Tower A has taken a cut from 37 storeys to 27 storeys at a final height of 97.5 metres; Tower B in the centre has taken a cut from 33 storeys to 29 storeys at a final height of 103.4 metres, and Tower C has reduced in height from 29 storeys to 23 storeys standing at a final height of 79.65 metres. This results in a reduction of residential units, to a proposed 908 units in comparison to original 1,044 units. The space allocated for retail use has risen slightly from 342 m² to 517 m². There will be 784 parking spaces provided for residential use, 91 for visitor use, located in a four-level, below-grade parking garage.
We will continue with project updates as information comes in. 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 space provided on this page.
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