Toronto's ongoing rental housing shortage and 2018 provincial legislation eliminating rent control in new-build rentals have created the prime conditions for a new surge in purpose-built rental developments. In the Yonge-Eglinton neighbourhood, one of the many nodes of high-density development popping up around the region, multiple new rental complexes are in various stages of planning and execution, and yet another has just commenced construction at 89 Roehampton Avenue, a block north Eglinton Avenue East, mid-way between Yonge and Mount Pleasant.

Looking east to 89 Roehampton, image via submission to City of Toronto

Developer TAS is bringing the new 38-storey Quadrangle-designed project to an area already densely populated with condominium and rental towers. The first signs activity were spotted late in 2018, when a two-storey, converted single-family home was cleared away from the site footprint. Just over a year since the previous home was demolished, the first drilling rig has appeared to begin the project's shoring and excavation phases.

Drilling rig at site of 89 Roehampton, image by Forum contributor AlbertC

During the shoring phase, a series of boreholes will be drilled around the site's perimeter, and then filled in with either steel I beams to form underground walls that will retain the surrounding earth during the upcoming excavation phase. Excavation will dig to a depth of two storeys, making way for the tower's foundations and the 225-space underground garage.

Cleared site of 89 Roehampton, image by Forum contributor AlbertC

The 255-unit rental tower’s design is a modern spin on the mid-century apartment towers that make up a significant part of the Yonge and Eglinton area’s housing stock. This includes a north facade with brick finishes and horizontal white banding, an aesthetic seen on the exteriors of towers elsewhere on the block including 100 and 101 Roehampton. 

Looking south to 89 Roehampton, image via submission to City of Toronto

You can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like to, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.