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Late December, 2019 saw a rezoning application submitted to the City of Toronto by Marlin Spring Developments for an 11-storey mid-rise building at 801 The Queensway in central Etobicoke. The parcel, located at the corner of Queensway and Taymall Avenue three blocks west of Royal York Road, is currently occupied by a former PartSource auto supply shop. The plan calls for 206 condo units and 12,755 ft² of retail space in a Graziani and Corazza-designed building.
The building’s massing features a number of stepbacks to articulate the 118 foot-tall structure. The Queensway-facing elevation steps back from the street into two distinct volumes to break up the massing of the 65 metre-long building. The volumes, which at 24 metres tall are 80% of the width of the road, step back even further above the 9th level to realize a 45-degree angular plane and reduce imposition at street-level.
The width of the road is notable in this scenario because the City of Toronto Avenues and Mid-Rise Building Guidelines prescribe that the height of buildings fronting avenues should not exceed the width of the road itself. With a total height of 35.5 metres excluding the mechanical penthouse, the building exceeds the 30 metre right-of-way width planned for The Queensway - a potential point of contention in the upcoming planning and negotiation process with the City. The developer's planning consultant Bousfields argues that "Although the proposed height exceeds the 1:1 ratio by 5 metres, it is less than the maximum anticipated height of 36 metres for a mid-rise building.", continuing that "The proposed height can be accommodated based on other applicable built form guidelines (including the angular plane) and is therefore an appropriate form of intensification on the site."
The rear of the building backs on to an office park-style facility and does not step back until the mechanical level on this elevation. Cladding has yet to be firmed up as the project is only at the rezoning stage, however the design direction hints at a window-wall exterior with precast accent elements, and the use of projecting and inset balconies.
All of the ground level frontage along The Queensway is allocated for commercial space, with the residential entrance and ramp to the 214-stall underground garage allocated to the rear of the building. 11 retail parking spaces would be located at grade, tucked under a second floor overhang off the rear private lane.
The residential units are proposed in a mix of 124 one-bedroom, 74 two-bedroom, and 8 three-bedroom units with averages sizes of 618 ft², 865 ft², and 1,166 ft², respectively.
You can learn more about 801 The Queensway 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.
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| Related Companies: | Astro Excavating Inc., Bousfields, Counterpoint Engineering, Ferris + Associates Inc., Graziani + Corazza Architects, NEEZO Studios, Quasar Consulting Group |
