Toronto developer Dunpar Homes has recently submitted both Zoning Bylaw Amendment and Official Plan Amendment applications for 26 Earlington Avenue and adjacent properties on the southwest corner of Earlington and Dundas Street West, just west of the Humber River in the Lambton Mills area of Etobicoke. 

the subject site in context, image via submission to the City of Toronto

Calling for a 10-storey mid-rise residential building and four back-to-back townhomes, the project would bring 138 units to the site. No commercial space is proposed. The units would be constructed in a mix of 33 one-bedroom, 100 two-bedroom, and 5 three-bedroom spaces. One of the proposed 3 bedroom units would reside in the mid-rise building, with the other 4 to be constructed in the townhouse format.

Looking south-west to 26 Earlington, image via submission to the City of Toronto

The design of the building includes step-downs to the low-rise residential neighbourhood to the south that fit under 45-degree angular plane often seen in mid-rise structures along the city’s avenues. The angular plane is a planning device used to keep a building from looking over adjacent lower-scaled structures and accommodate the existing neighbourhood character. The townhouse component would directly abut the low rise properties to the south. 

The architectural plans submitted with the application list the developer themselves as the design architect for the project, with an architect of record to be brought on at a later date to flesh out the structure to a fully buildable plan. Renderings show limestone cladding and black balcony railings as key design elements. 

Rendering of street level at 26 Earlington, image via submission to the City of Toronto

The Official Plan Amendment is being submitted here to extend the mixed-use boundary from the site slightly southward, to allow for a portion of the mixed use building to extend onto what may, or may not be neighbourhoods lands. This is being done because the official plan map can sometimes be relatively ambiguous as to where exactly the mixed-use designation ends and neighbourhoods policy begins. As seen in the image below, which overlays the official plan above the Google Maps aerial of the site, the red areas represent a mixed-use designation, while the yellow spaces represent neighbourhoods. As the subject site may cross the border between the two, the Official Plan Amendment is being proposed as a cautionary measure. 

Overlay of the Official Plan map over Google Maps of the site, approximate, images via Google Maps and the City of Toronto

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 below.

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