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A public-private plan to introduce condominiums and affordable housing to the disused Runnymede Quarry Lands in Scarborough has been revised since the initial development application was submitted to the City of Toronto in December, 2019. The site at 411 Victoria Park Avenue was targeted for redevelopment in 2017 by CreateTO, the City’s real estate arm, who selected private developer Diamond Kilmer as a partner in carrying out a multi-building vision for the brownfield property.
Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment, and Draft Plan of Subdivision applications were filed with the City in late 2019, detailing a masterplanned project supporting a range of housing options, unit types, and public spaces. Two new public roads and five development blocks with a mix of mid-rise apartments and townhouses were proposed.
Amendments made to the master plan, as detailed in the August resubmission, adjust the building types and forms and include refinements to the proposed street and block design. The changes are a result of feedback from City staff.
The identification of additional sewer capacity following a recent City-initiated environmental assessment in the area has allowed the TACT Architecture-designed development to expand in scope, with an additional mid-rise building proposed. The total unit count, gross floor area, and affordable housing component have also been boosted accordingly.
Originally containing 798 units, the revised plan now envisions 1,043 residences, including 80 townhouses arranged in stacked and back-to-back formats. The masterplan now calls for 866 market and 177 affordable units, an increase from the 654 and 144 units previously conceived.
A total of 58 affordable townhouse units, to be constructed and sold by Habitat for Humanity, would be provided within Block 4 of the development. Block 5 will be dedicated to the City or CreateTO for an eight-storey affordable rental building containing 119 units.
The neighbourhood will be arranged around a network of pedestrian paths and 2.37 hectares of public parkland, which has been shifted to increase parkland frontage onto the new east-west public street and away from the rail corridor to the north.
The eastern half of the site has been altered to replace a townhouse block with parkland. At the northeast corner of the site, parkland that had been proposed would now be the location of the eight-storey rental building.
A 10-storey building slated along Victoria Park has increased to 12 storeys, with additional step-backs proposed. The mid-rise building proposed on the adjacent block has been split into two eight- and nine-storey buildings, and another mid-rise proposed further east now sports C-shaped massing.
Other modifications to the masterplan include a reconfiguration of the new east-west public street, which would now terminate in a cul-de-sac at the northeast corner of the site.
The revised masterplan contemplates a total of 74,104 m² of residential gross floor area and 381 m² of retail space. A total of 689 vehicular parking spaces would be provided on the surface and underground, with 1,048 bicycle parking spaces also planned.
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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