Novi Properties has submitted a Zoning By-law Amendment application to the City of Toronto to develop a property along Bayview Avenue north of Finch in Willowdale. The proposal at 10 Ruddington Drive would construct two new residential mid-rises on either side of an existing Tower-in-the-Park style apartment block, adding over new 300 housing units to the site.

Bayview Building – West Elevation. Image courtesy of Studio AC.

The site is a 1.4 hectare parcel of land located on the northeast corner of Ruddington Drive and Bayview Avenue. It is currently occupied by a 13-storey, 155-unit, 1960s rental apartment building with a surface parking lot and plenty of unprogrammed open space. The property is immediately south of a wide hydro corridor which features a walking and cycling path that connects with the ravine parks of the Don River and its tributaries. In the vicinity are various other parks, and an eclectic pattern of development along Bayview Avenue, which consists of shopping centres, institutional uses, and residential of similar height and massing, with low-rise neighbourhoods dominating further from Bayview.

Aerial Photo showing the subject site and identifying the existing 13-storey building. Image courtesy of Googlemaps.

Designed by StudioAC, the proposed infill development introduces a 14-storey purpose built rental building fronting on Bayview Avenue and a 10-storey residential condominium building oriented along Ruddington Drive.

The total gross floor area (GFA) of the rectangular Bayview building is 14,465 m², with another 10,587 m² in the curved Ruddington building. Including the residential GFA of the existing building, the resulting density for the whole property would be 2.88 FSI (Floor Space Index).

The separation distance between the existing building and the Bayview and Ruddington buildings is approximately 40.76 metres, and 12.5 metres, respectively, although the existing building and Ruddington building are offset from each other so that no windows 12.5 metres apart would be facing each other. A 651 m² parkland dedication is proposed just to the north of the Ruddington building, bordering on the hydro corridor. It constitutes an improvement to the site and will allow for new recreation space for the existing residents on site and in the area.

Landscape Plan. Image courtesy of Studia TLA.

A total of 309 new dwelling units are proposed. The Bayview building comprises 182 purpose-built rental units: 69 one-bedrooms (38%), 93 two-bedrooms (51%), and 20 three-bedrooms (11%). The Ruddington building brings 127 new residential condos, of which nine are townhouse style units, in a mix that includes 51 one-bedrooms (40%), 52 two-bedrooms (41%), and 24 three-bedrooms (19%).

The western face of the Bayview building provides a number of step-backs: at the 8th and 9th floor the building face has triangular insets to break up the building’s massing and provide visual interest; a 2.9 metre set back is provided above the 9th floor, an additional 4.0 metre set back above the 13th floor.

Bayview Building – East-West Section. Image courtesy of Studio AC.

Both buildings incorporate indoor amenity space. At the rooftop levels are contiguous indoor and outdoor amenity spaces, as well as the mechanical penthouse.

Each building provides two levels of below-grade parking: 135 vehicular parking spaces for the Bayview building, and 89 for the Ruddington building.

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.

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Related Companies:  Bousfields, Counterpoint Engineering, STUDIO tla