7.1K 
With the Finch West LRT under construction past its Casa Emery Village site at Weston Road and Finch Avenue in northwestern Toronto, Medallion Corporation is seeking higher densities for the remaining phases at the multiphase development. The rental apartment developer has completed three buildings already on this former shopping plaza site in the Emery Village neighbourhood while two more are under construction, but a recent submission to the City appeals for zoning to intensify remaining space steps from the coming Emery stop on the LRT. A sizeable number of units across the development qualify as affordable. IBI Group is the architect of all buildings on the site.
Already completed in the first phase—located in Block 1 in the diagram above—were two 10-storey buildings and a 28-storey tower, with 634 rental units total, of which 348 qualify as affordable. There is 1,183 m² of retail in this phase. Garages with 479 parking spaces are provided for these buildings. The Phase 1 buildings are labeled F, H, and I in the diagram below.
Phase 2, currently under construction on Block 2, includes 2 buildings of 26 storeys and 30 storeys plus a new 466.4 m² community centre in the podium. All 514 rental units in this phase qualify as affordable. The garage in this phase will hold 514 vehicles, 90% of the spaces for residents and 10% for visitors, the same formula as was applied at Phase 1. The Phase 2 buildings are identified as K and J in the diagram above, and are greyed-out in the centre of the image below.
The recent submission seeking more density pertains to blocks 3 and 4 on the half of the site north of Zappacosta Drive, for which the developers are seeking an Official Plan Amendment, and Zoning By-law Amendment from the City. The buildings are indicated in darker grey at the top of the image above.
To the west of a northerly extension of Vena Way, Block 3 would contain a 20-storey building and a 35-storey building (indicated as buildings A and B respectively, three diagrams above) which would frame a POPS (Privately Owned Publicly accessible Space) bringing people into the site from the corner of Finch and Weston, where the Emery LRT station will be located. Grade level retail of 1,202.7 m² would face Weston Road and the POPS. All 687 suites in this phase are market rental suites.
To the east of the Vena Way extension, Block 4 would contain towers of 40, 45, and 55 storeys rising from a shared podium, and bordering the northern and eastern sides of an open space, part POPS, and part park to be dedicated to the City. Across the three towers and podiums would be 1,550 market rental suites on this block.
The exterior design for the Phase 3 and 4 buildings consists of buff brick panels and dark-tinted window walls, with dark grey back-painted spandrel panels.
For Phases 3 and 4, the total gross floor area (GFA) proposed is 156,154 m², with 154,951 m² of residential use. Of the 2,237 rental units, the mix is proposed as 82 studios, 1,264 one-bedrooms, 778 two-bedrooms, and 113 three-bedrooms.
Less than 1 parking space per unit is planned in Phases 3 and 4, as the LRT is expected to lessen the need for driving. Here for the 2,237 total suites, 1,627 parking spaces are planned, for 1,392 residents, 224 for visitors, and 11 for users of the retail spaces.
Once all 4 phases are completed, the final development if built at the scale proposed would consist of 10 buildings containing 3,385 residential units, with 862 of them qualifying as affordable.
Additional information and images—particularly of Phase 2 and its community centre—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 in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | Arcadis, Bousfields, LEA Consulting |
