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Downtown Toronto's concentrated height peak continues to creep eastward as high-rise proposals are slowly filling up low-rise and vacant lots along the Church, Jarvis, and Sherbourne corridors. Generally regarded as a low-income area dotted with historic mansions and low-rise apartment buildings with a spattering of mid-century apartment blocks, the shoulder area east of the Yonge corridor is now subject to an increasing amount of high-rise developments looking to capitalize on available land in close proximity to the core. The latest proposal for Downtown East is from NJS Capital and seeks to build a 49-storey residential tower at 383 Sherbourne Street, just north of Carlton Street.
The proposal would replace two existing 4-storey residential buildings on the site, both of which were constructed in 1927. The north building at 387 Sherbourne currently sits vacant due to a fire in 2017, and an engineering report from 2020 recommended demolition of the building due to structural damage beyond repair. The site is located within the Cabbagetown Northwest Heritage Conservation District, therefore the two buildings are designated heritage under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act.
The new development was submitted for rezoning approval in late July, 2021 and is designed by IBI Group. Rising 49 storeys to a height of 154.5 metres, the proposal retains the facades of the two existing buildings, which together would form part of the 4-storey podium. The building contains 32 rental replacement units, 44 additional market rental units, and 407 market condo units, bringing the total of residential units proposed to 483. No retail or commercial space is contained within the building.
The tower is designed as a simple rectangular volume with a recessed central portion on the east and west facades. A grid aesthetic defines the architectural expression; renderings depict the cladding as white, but materials have not yet been chosen and so are subject to change.
Amenity spaces are located on the 5th, 6th, 25th, and 26th floors, with the upper amenity spaces housed in a distinct volume that is offset from the rectangular tower, cantilevering out on the north side of the building and featuring different cladding to distinguish it along the tower's height.
The unit mix contains 90 studios (19%), 290 one-bedrooms (60%), 62 two-bedrooms (13%), and 41 three-bedrooms (8%). A total of 92 parking spaces and 485 bicycle parking spaces are provided on four underground levels. Given the size of the site, no POPS nor parkland dedication is provided, but an existing path connecting the property east to Bleecker Street would be retained and improved as part of the development.
We will keep you updated as the project continues to make its way through the planning process, but in the meantime, you can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like, 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: | Arcadis, EQ Building Performance Inc., Ferris + Associates Inc., LEA Consulting, MHBC Planning |
