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Woodcliffe Properties has submitted an application to the City of Toronto for the rezoning of a property located at 1196 Yonge Street, just a block north of the iconic North Toronto rail station-turned LCBO. On the northwest corner of Yonge and Birch Avenue in the Summerhill area, approval of the application would permit a 14-storey mixed-use, mostly residential development on the site.
The section of Yonge street surrounding the site boasts an eclectic mix of Victorian and Edwardian era main street commercial buildings, late 20th and early 21st century commercial and residential developments, as well as the landmark, repurposed North Toronto station structures. The 1196 Yonge site itself is an assembly of six properties along Yonge Street — 1196 through 1210 — plus 2 through 8 Birch Avenue. The properties currently have of a mix of low-rise buildings lining Yonge that wrap the corner of Birch.
None of buildings on site are listed on the Toronto Heritage Register, nor designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. In a Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report completed by ERA Architects, the specialist firm concluded that the properties on site are not candidates for designation. The building on the Yonge/Birch corner (pictured below) was, however, assessed by the firm to carry historical value for its association with the event of the 1914-16 regrading of Yonge Street in response to the city-wide grade separation of the Canadian Pacific Rail corridor (which runs just south of the site), but while the building exhibits a few remnant features that express the story of that time, it does not effectively communicate the story on its own, and resultantly, it is not considered a candidate for heritage designation solely on the basis of its associative value. ERA has made the suggestion that the corner building's associative value can be conserved and communicated instead through methods including commemoration and interpretation.
Currently operating within that building, is a restaurant/bar, a café, a barbershop, a flower shop, and a furniture store. There are eight residential rental units above the ground floor commercial uses, six at 2-6 Birch Avenue, and two at 1202 and 1204 Yonge Street.
The developer is proposing to demolish the current 2-4 storey buildings and redevelop the site with a 14-storey mixed-use building designed by KPMB Architects. The ground floor of the proposed building would contain two retail commercial units that would be bisected by a residential lobby entrance centrally located along Yonge Street.
In total, 67 units – 59 condominium and 8 rental replacement – are proposed within the new development. The condo units are proposed on floors 3 to 14, consisting of 13 one-bedroom (22%), 36 two-bedroom (61%), and 10 three-bedroom (17%) suites. The proposal is intended for the higher-end condominium target market and includes larger suites, with only three to seven suites per floor. A total of eight rental replacement units are proposed on the 2nd floor of the building in a mix of 3 studios and 5 two-bedrooms. The building’s total proposed gross floor area is 10,427m².
The proposed amenity spaces consists of a room on the 3rd floor that is contiguous with a balcony along Yonge Street, and a larger indoor/outdoor amenity space on the mechanical/amenity penthouse level, with views facing south and west. It has not yet been decided what activities the amenity spaces would be dedicated to.
A driveway accessed from Birch Avenue accommodates a partially internalized loading space, as well as access to two parking elevators. Below grade would be a 3-level garage with 105 parking spaces, operated by an automatic system. Short-term vehicular parking for pick-up/drop-offs would be accommodated within the loading space, and would be made available during times that do not conflict with the loading activities.
A total of 72 bicycle parking spaces are also proposed including 7 visitor spaces and 61 resident spaces on the mezzanine level, and 4 retail spaces in the rear along the site access driveway.
The site is within walking distance of Summerhill and Rosedale subway stations. There are also buses that run regularly along Yonge Street, 24 hours a day.
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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