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Nearly two years ago, Parallax Investment Corporation submitted a Zoning By-law Amendment to the City of Toronto for a pair of 21- and 23-storey towers designed by IBI Group, containing 634 condominium units on assembled properties at 63 through 91 Montclair Avenue in Forest Hill. Fast forward to today, and a new Site Plan Approval application for the project – now named South Forest Hill Residences – has arrived on the City's desk following a settlement on the zoning.
Parallax appealed the lack of a decision by the City to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal in December, 2020, and following that time met with the Planning Department, a local ratepayers association, and neighbouring condo corporations, to work out a revised proposal. This February, City Council adopted a recommendation from Planning staff to support the revised plan at the now renamed Ontario Land Tribunal hearing, where the new plan was ratified on April 12.
The settlement drops the height of the towers from 80 and 74 metres to 68.4 and 65.4 metres, and from 23 and 21 storeys to 19 and 18. There was also a reduction in podium height, from 8 storeys to 5, with sculpting appearing on the north side of the podium to reduce its bulk, along with the removal of a western 5-storey podium element altogether. The settlement also decreases the unit count by nearly 200 units, from 634 to 474. A minimum of 10% of the total units will be three-bedroom suites and 20% will be two-bedroom suites. Along with the unit decrease the number of parking spaces has been cut down from 205 to 155.
At grade, facing Bantry Avenue on the south side of the complex, residential units and terraces at the southeast corner have been replaced with indoor and outdoor residential amenity uses, in an effort to consolidate the amenity spaces while addressing livability concerns of units facing Bantry Avenue that had limited glazing.
The amenities of the development are to be appointed by Figure3, and would include a family room, gym, and linear dog run.The newly proposed indoor amenity space is contiguous with the outdoor amenity space. On the roof of the central podium, an outdoor amenity space will be provided. This space has been programmed as a passive garden area for residents of the building, and will not be contiguous with any indoor amenity space as the intent by IBI is to promote quiet use of the space, as opposed to overflow indoor space.
The development will also now include a Land Art Design-appointed POPS along the westerly side of the building to provide a pedestrian connection between Montclair Avenue and the public portion of Lower Village Gate, as well as increased setbacks at the ground level to provide for an enhanced public realm for residents.
More information on this development will come soon, 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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