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On the southeast corner of Markham and Ellesmere roads in Scarborough, the site of 1151 Markham Road has recently seen a Zoning By-Law Amendment application submitted to the City of Toronto by the Lash Group Of Companies. Proposed by the developer is a 44-storey building designed by Turner Fleischer Architects that would be comprised of 440 residential units and 223m² of retail gross floor area located next to a planned stop on the Durham-Scarborough Bus Rapid Transit (DSBRT) corridor.
The site is currently occupied by a single-storey commercial building and its associated surface parking lot, which is being used as a presentation and sales centre for the company's multi-phase ME Living condominium development currently mid-construction at the south end of the same block.
The new proposal comprises a total of 31,349m² of gross floor area, resulting in a density of approximately 15.89 times the area of the lot. According to its architects, the eight-storey-tall podium of the proposed building has been designed to achieve an "appropriately scaled street wall condition" with a "unique base building design" that features a rounded corner, with a step-back above the sixth storey.
The tower element of the proposal runs from level 9 to 44, plus its mechanical penthouse. The curved wall at the northwest corner of the building continues from the base of the building, remaining constant throughout the tower's rise to the very top. The architects suggest this provides for unique architecture which gives emphasis to the intersection.
The residential lobby would be accessed via Ellesmere Road on the north side of the building. The ground floor would also be the home of a mail/parcel room, retail and residential garbage rooms, stairwells, and bicycle storage.
Above the ground floor, all levels with the exception of Levels 2, 9 and 38 have been designed to exclusively with residential units. A total of 440 units are proposed in a mix of 305 one-bedrooms (69%), 88 two-bedrooms (20%), and 47 three-bedrooms (11%).
Level 2 would include indoor amenity space and bicycle storage, while Level 9 would exclusively offer both indoor and outdoor amenity, and Level 38 would be used for indoor and outdoor amenity space in addition to residential units. There is a total of 1,760m² of residential amenity space proposed, 1,497m² of it interior and 263m² of it exterior. The programming of the amenity areas has not yet been decided on.
There would be four levels of below-grade parking beneath the building. The parking garage would have a total of 149 spaces, 147 of which would be reserved for residential units, and two of which would be provided for retail parking. A total of 367 bicycle parking spaces are also proposed, of which 324 are proposed for long-term use and 43 spaces are proposed for short-term use.
The proposal for the new development also includes new STUDIO tla-appointed landscaping and streetscape improvements at grade along Markham and Ellesmere roads, and would expand the proposed 823m² public park next door to the east through an on-site dedication of around 72m².
The site is located approximately two kilometres east of the McCowan RT station located on TTC Line 3, while bus routes ply both Ellesmere and Markham roads. The RT station will be closed by the time this building could be built, but work is underway on the Scarborough Subway Extension to replace it with a Line 2 station, opening around 2029-2030.At the same time, plans are advancing for a Bus Rapid Transit line along Ellesmere Road between Scarborough Town Centre and the cities of Durham Region to the east, which would have a stop located beside this proposal.
More information on the 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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| Related Companies: | Bousfields, EQ Building Performance Inc., Jablonsky, Ast and Partners, LEA Consulting, STUDIO tla, Turner Fleischer Architects |
