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With Toronto City Council’s approval of the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendments, the city’s first entirely live/work purpose-built rental building is coming to 888 Dupont on the northeast corner of Ossington Avenue and Dupont Street. Intended to create an entirely new product type with modern amenities that flexibly address housing and work needs under one roof, the redevelopment by TAS is also intended by the developer to pay tribute to the rich heritage of diverse uses on this site.
Designed by Suulin Architects and ZAS Architects, the development's exterior will be uniquely presented in a multi-toned green powder coated aluminum cladding, fitted with balconies in an irregular pattern.
As an entirely purpose-built rental, 888 Dupont will offer 155 units over 14 storeys, with every suite having the flexibility to operate as a live-work space for anyone, including entrepreneurs, creatives, and individuals. The suites will combine workspace with your living quarters so you have the capability of working and operating your business from home, with a dedicated space for your work that can be configured as an office, therapeutic, or other practice, or a creative studio for making and selling your work.
Additionally, 10% of the building's units have been designated to be affordable, translating to 20 affordable live-work units. “WoodGreen Community Services is pleased to partner with TAS to provide affordable units,” said Mwarigha, Vice President Housing and Homelessness Services at WoodGreen Community Services. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with TAS to find new ways to tackle our city’s affordable housing challenges.”
The development will also include ground-floor adaptable multi-use spaces for gatherings, exhibits, and markets. Akin, a Toronto-based arts organization that provides creative studio space as well as arts-based programming and a leader in the local creative community, welcomed the inclusion of these flexible, much-needed spaces.
“We appreciate TAS’ commitment to redeveloping 888 Dupont Street as a location where the creative community can continue to live and work together at this site,” said Oliver Pauk, Director at Akin. Creative co-working spaces, lounge areas, small-scale retail, and a cafe are being considered for at-grade programming.
Improvements to the local streetscape and urban life will also be part of the new development's landscaping. Designed by gh3, they will include the creation of wider sidewalks and new open spaces along both Dupont and Ossington, as well as the preservation and relocation of the existing chimney stack (seen above) to a more prominent location along Ossington Avenue, as overseen by ERA Architects.
“TAS is committed to honour and expand the creative energy and vibrant mix of uses historically found along the Dupont Corridor, and at 888 Dupont Street, creating the conditions for over a hundred creative professionals, artists, and entrepreneurs to live, work and connect under one roof,” said Mazyar Mortazavi, President and CEO of TAS.
The new environmentally sustainable building will offer 166,850 ft² of combined residential and commercial area, and will aim to achieve Toronto Green Standards v3 Tier 2. Active transportation will be encouraged through robust infrastructure for cyclists that will include 174 bicycle parking spots, as well as car-sharing opportunities.
The development is expected to be completed by 2026.
We will continue to follow progress on the development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, 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: | Blackwell, Bousfields, gh3, HGC Noise Vibration Acoustics, Quasar Consulting Group, TAS, Vortex Fire Consulting Inc. |
