10K 
An ambitious plan for a 4-tower residential project has been submitted to the City of Toronto by Menkes Developments and Forgestone Capital that would see over 2,000 units introduced into North York. The project could become the largest in the Flemingdon Park area, with the tallest tower soaring 56 storeys, reaching a height of 183 m. The other 3 towers reach heights of 49, 45, and 22 storeys.
Sweeny &Co Architects have been hired for the design, while NAK Design Group and Goldberg Group have been selected to preside over landscape design and planning respectively. On July 29, Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment, and Site Plan Approval applications were sent to the City, all of which must be approved before the giant project can go forward.
Currently designated as Mixed-Use Area in the Official Plan, the applications intend to highlight the need to update the parameters of that designation based on the growing importance of this area. With significant public transit infrastructure improvements reaching completion as early as next year, the site will eventually be within walking distance of three major transit hubs: Science Centre station and the Aga Khan Park stop on Eglinton Line 5, and within a decade, the Flemingdon Park station on the Ontario Line 3.
The site is bordered by Don Mills Road to the west, Rochefort Drive to the south, Ferrand Drive to the east, and Sonic Way to the north.The site is also bisected in the middle by Foresters Lane, a private street running north-south providing access to parking areas. Currently occupying the site on the west side of Foresters Lane are three structures, the 22-storey Foresters building (789 Don Mills) at the southwest corner, which the project intends to maintain, a single-storey conference centre at the northwest corner (793 Don Mills), and a 4-storey parking structure that spans the majority of the east frontage along Foresters Lane. East of Foresters Lane, the site of 10 Ferrand Drive is currently occupied by a surface parking lot that serves those working in the Foresters building.
The development project hopes to proceed through a phased approach. Phase 1 would see the demolition of the conference centre, and the construction of a 2,300m² POPS (Privately Owned Publicly accessible Space) in its place, directly connected to public sidewalks, with seating and pet areas. Phase 2 would see the demolition of the existing 4-storey parking structure. In its place, 59- and 49-storey towers would be constructed above a shared podium that stands 4 and 11 storeys high at different points. Phase 3 would see the construction of 45- and 22-storey towers built above another shared podium reaching heights between 2 and 8 storeys. Phase 3 occupies most of the site of 10 Rochefort Drive, the easternmost portion of which would become a public park that spans the frontage along Ferrand Drive.
The project hopes to bring a sizeable total of 2,263 new dwelling units to the area, which the proponents argue is well serviced to accommodate this dramatic increase. The breakdown of the units is dominated by various single bedroom options, with 129 studios, and another 1,608 units labeled as one-bedroom or one-bedroom-plus-den. The proposal promises another 318 two-bedroom units, and 208 three-bedroom units. All of this is achieved while narrowly meeting the minimum 25m separation distance between towers, with the shortest distance, between the Phase 3 towers, measuring out to 25.4m.
The proposal offers a total of 2,401m² outdoor amenity space and 1,131.5m² indoor amenity space. The two podiums are intended to house these spaces at different levels.The western podium for example, has outdoor amenity space designated on the roof of the fourth storey, while indoor areas like change rooms and kitchens are already indicated in the eastern podium’s architectural plans. No further details exist at this point, however, for what specific amenities will be constructed.
The podiums also accommodate the parking requirements for the proposal. The western podium contains 4 levels of parking above ground and 4 below, while the eastern podium contains 2 levels below ground and 1 at ground level. Together, the podiums contribute to a total of 1,214 parking spaces, 640 of which are non residential, leaving 574 spaces for residents. Conversely, the proposal offers 2,264 bicycle parking spaces, with the minimum 15% met for EV bicycle parking, suggesting a focus on encouraging use of the advanced networks of cycling trails and public transit the area has access to.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow updates for this development, 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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