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Examining the renderings for CentreCourt’s newest Toronto proposal, the 39-storey condo tower designed by BDP Quadrangle is nearly indistinguishable among a collection of tower proposals sprouting from the area between Bloor Street West and Dundas Street West, just west of Kipling Avenue. Reaching a height of 131m and offering a total of 405 residential units, the proposed development at 5 Jopling Avenue South is one of several towers on a list of proposals that continues to grow as intensification marches forward in Etobicoke Centre. How exactly this high-rise reality came to be in the City’s western reaches is a policy story that has been unfolding for the last 2 years.
In June of 2020, the Province announced changes to the planning policies outlined in A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (the Growth Plan). The changes included a new set of guidelines for development in areas located within a 10 minute walk from a higher order transit station; these areas are referred to as Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs). In essence, the new guidelines were designed to ensure that a minimum density standard could be established for the areas surrounding transit stations, and the impact of this policy change is already being experienced, with countless proposals coming forward in transit-connected areas across the city. The dramatic increase in proposals in Etobicoke Centre stands as an example of this, as developers hope to intensify the lands surrounding Kipling Station, a major transit hub providing service to the TTC, GO Transit, and MiWay.
Looking more closely at the CentreCourt development, the site has a total area of 1,581m² and is currently occupied by three single family homes that span the majority of the 48m frontage along Jopling Avenue South, separated from Bloor Street by one property with a single-storey strip plaza on it. The proposal occupies most of the area of the generally rectangular site, incorporating the slight angle from the northwest corner to the northeast corner into the design to maximize area while adding formal nuance. The design consists of a 6-storey (plus mezzanine) podium with a step-back above the fourth level, and a 33-storey tower built on top.
Balconies define the majority of the external massing, protruding out of three of the building’s four elevations with gaps between each unit and what appears to be simple glass guards. The north elevation of the building has no balconies, and is instead clad with a precast facade made up of five strips of different widths that run the entire height of the elevation, with slot windows between them. The strips are interrupted at every floor, creating a pattern of squares and rectangles with tonal variation from white to shades of grey to create a randomly pixelated effect.
Working with Land Art Design Landscape Architects Inc, the proposal seeks to make significant improvements to the site’s public realm that begin with addressing the lack of a pedestrian sidewalk on Jopling. The bulk of the landscaping work would be done along the Jopling Avenue frontage, with decorative pavers selected to create a sidewalk that works with a network of benches, trees, and native foliage to foster a pleasant pedestrian experience on the street. Land Art Design also presides over the landscaping of the outdoor amenity space on the podium roof at the seventh storey, delivering a practical shared space with facilities for pet relief, children play, and social gathering around tables and seating. The remainder of the development’s 1,013m² of total amenity space is found inside, on the third and fourth floors.
Along with the residential lobby facing Jopling Avenue, three townhouse units have direct access from the street. The breakdown for the 405 units outlines 73% of the total count split between studio and single bedroom layouts, while 2 and 3-bedroom layouts account for 16% and 11% respectively. Collectively, the units add up to a total of 27,405m² of residential floor space area.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this 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: | BDP Quadrangle, Bousfields, EQ Building Performance Inc., Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, Land Art Design Landscape Architects Inc |
