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A proposal submitted to the City of Toronto seeks rezoning and an Official Plan amendment to allow the redevelopment of low-rise commercial buildings at 4884 through 4896 Dundas Street West within Toronto's Islington Village. Rockport Group plans for a 12-storey mixed-use development set to provide retail spaces, new residential units, and incorporation of the existing “Musson House”. The Graziani + Corazza Architects-designed building would reach a height of 48m and offer 225 residential units.
Situated in the southeast corner of the development site is the 2-storey listed heritage building, Musson House. Established in 1880, it was used as Islington’s telephone exchange until 1925. Currently, the building is used for office space. GBCA Architects’ Heritage Impact Statement proposes that the east and south façades be preserved, its red brick restored. The western addition would be demolished, and part of the former west wall replicated, while the northern façade would be removed and that end of the building incorporated into the new development.
The proposal would have a total gross floor area of 21,352m² with 94% dedicated to residential space. The 225 units are proposed in a mix of 12 studios (5%), 100 one-bedrooms (45%), 90 two-bedrooms (40%), and 23 three-bedrooms (10%). Retail space would represent 6% of the building's GFA, located at grade and fronting onto Dundas Street West.
The structure would be like an upturned “C” to fit the site’s asymmetrical shape.
The building would meet Dundas with a 2-storey base, above which would be a 5m stepback wrapping around the heritage structure. Above the 8th storey would be another 3m stepback on the 9th storey. A final 3.5m stepback would be found above the 12th storey, where a mechanical penthouse would rise, also providing some 13th floor space for an indoor amenity. The rooftop would include 322m² of outdoor amenity space with the remainder being green roof.
Another outdoor amenity space of 128m² located at grade facing the rear yard. Total Indoor amenity space is proposed at a total of 659m² (significantly exceeding the bylaw minimum of 2m² per unit which would require 450m²) to better accommodate family living in the building.
Vehicle drop-off, servicing, and an underground garage would be accessed from an existing lane off of Burnhamthorpe Road, with 77 spaces in the garage dedicated to residents' vehicles and 14 more for visitor/commercial spots. Spaces for 169 bicycles are proposed. Islington subway station on Bloor Line 2 is a 750-metre distance from the proposal, about a 9 to 11-minute walk, while Burnhamthorpe 50 buses which stop just to the west of the proposal run right into the station. One stop away, and accessible via the Lambton 50 buses that ply Dundas, Kipling station also offers GO trains, the Airport Rocket bus, and MiWay buses to Mississauga.
We will return as additional information about the project becomes available. In the meantime, project facts and renderings can be found in the 4888 Dundas Street West database file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread or leave a comment using the field provided at the bottom of this page.
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| Related Companies: | Bousfields, Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, Graziani + Corazza Architects, STUDIO tla |
