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Another proposal has come forward seeking to create high-rise density in areas surrounding the impending Eglinton Line 5 Crosstown LRT, this time coming out of Oakwood Village in Central-West Toronto. The proposal, from Stanford Homes, is seeking approvals for a 36-storey residential development on a site located at the addresses 632-652 Northcliffe Boulevard, just southeast of the intersection of Eglinton Avenue and Dufferin Street. Featuring a design by Toronto-based superkül architects, the tower would deliver 437 new units to an area where development at this scale is only growing more common.
Currently occupying the site are nine single family homes, five of which are detached, and four semi-detached, all of which are proposed to be replaced. The site enjoys a total area of 2,655m² with a 61m frontage along Northcliffe Boulevard, and maintains an irregular shape due to the southeast-angled aspect of the northern lotline. Two school grounds abut the west side of the property. In the surrounding area, the existing buildings that aren’t single family homes are generally tower-in-the-park style, reaching heights of 17 storeys at most.
The site falls within an area under the designation of Apartment Neighbourhood on the City’s Official Plan (OP), making the approval process one step easier, but will also soon benefit from a Major Transit Station Area designation upon the completion of the Eglinton Line 5 in 2023, with Fairbank Station located roughly 300m away, at the corner of Dufferin Street and Eglinton Avenue. Like other stretches of Eglinton Avenue, a number of proposals ranging in height have come forward in the immediate area in response to the promise of the LRT; the tallest proposes 41 storeys.
The design of the project comprises a 5-storey base building and a 31-storey tower to create the complete 36-storey development with a total height of about 121m and a gross floor area (GFA) of 29,089m². The massing of the proposal mimics the shape of the site, incorporating the angled lot line into the built form of the base building and the tower alike, and maximizing the developable area of the site through a design-oriented approach.
Above the brown brick-clad podium, the tower emerges with a contrasting colour profile that features bone-coloured brick, but the two masses are visually differentiated more notably through a series of distinct sawtooth-shaped protrusions running vertically up the tower. Seen on the west and east elevations, the triangular volumes create balcony space at each level and feature a privacy screen on one side that adds another layer of visual interest to the building’s form. The sawtooth motif is also made more prominent by the chamfered corners that are seen at the design’s southwest and southeast corners.
The proposal would offer a total of 1,896m² of amenity space found in two different locations in the development. On level six, the first floor above the base building, residents would enjoy an indoor amenity floor that connects to a wrap-around terrace offering a substantial 840m² outdoor amenity area. Down at the grade level, an additional indoor amenity area occupying the northern corner of the floor is accessed directly from the lobby, while a smaller amenity room in the southwest corner provides access to more outdoor amenity space found wrapping around the non-street fronting greenspace at grade level.
Looking at the unit breakdown, 33% of the 437 total units were designed as 2 or 3-bedroom units in an effort to provide options for families. Five units are proposed as townhouse style homes located at grade, designed specifically with families in mind. These units each feature a private entrance that is accessed through a patio space located along the Northcliffe Boulevard frontage. The remaining 67% of units are listed and single-bedroom, and aside from the townhouses, all units are accessed through the building’s main entrance on Northcliffe Boulevard. Below ground, 3 levels of garage provide a total of 98 vehicle parking spaces and 437 bicycle spaces.
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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