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As the city develops, Toronto is attempting a delicate balancing act between new density and new public greenspace. A recent proposal for a Tower-in-the-Park site on the west side of Etobicoke attempts to do just that. The design by Diamond Schmitt Architects for Hazelview Investments is looking for rezoning that would allow new four buildings and also bring the expansion of a neighbouring park. The site at 210 Markland Drive is found on the north side of Bloor Street West, west of Mill Road, right across the street from the Markland Wood Golf Club and the boundary with Mississuaga.
The site currently features expansive lawns and some surface parking surrounding a 13-storey slab-style apartment building at its centre. It is part of the Markland Wood neighbourhood and is immediately adjacent to Millwood Park with its baseball diamonds and forest. The site is also transit friendly thanks to the Bloor West 49 TTC bus route that passes by, while MiWay buses also ply Bloor Street for anyone needing transit into or back from Mississauga.
The proposal would bring two development blocks to the site in which there would be four mid-rise buildings added for residential use, two to the southwest of the existing building, and two to the northeast. All four new buildings would be 12 storeys and stand at 46m. Each block would share a driveway. The buildings facing Bloor Street would contain a total of 347m² retail space at ground level. The new buildings would have a total area of 41,902m² and bring the floor space index across the site to 3.37 times.
The four buildings would 564 new units to the site, proposed in a mix of 28 studios (5%), 322 one-bedrooms (57%), 155 two-bedrooms (27%), and 59 three-bedrooms (11%). Amenity space of 1,267m² indoors and 1,235m² outdoors would be assorted around the buildings and would be available to residents of the existing building as well.
There are currently 191 parking spots at the site. As part of the new proposal, the buildings would share an underground garage with two-and-a-half levels, with a total of 546 spaces for the complex. No retail parking would be included in the proposed design. For green commuting without a vehicle, there would be 488 long-term bicycle parking spots and 51 for short-term use.
The buildings onsite would be separated with pedestrian connections and landscaping. A strip about 20m wide across the length of the site from Bloor to Silverthorne Bush Drive is proposed to be added to the west side of Millwood Park, expanding it by 2,610m².
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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