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In the heart of Oakville, a rezoning submission for 349 Davis Road has emerged, suggesting a 58-storey, mixed-use building that encompasses residential, office, and retail units. The project, designed by Studio Veronica Madonna Architect and initiated by Powell Insurance Brokers, would be within a 10-minute walk of the Oakville GO station which connects the town to the rest of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).
Following a smaller initial plan from 2022, Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment applications have been resubmitted with the increase in size to 58 storeys. Elements of the plan suggest it is likely submitted as an upzoning exercise for the property as opposed to a fully fleshed-out development proposal.
The site is located on Davis Road at its intersection with the South Service Road, just southeast of the Trafalgar Road and the QEW interchange. Currently, a single-storey brick office building, which serves as the headquarters for Powell Insurance Brokers, occupies the site.
The specifics of the proposal indicate a tower rising from a 5-storey podium with a total height of 182m and 58 storeys. The tower would house 388 residential units, while the podium would contain 682m² of retail area in six units on the ground floor, and 1,470m² of office area in four units in the top of the podium. The plan includes 622 vehicle parking spaces and 400 bicycle parking spaces spread across three floors of above-ground parking hidden in the podium between the ground floor and its uppermost office level, plus six levels of underground garage. Finally, the design includes four residential elevators for the tower floors, which would result in 97 units served by each elevator, indicating short wait times.
The site's location offers easy access to Oakville's transit network, with local bus stops located just 450m away on Trafalgar Road, at the South Service Road, while Oakville GO station is located approximately 800m west of the site, which serves as a significant transit hub for local buses as well as the regional train service.
The earlier plan for this site by the same architect was for a much more modest vision. Created in 2022, presumably before the designation of Major Transit Station Areas in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area that encouraged increased densities within a close radius of GO or subway stations, the design was for a 20-storey tower with two underground parking levels and three above-ground parking levels within the 5-storey podium.
Certain elements of the current proposal stand out, especially when compared to other nearby developments.
In comparison, the three-tower proposals for 166 South Service Road East, 590 Argus Road, and Distrikt Station, located 600m, 450m, and 440m southwest of the site respectively, all propose 58-storey towers as their tallest elements. However, their heights would be 194.00m, 196.50m, and 184.80m respectively, placing 349 Davis Road shorter in comparison.
The unit counts in these proposals range from 1,606 to 1,748 (each with more towers), but specifically the 58-storey tower at 590 Argus Road is proposed to have 660 units. In contrast, the 349 Davis Road proposal of 388 units seems surprisingly low for its height. Combined with other factors, this has led to conjecture on the UrbanToronto Forum about the proposal's primary objective, with it appearing to be an upzoning exercise to potentially increase the land's resale value, as opposed to these renderings representing a ready-to-build proposal.
As Oakville continues its journey of urban transformation, proposals like the one at 349 Davis Road will play an increasing role in shaping its future. The outcome of this proposal remains to be seen, but it undeniably contributes to the ongoing discussions about Oakville's urban development close to its GO station.
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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