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With the Eglinton Line 5 Crosstown LRT and Ontario Line 3 set to hugely boost the connectivity of the Flemingdon Park area of Toronto, Menkes Developments and Forgestone Capital have resubmitted Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment, and Site Plan Approval applications for their multi-tower project at 793 Don Mills Road. The design by Sweeny &Co Architects has increased in density with changes to its parkland and POPS (Privately-Owned Publicly-accessible Space).
Situated just a short walk from the soon-to-open Line 5 Science Centre station at Don Mills and Eglinton, the development's location places it within three Major Transit Station Areas; in addition to Eglinton Line 5, Science Centre will become an interchange station with Ontario Line 3 in about a decade. The two lines bring two other stations within walking distance of this site; Aga Khan Park and Museum station on Eglinton Line 5 will just east of the site, while Flemingdon Park station will be just to the south on Line 3.
The site currently houses the 22-storey Foresters building, which would be retained as part of the project, along with a conference centre and parking structure that would be demolished. The project is planned in phases, with smaller towers to the east to be completed first.
The initial proposal for this site underwent significant revisions following feedback from City staff. The gross floor area (GFA) has been increased from the original 139,068m² to the substantially larger 193,052m² in the revised proposal. The most notable change is in the tower heights. The original plans proposed towers up to 56 storeys and 183m in height. The revised proposal boasts towers rising to 45, 50, 57, and 60 storeys, spanning 152.5m to 202m.
In total, the development aims to house 2,655 residential units, a marked increase from the original 2,263 units. The smallest tower, initially slated to be 22 storeys, has now more than doubled its storey count, emphasizing the developers' ambitious vision. Each tower is designated to have six elevators, translating to approximately one elevator serving every 111 units.
The height of both podiums has been reduced to six storeys. The two taller towers to the west would share one podium, while the shorter towers share another. The podiums' indoor amenity area has been expanded from the original 1,132m² to 4,499m², while the outdoor amenity area has grown from 2,401m² to 3,531m².
The dedicated parkland, proposed to cover an area of 1,520m², has been relocated to the northwest. It would be adjacent to the POPS, spanning an area of 553m². The underground parking has been relocated to accommodate the parkland. (The City resists accepting parkland with garages below; every 30-40 years or so, the tops of underground garages must be replaced, so park greenery is lost in those circumstances.)
The taller towers are designed with five levels of underground garage, while the shorter towers would have four levels. The entire development is set to accommodate 1,103 vehicle parking spaces, a slight reduction from the original 1,214 spaces. Of these, 472 are reserved for residents, and 631 for visitors and non-residential purposes. In addition, provisions have been made for 2,700 bicycle parking spaces, a significant increase from the original 2,264 spaces. Of these, 2,390 are for residential long-term use, 310 for short-term, with 359 equipped for EV bicycles.
Surrounding the development, the area is bustling with multi-tower activity as developers capitalize on the Major Transit Station Area designations. To the south, the three towers proposed at 7-11 Rochefort Drive would span 30 to 46 storeys, while to the north, the proposal for 805 Don Mills Road would feature two buildings consisting of 26 and 48 storeys. Meanwhile, just west of the site, 770 Don Mills Road is set to have three towers ranging from 37 to 48 storeys. Meanwhile, as holdovers from the late 20th century, a subdivision of two-storey single-family homes is located immediately across Ferrand Drive to the east.
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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