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As the pressing need for housing intensifies, the City of Toronto continues to seek solutions in partnership with CreateTO, the agency responsible for its real estate assets portfolio. In the city’s upscale Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood at 931 Yonge Street, a resubmitted Zoning By-law Amendment application has resulted in a significant increase in the height of the previous proposal, from 21 to 32 storeys, in response to the site's location just steps from Rosedale subway station.
The site, spanning 835m², currently houses a 7-storey head office for the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), along with a ground-level restaurant. This location at the southeast corner of Yonge Street and Aylmer Avenue, places it within easy reach of the amenities of Yorkville Village, Bloor Street, and the University of Toronto's St George Campus.
Previously, a Zoning By-law Amendment application was submitted in December, 2022 to the City for a Zeidler Architecture-designed 21-storey building with 165 residential units. However, to meet the growing demand for housing in the city while adhering to City Council's mandate to provide a minimum of 33% affordable units, the project has now evolved significantly.
The revised proposal, still a Zeidler design, envisions a mixed-use building offering 250 affordable ownership and market-rate units, a notable increase from the initial 165. The proposed height has increased from 73m to 106m. The total Gross Floor Area (GFA) would be 18,726m², with 18,576m² dedicated to residential GFA. This heightened density reflects the site's proximity not just to Rosedale subway station on Yonge Line 1 across the street, but its location within three PMTSAs, also including Bloor-Yonge and Bay stations on Bloor Line 2.
The design incorporates 226 long-term and 50 short-term bicycle parking spaces, mostly found in the basement level. Vehicular parking spaces are limited to two accessible spots, aligning with the site's proximity to transit.
The addition of a third elevator to accommodate the growing number of residents results in an approximate ratio of one elevator for every 83 units, indicating short waiting times. Additionally, a pet wash area on the ground floor and a pet relief area at the northeast corner of the site have now been integrated into the design.
The project boasts a total of 897m² of amenities. This includes 506m² indoors, featuring amenity rooms on the second, sixth, and mechanical penthouse levels. Residents would also enjoy 391m² of outdoor amenities on the sixth and mechanical penthouse levels.
In response to feedback from City Staff, the proposed tower has been shifted north slightly to provide greater separation between it and the low-rise townhouse blocks to the south, now ensuring a minimum of 10m of separation from them.
The podium height has also been increased from 4 to 5 storeys, to create a streetwall that complements the surrounding urban context. At this height, the podium is intended to maintain a harmonious fit with the townhouses.
931 Yonge Street would stand as a transitional skyline addition between the substantial high-rises of the Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood and the lower buildings to the north. To the south, 906 and 839 Yonge Street are proposed at 40 and 49 storeys, respectively. Further south along Bloor Street, supertall skyscrapers include 1200 Bay Street proposed at 87 storeys, The One currently under construction at 91 storeys, and the proposed 94-storey tower at 19 Bloor Street West (which the City has opposed).
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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| Related Companies: | Bousfields, Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, Zeidler Architecture |
