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A redevelopment proposal at 61 Brownlow Avenue in Midtown Toronto has changed significantly in a resubmission. Menkes Developments, with a design by Turner Fleischer Architects, have revised their Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Approval applications for this site just to the southwest of the corner of Eglinton and Mount Pleasant, with each iteration bringing more housing that the last.
This site, addressed to 55 through 75 Brownlow Avenue, is about 5,572m² in area and currently contains eight townhouse dwellings and a 15-storey apartment building with 121 units. All buildings on the site would be demolished, and the rental units would be replaced.
Originally proposed as a 384-unit, 35-storey residential building in August, 2021 for just the townhouses site, 61 Brownlow has seen its proposal size increase twice since, both times since adding the apartment site to the south into the assembly.
In the first increase, the developer proposed a three-tower concept in Fall, 2022 once the property was expanded to the south, with two towers of 35 and 40 storeys sharing one podium, and a 45-storey tower rising from its own podium. This version proposed 1,041 new residential units to the site, plus the 121 rental replacement units.
Now, in response to City feedback on the three tower plan, the resubmission consolidates the new build into two 59-storey towers, standing 20 metres apart, each rising to 195.1m from their own podium. The separation between the podiums would allow a future mid-block connection through to Mount Pleasant Road should properties on its west side be redeveloped, while the northern 10% of the assembled site would be set aside as new City parkland, to expand the greenspace available to Eglinton Junior Public School's play field to the immediate north.
A total of 1,559 residential units would be built on the site, 758 in one tower and 801 in the other, a significant increase from the original 384 units. The towers would feature a total of 12 elevators – 5 for each condominium tower and 2 for the rental units – resulting in an average one elevator for every 130 units. The design entails 1,928m² of indoor and 1,540m² of outdoor amenity area. This is similar to the second submission, and a substantial increase from the initial proposal of 788m² total amenities. The amenities would inclued a 929m² daycare facility on the ground floor, reflecting the neighbourhood's family-oriented character. The daycare also includes a dedicated outdoor space.
Two levels of underground parking would provide 235 vehicle spaces, a notable increase from the 69 included in the initial proposal, while 1,561 bicycle parking spaces answers the City's requirement to provide for a greener, more sustainable mode of transportation.
Located just two minutes' walk from the corner of Eglinton and Mount Pleasant, the site is within the Protected Major Transit Station Area of the soon-to-open Mount Pleasant station on Eglinton Line 5, where such densities are encouraged by the Province. Just one station to the west (and also within walking distance of the site) is Eglinton Station on Yonge Line 1, which will feature an interchange with Eglinton Line 5.
The site joins a chorus of many development proposals in the already dense area, including a 35-storey tower proposed immediately to the east at 750 Mt Pleasant Road and a 40-storey tower to the northwest at 191 Eglinton Ave East. To the west, 150 Eglinton East calls for towers standing 49 and 52 storeys, and 141 Roehampton is set to stand at 58 storeys tall. There are several other proposals on neighbouring blocks, which can be found represented by pins on UrbanToronto's Map, each pin linked to a Database file and thread.
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: | EQ Building Performance Inc., Goldberg Group, Grounded Engineering Inc., LEA Consulting, Menkes Developments, o2 Planning and Design, Turner Fleischer Architects |
