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Most resubmissions to the City of Toronto for new developments come with an ask for more storeys, but a revised design of 589 Eglinton Avenue East focuses instead on a reworked exterior and a more efficient use of space inside that will bring more residential units.
Designed by TACT Architecture for BayviewEg Investment Corp, this 35-storey mixed-use condominium building on the southeast corner of Eglinton and Mann avenues is set to bring new housing within a two-minute walk of Leaside station on the soon-to-open Eglinton Line 5. As such, the proposal lies within the Leaside Protected Major Transit Station Area (PMTSA) where high densities are required by the Province for redevelopments.
Occupying a 2,679m² site currently home to several residential dwellings, the site is an assembly of properties addressed to 589 through 595 Eglinton Avenue East and 61 through 67 Mann Avenue. The immediate surroundings to the south is home to low-rise residential buildings, while Eglinton and Bayview avenues also boast low-, mid-, and high rise residential and commercial buildings. The site is currently served by seven bus routes leading to Line 1, but the number of bus routes will decrease once Leaside station opens.
The site’s potential for a high-density, mixed-use building emerged from a comprehensive design process, encompassing input from technical consultants, ongoing consultations with City of Toronto planning staff, and Metrolinx representatives. The initial application, pictured below, had 389 residential units and a height of 119.7m. It was submitted in October 2022, and followed by a Community Consultation Meeting in March, 2023. The resubmission now proposes 442 residential units and a slightly taller height of 124.75m, while the number of storeys stays the same.
One of the key changes in the new submission is the building's architectural expression, which has moved away from its previous design featuring curving corners, multiple step-backs, and continuous balconies. The new design adopts a more orthogonal approach with smaller, individual balconies, improving energy efficiency and reducing shadow impacts. The consolidation of two drive aisles into a single service lane and the addition of a 2.5m-wide pedestrian/cyclist walkway along the south side of the site simplifies the site plan while better buffering neighbouring buildings.
Retail Gross Floor Area (GFA) fronting Eglinton Avenue East has slightly decreased from 660m² to 621m², while the residential GFA has seen a modest increase overall to 26,074m². Indoor amenities have expanded from 772m² to 1,208m², and outdoor amenities have been slightly reduced, while being relocated from grade to the second and ninth floors. Along with the increased unit count, another elevator has been added for a total of four, resulting in approximately one elevator for every 111 units, reflecting slightly longer than optimal wait times.
Parking would include 110 resident and 8 visitor motor vehicle spaces across four levels of underground garage, alongside 402 long-term and 44 short-term bicycle parking spots. Unlike the tendency for resubmissions within MTSAs to reduce the number of vehicular parking spaces, this one has added four.
Surrounding proposals provide context for this project's scale, with developments planned to take advantage of the area's improved transit coming with the opening of Eglinton Line 5, also known as the Crosstown LRT. Neighbouring proposals to the west such as 545 and 586 Eglinton Avenue East are set to have 20 storeys with 300 units and 32 storeys housing 249 units respectively. Meanwhile, 1779-1787 Bayview Avenue is proposed at 35 storeys with 428 units, and 1802 Bayview Avenue to the north calls for 46 storeys accommodating 419 units. These developments all indicate a trend towards greater density in the area.
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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