The advent of the Finch West LRT is set to redefine urban mobility and is already spurring development along its corridor in Toronto’s northwest. Located 700m south of the LRT's Weston Road stop in Toronto's Humbermede—Emery Park neighbourhood, the proposed Montaje Condos from iKore Developments has undergone refinement through the planning. Now, with resubmitted Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Approval applications recently approved by Toronto City Council, the HCA Architecture-designed building is poised to rise 14 storeys.

Looking northwest to Montaje Condos, designed by HCA Architecture for iKore Developments

The site at 3350 Weston Road south of Lanyard Road occupies a distinctive triangular parcel of approximately 1.3 hectares in area. At its north end it houses the one-storey Weston Road Pentecostal Church that is to remain operating, along with its driveway entrance and sections of its existing parking in the middle of the site. Bordered by vegetation of the Humber River valley and the verdant Emery Creek corridor, the site has a varied topography. It is flanked by residential and natural landscapes to the east and south.

Looking northwest to the current site, image from Google Maps

The journey from concept to its final iteration started with its April, 2022 submission envisioned as a 17-storey tower. The project has navigated through the City's feedback and community consultations to arrive at its present form. Despite the reduction in height, it saw increases in Gross Floor Area (GFA) from 11,460m² to 13,327m², and finally 15,268m². With its third submission, the Zoning By-law Amendment application from October, 2023 proposed a 14-storey building reaching 54m in height and containing 190 residential units, with additional amenity space on the mechanical penthouse level.

Previous design, designed by HCA Architecture for iKore Developments

The proposal included 483m² of indoor amenity space and 427m² of outdoor amenity space, found on the ground floor and at the rooftop beside the mechanical penthouse. With two elevators, the building would have one elevator for every 95 units, meaning reasonable wait times on average.

Site plan for third submission in January 2023, designed by HCA Architecture for iKore Developments

The parking design is a response to the challenges of the site. Due to significant changes in grade and the presence of high groundwater levels, underground parking solutions are unfeasible, so it is to be integrated within the building's podium levels, accommodating a total of 153 vehicular spaces. Of these, 41 parking spots would be provided on the lower ground floor and surface level to replace the surface parking for the church. For cyclists, plans include 145 bicycle parking spaces on the mezzanine floor and lower ground level. This approach, while unconventional, was developed in collaboration with City staff to ensure that the above-grade parking structure was integrated into the building, wrapped by residential units to mitigate its visual impact from the public realm along Weston Road.

The site is served by the Weston Road TTC bus route, but before this building will be built, the bus will connect, as noted above, to the Finch West LRT and the Weston Road-Emery stop, about 700m north of the site, placing the site within the stop's Major Transit Station Area. For cyclists, the area is well-served by bicycle paths including a major off-road paved trail along the Humber River.

An aerial view of the site and surrounding area, image from submission to City of Toronto

The development is part of a broader trend of urban development in the area, with nearby proposals ranging from 12 to 55 storeys. These include a 12-storey building at 3406-3434 Weston Road, and a 30-storey tower at 2405 Finch Avenue West to the north. On the north side of Finch Avenue West, a trio of buildings proposed at 19 Toryork Drive would peak at 38 storeys. Southeast of Finch and Weston Road, Casa Emery Village is a growing complex of rental towers stretching from 20 to 55 storeys.

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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