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With early stage construction of Ontario Line 3 now underway, UrbanToronto continues to highlight the plans for Transit-Oriented Communities (TOCs) at stations along its route. These TOCs are intended to leverage the new accessibility these sites will boast, as seen in our coverage of TOCs on Eastern Avenue at East Harbour station, and at Thorncliffe Park, Gerrard-Carlaw, Cosburn, and Pape stations. Today, we turn our attention to the Corktown neighbourhood on the east side of Downtown Toronto, with concept designs by SvN for Infrastructure Ontario.
This TOC is split by Front Street into the North Site at 383 King Street East, and South Site at 265 through 271 Front Street East. The former is an assembly of three properties spanning 8,643m², recently home to a mix of commercial entities, including a car dealership and a Staples office supply store, alongside parking spaces. Meanwhile, the South Site, an assembly of four properties, covers an area of 12,472m² and was recently occupied by low-rise commercial buildings, including a car dealership and a car wash, alongside parking facilities.
The redevelopment plans would continue the revitalization the King-Parliament area that began under the Two Kings plan which was approved when Barbara Hall was Mayor of Toronto, which introduced residential land use in with the commercial land uses which were prevalent at the time.
The North Site’s redevelopment plan envisions two main structures: one 46-storey (152.3m) tower paired with an 8-storey mid-rise segment, and another 46-storey (165.1m) tower complemented by a 12-storey (54.5m) mid-rise component. Collectively, these buildings are designed to house 840 residential units, with a residential Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 65,258m², complemented by 1,738m² of retail space and 26,996m² dedicated to office use. There would be five elevators for the non-residential spaces, and eight for the residential towers, resulting in one elevator for every 105 units.
Provisions include 1,850m² for indoor and 1,749m² for outdoor amenities. Three levels of underground garage would house 271 parking spaces, including 164 for residents. These would be complemented by 871 long-term and 117 short-term bicycle spaces, in addition to 75 long-term and 72 short-term non-residential spots. The main entrance to the new subway station would also be on this site.
South of Front Street, the proposal includes residential towers standing at 25 (105.2m) and 46 (151.95m) storeys, as well as a 24-storey (88.35m) office building and 10-storey (42.6m) building noted as institutional, but not specified further in the plan. These structures are set to deliver 740 residential units, with eight elevators for residents resulting in approximately one for every 93 units, in addition to 12 elevators for the non-residential towers.
Along with 60,129m² of residential GFA, there would be 42,281m² of office area, 2,441m² for retail, and 2,367m² designated institutional. The plan also incorporates 1,486m² of indoor and 1,511m² of outdoor amenities.
In addition to one level of underground garage, the plans call for two levels of above-grade parking on the east building’s second and third floors, with 297 total spaces, including 116 for residents. There would be 666 long-term and 74 short-term residential bicycle spots, in addition to 75 long-term and 72 short-term for non-residential use.
Corktown station at King and Berkeley streets will provide the ultimate in connectivity here when the Ontario Line opens. A 15.5km higher-order transit line designed to enhance connectivity between Don Mills and Liberty Village via Downtown, it will have 15 stations and interchange with Yonge Line 1, Univeristy Line 1, Bloor Line 2, the GO Lakeshore West line, and the GO Lakeshore East and Stouffville lines. Meanwhile, the site is already served by the 504 King streetcar and the 65 Parliament bus.
In the block surrounding this site, the supporting documentation notes that existing towers typically range from 20 to 30 storeys while planned projects point to a taller towers. For instance, King East Centre at 333-351 King Street East plans to introduce towers of 28 and 39 storeys. Further west, Bauhaus Condos and Grainger are both under construction, reaching 32 and 40 storeys respectively. A proposal at 296 King Street East aims to add a 42-storey tower to the skyline, and Allure at 250 King Street East is poised to stand at 43 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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| Related Companies: | HDR, SvN |
