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The future Ontario Line 3, now under construction, is bringing with it several Transit-Oriented Community (TOC) plans at stations along the line, with Infrastructure Ontario aiming to add hundreds of housing units at most. UrbanToronto has delved into various TOC initiatives along the coming subway line, including on Eastern Avenue, and at Thorncliffe Park, Gerrard-Carlaw, Cosburn, Pape, and most recently Exhibition stations. Two stops east of the latter will be Queen-Spadina station, with its TOC sites kitty-corner from each other in the Queen West neighbourhood.
The Queen-Spadina TOC sites are the North Site at 378 Queen Street West on the east side of Spadina Avenue, and an assembly of five properties for the South Site at 433 through 455 Queen Street West on the west side of Spadina. The North Site, measuring 975m² in area, and South Site, spanning 1,588m², have until recently housed a mix of two-to-three-storey commercial and residential buildings.
The surrounding area is a mosaic of diverse neighbourhoods such as Alexandra Park, The Grange, Kensington, and Chinatown, each with its own unique cultural and architectural identity. This portion of Queen Street West, with new buildings subject to a Heritage Conservation District (HCD) bylaw, sets the stage for the TOC's integration into the community.
Conceptually designed by SvN for Infrastructure Ontario, the North Site proposal calls for a 17-storey (59.24m) residential building, aiming to add 95 units to the neighbourhood, as seen in the first image in this article, and immediately below. The design incorporates a three-storey heritage base building which is being partially preserved and partially reconstituted to improve accessibility and pedestrian flow. At grade, it will have a residential lobby at the north end, and a station entrance at the south end. Above, the tower is intended to harmonize with the mid-rise character of Spadina Avenue and the low-rises of the Queen Street West HCD. The building would offer 6,662m² of Gross Floor Area (GFA), including 507m² of indoor and 239m² of outdoor amenities.
With two elevators, the design would result in one elevator per approximately 48 units, indicating short wait times. There are no provisions for motor vehicle parking at this TOC site, while 84 long-term and 12 short-term bicycle parking spaces, alongside 53 bike share spots, will be housed within two underground levels that connect directly to the residential building and the station.
The South Site’s design introduces a 15-storey (52.67m) mixed-use building, blending 122 residential units with ground-level retail spaces. Totalling 9,936m² of GFA, the plans include 8,024m² of residential space and 1,912m² of retail. There would be a three-storey base that accommodates both the station entrance and commercial spaces, topped by residential levels. The design boasts a GFA of 9,936m², divided into 8,024m² of residential area and 1,912m² for retail, along with 252m² of indoor and 241m² of outdoor amenities.
Like the North Site, the South Site’s design allocates two elevators, or one for every 61 units, also indicating short wait times, and includes 114 resident and 14 visitor bicycle spaces, 8 non-residential spots, and 39 long-term transit spots, alongside 53 bike share spaces. There would be no vehicular parking spots in the two underground levels.
While benefitting from the connectivity offered by the upcoming Queen-Spadina station on the Ontario Line 3, the intersection is already served by the 510 Spadina and 501 Queen streetcar lines.
Surrounding development activity in the surrounding blocks is at a variety of scales. The application notes that recent and approved proposals, further from the Queen Street West HCD, have generally been taller than what is proposed here, while properties closer to the HCD have typically veered more towards low- and mid-rise forms. To the northwest, a small 6-storey infill structure is proposed at 7 Vanauley Street, while a stale submission at 170 Spadina Avenue from before the Ontario Line was proposed calls for a 12-storey building. Meanwhile, 450 and 457 Richmond Street West, along with 8 Camden Street, are each proposed to rise to 19 storeys, Notably, 147 Spadina Avenue is slated for a 24-storey development, standing as one of the taller proposals in the immediate 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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| Related Companies: | HDR, SvN |
