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Like every municipality in the Greater Toronto Area, Oakville is transforming from a traditionally low-rise suburb into a denser urban sub-centre. Right in the centre of Oakville where Trafalgar Road crosses the QEW, and a short walk from Oakville GO station, is a proposal at 157 Cross Avenue. Designed by Teeple Architects for Distrikt Group, this ambitious 45- and 61-storey mixed-use, two-tower project is part of a wave of multi-tower high-rise proposals by Distrikt Group in the immediate area.
The site is an assembly of two commercial properties,157 and 165 Cross Avenue. Occupied by a single-storey Lighting Centre and a three-storey building housing a school, dentistry clinic, and law office, these buildings are earmarked for demolition. The surrounding area is characterized by commercial and retail plazas, automotive dealerships, and large parking areas servicing the Oakville GO station, but is increasingly seeing low-rise commercial forms giving way to mixed-use high-rises.
The proposal's two high-rise towers would reach 155.5m and 203.5m, with 504 units in the former and 694 in the latter. . The development boasts a total Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 97,858m² on land that is approximately 9,630m² in area, and therefore has a Floor Space Index (FSI) of 10.17. A tiered 3-storey podium would support a mix of uses, including 2,693m² of retail space and 1,027m² designated for offices, and would frame a POPS (Privately Owned Publicly accessible Space) of 1,057m², introducing a park setting at the southeast corner of the site. Further street-level enhancements call for 3,586m² conveyance for future roads along the north and east edges of the site, in addition to widening Cross Avenue.
There would be 3,648m² of indoor and 1,480m² of outdoor amenities, located on the second and third floors of the podium, connecting to a central outdoor terrace. Both buildings would have two elevators running from the parking garage to the podium levels. The shorter tower would have five residential elevators, and the taller one six, resulting in approximately one elevator for every 101 and 116 units respectively, indicating longer wait times for the 61-storey tower’s residents.
Seven levels of underground garage would house 599 residential and 180 visitor parking spaces, along with 40 for retail, office, and commercial use. In addition, bicycle parking provisions would include 900 long-term and 300 short-term spaces.
Just a 5-minute walk from the Oakville GO station, residents would have access to GO Transit’s commuter rail service on the Lakeshore West Line, alongside VIA Rail and Amtrak services. In addition, plans for enhancing local transit infrastructure are underway, with the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service along Trafalgar Road promising dedicated lanes for faster and more reliable bus services. Additionally, the site is close to major thoroughfares such as the Queen Elizabeth Way and Trafalgar Road. Across the QEW is the expansive Oakville Place Shopping Centre.
The surrounding area’s development activity showcases Midtown Oakville’s transition into a high-rise urban centre. To the south, near the Oakville GO station, an older proposal called The Insignia is planned for 12 storeys. East of the station, 485 Trafalgar Road is proposed at 19 storeys. Closer to this proposal and the Queen Elizabeth Way, the proposal at 627 Lyons Lane would stand 28 storeys. Surrounding the site, Distrikt Group's proposals for Distrikt Station and 590 Argus Road, both designed by Teeple Architects, as well as 166 South Service Road East, all call for three towers ranging from 44 to 58 storeys.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database files, 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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