13K 
Immediately west of where The One is rising at Bloor and Yonge Street in the heart of Toronto, a proposed development at 15 and 19 Bloor Street West is poised to become one of the city’s latest supertalls after City Council adopted the recent settlement offer on March 20, 2024. Developed by Reserve Properties and Westdale Properties, the building would join the ranks of supertall buildings in Toronto, which are buildings higher than 300 metres, based on criteria used by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The settlement allows a tower at 19 Bloor Street West that would rise to a height of 317.4m, and just shy of 100 storeys with 99.
While architectural elevation drawings are included in the settlement offer, no new renderings have been provided. The previous design by Arcadis can be seen below:
The initial proposal, above, aimed to introduce a 94-storey structure, soaring to 301.8m and offering 1,262 residential units. The proposal faced scrutiny over its substantial Floor Space Index (FSI) of 61.87, while the proposed separation distances from neighbouring buildings — with a mere 14.75m separating it from The Uptown Residences at 35 Balmuto Street and only 15m from The One — fell notably short of the City's standard 25-metre minimum, raising concerns about privacy and light access. The proposed floor-plate was another point of contention; at 898m², it exceeded the City's usual maximum of 750m² for tower floor-plates.
The City's concerns about the tower's floor-plate, massing, step-backs, and the potential for overshadowing and privacy impacts led to a rejection of the initial plan by the Planning Department. The rejection was appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal, but the developer and the City continued to talk, with revised Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment applications being the result. Significant changes were made to address the concerns.
As mentioned, the tower is now taller, proposed at 99 storeys reaching 317.4m, while the building's Gross Floor Area (GFA) drops to 74,842m², with a revised FSI of 59.5, due to smaller floor-plates. The size of the average floor-plate is not included on the plans released so far, but noteworthy adjustments include an increased setback from The One, establishing a 21m separation that addresses previous concerns about proximity and spatial harmony, and a bite out of the south side of the building where it is close to the Uptown Residences so as not to crowd the buildings — the bite can be seen in the elevation, below. The settlement also prohibits projecting balconies so as to reduce 19 Bloor's impacts on its neighbours. Moreover, the introduction of a POPS (Privately-Owned Publicly accessible Space) at the ground level aims to enhance the public realm, providing wider sidewalks at ground level.
Both the initial and revised proposals feature eight elevators. In the initial plan with 1,262 units, this makes approximately one elevator for every 158 units. The revised plan has 1,290 units, altering the ratio to about one elevator for every 161 units, among the highest we have seen in recent proposals, and indicating potentially prolonged wait times. Four levels of underground parking would provide 78 parking spaces, including 64 for residents and 5 for visitors. For cyclists, there would be 1,164 bicycle spots. Residents would have access to 2,479m² of indoor and 774m² of outdoor amenities.
City Council'a acceptance of the settlement offer jus awaits a technical review of the Zoning By-law amendments, after which the City Solicitor is to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal in support of the settlement.
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.
* * *
UrbanToronto has a research service, UrbanToronto Pro, that provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area—from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
