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Toronto’s urban fabric is often characterized by its clusters of towers sprouting up out of a sea of low-rise residential neighbourhoods, but once in a while a development proposal breaks the mold and introduces height where there was none before. At 1260 Kennedy Road, a development from Dolrob Properties proposes to do just that. Located in the heart of Scarborough, with no buildings above four storeys within close proximity, the project would see an existing strip mall replaced with a 26-storey mixed-use residential tower designed by Icon Architects.
The development has been revised from a previous zoning submission from 2022 that proposed a 12-storey mid-rise building containing 226 residential units with retail at grade, also designed by Icon for Dolrob. The current resubmission has maintained a similar building footprint, but has stretched the height up to 26 storeys with a total of 325 units included. The ground floor contains roughly 722m² of commercial space.
Though there are no tall buildings existing in the area, the proponents believe that the location is not unreasonable for the height proposed; it is located a roughly 15-minute bus ride away from Kennedy subway station on Danforth Line 2, or for drivers, a quick trip up to the 401.
The development is located on an oddly-shaped trapezoidal site at the intersection of Shropshire Drive and Kennedy Road. The southern edge of the property is bounded by the linear Dorset Park and Highland Creek, whose artificially straightened path follows a concrete bed along this stretch of the waterway. The existing strip mall and surface parking lot would be fully demolished to make way for the new development.
The massing of the building follows the unique shape of the site with two intersecting volumes: a 5-storey rectangular podium aligned with the angled Shropshire Drive, which collides with the 26-storey trapezoidal tower aligned with the straighter Kennedy Road. A reveal in the south facade of the podium marks the point where the two intersecting volumes meet. The tower culminates at a sharp angle on its southeast corner, mirroring the site outline where Highland Creek passes under Kennedy creating the acute angle.
The tower sits atop a 5-storey podium, and is set back to express the podium as its own volume. Partway up the tower, the massing is slightly shifted to create a recessed portion on the east facade that protrudes outward on the south, adjusting the angle to break up the monotony of a singular volume. This small shift returns to its original alignment at the top floors of the tower to create a playful push-and-pull in its massing. The building also features recessed balconies throughout the tower and podium to create a more uniform expression.
The building is proposed to contain 650m² of indoor amenity space and 650m² of outdoor amenity space, mainly located on the sixth floor. A 93m² ‘community space’, whose function is not yet identified, is also located on the ground floor. As the proposal is located adjacent to a park, no POPS or public parkland is proposed on the site, but significant improvements will be made to the streetscape around the building.
The development contains a unit mix of 25 studios, 176 one-bedrooms, 80 two-bedrooms, and 44 three-bedrooms. A total of three underground parking levels would be provided.
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: | Icon Architects, Weston Consulting |
