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Hullmark is looking to bring much-needed rental housing to Brockton Village with its redesigned development at 450 Dufferin Street. Situated at the northwest corner of Dufferin and Alma Avenue, this proposed 18-storey mixed-use building designed by superkül also embraces sustainable building practices. UrbanToronto spoke with Charles Arbez, Director of Development and Graham Frank, Manager of Development at Hullmark, to discuss how the building reflects the challenges facing Toronto when it comes to housing, employment spaces, and balancing objectives.
Hullmark is looking to maximize the opportunity to construct its proposal as soon as possible. Following a successful land use conversion request and an initial ZBA application in the fall of 2022, 450 Dufferin Street has been increased in height from 15 storeys to 18 storeys and includes 175 residential units. This decision came after discussions with City planners and the local councillor, who supported additional height and density in exchange for securing the development as rental housing.
"We're very excited about how the proposal has evolved since our initial submission, and we couldn't have done it without the excellent team at the City," says Frank. "The end result of a collaborative design process is the 18-storey design you see proposed now, which achieves many of our shared goals."
However, starting construction in today's challenging market is no small feat. Hullmark's focus on an executable, but still high-quality design has resulted in the revised proposal. With efficient floor plates and an emphasis on ease of construction, the project is designed to be economically viable while maintaining the company's known focus on detail, high-quality design inside and out, and materials.
"It's really about a balancing of objectives," Arbez shared. "How we can work together, take stock of where we are, and design something that actually has the best shot of being built in the near term, given the market conditions we are all facing compared to our housing shortage."
The development will feature a pre-cast beige masonry facade with a sandblast finish, with amenities including a top-floor outdoor space offering views of the city. The project's location near commercial areas along Dundas and Queen Streets, places it within walking distance of their streetcar routes, making it an attractive location for future residents.
Andre D’Elia, Founding Partner at superkül previously shared further insights: "Taking cues from the area’s industrial history and residential fabric, our team evolved a forthright and graceful design that will bring more light and life to a previously inward-looking strip of Dufferin and activate the public realm with human-scale interventions."
The design features pale brick with dark metal accents. The ground floor will include human-scaled design elements like articulated brickwork and floor-to-ceiling glazing.
Hullmark also plans to include geothermal heating and cooling systems, a move that aligns with the company's commitment to environmental responsibility. This technology reduces the building's carbon footprint and offers long-term energy efficiency, and along with a low window-to-wall ratio, gives it a good chance to surpass the Toronto Green Standards Tier 1. Hullmark is incorporating geothermal systems for 1071 King West, currently under construction, and 115 Larchmount, which was completed earlier this year.
One of the challenges Hullmark faces with this development is the City's requirement for employment space. According to the Secondary Area Specific Policy (SASP), 8% of the building's gross floor area must be dedicated to employment uses, which Arbez noted would necessitate increasing employment areas across both the first and second floors. Hullmark is advocating for a reduction of this requirement, to maintain a 1:1 replacement on site.
This more flexible approach emphasizes the importance of focusing on urgent housing needs over employment space requirements. "All of us need to have a real forest through the trees view right now," stated Arbez. “Hullmark owns and operates employment spaces across the city, but the fact of the matter is at this time we need housing to actually be built more than we need incremental increases in employment space, especially in this location." He added that second floor space presents leasing challenges due to low demand, and in this market, threatens project execution. Additionally, he explained that second-floor employment space on single building sites requires much more internal design work than keeping it just to the first floor, exponentially increasing construction costs, which is particularly detrimental to mid-rise density - a typology the City is looking to encourage more of. Nearby buildings with vacant commercial spaces underscore this issue.
"We believe that in providing 1:1 replacement here, we can create a design that achieves objectives across the board, and allows us to begin construction on something that can help address our housing shortage," says Arbez. "Working together with our partners at the City, we think we can make it work."
Hullmark is in discussions with City planners regarding the matter. The issue highlights a broader conversation about flexibility in urban planning policies. The company advocates for prioritizing housing development to address the city's acute shortage.
By seeking a balance between City objectives and market realities, Hullmark aims to deliver a project that benefits both the community and the City's long-term goals.
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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