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The long-standing No Frills site on the southwest corner of Eglinton Avenue West and Black Creek Drive has been planned for a huge redevelopment for years. Now, plans by Choice Properties REIT have been updated and resubmitted to the City of Toronto. Designed by Giannone Petricone Associates, the plan calls for seven towers up to 45 storeys high in the former Borough of York’s Mount Dennis neighbourhood, within walking distance of Mount Dennis station on Eglinton Line 5, anticipated to open later this year.
Addressed to 25 Photography Drive, the property is surrounded by industrial, commercial, and parkland uses, with the York Recreation Centre to the east.
Choice first submitted an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment, and Draft Plan of Subdivision application in August, 2021, seeking a multi-phase mixed-use community of seven towers.
The revised design divides the site into north, west, and south blocks framing a new east–west public street and a private laneway running north-south. The plan reduces podium heights to up to four storeys, which previously reached up to ten. The seven towers now range between 20 and 45 storeys, measuring 73.8m to 154.2m, compared to 20 to 49 storeys, with overall building heights reduced in all three blocks.
The total Gross Floor Area of 197,078m² is up from 191,349m². This includes 189,306m² of residential space, while the 6,741m² for non-residential uses would include retail, 1,031m² for the preschool in the north block, and the 3,152m² grocery store relocated from the north to the south end of the site. The resulting Floor Space Index would be 6.5 times coverage of the 30,000m² site, up from 6.3. The project would be delivered in phases, beginning with the south block, to allow for continuing operation of the No Frills, opening the new one before demolishing the existing one.
The development proposes 2,920 residential units, an increase from 2,356 which would be served by a total of 23 residential elevators, resulting in ratios ranging from about one elevator for every 115 to 134 units per block, suggesting high-speed elevators would be required to ensure adequate service. Amenity offerings entail 6,430m² of indoor and 5,881m² of outdoor area.
One level of underground parking is planned to accommodate 439 vehicle spaces, down from 1,845. These include 349 residential and 90 visitor spaces. Bicycle parking has been increased to 3,236 spaces, up from 2,240, divided between 2,635 long-term and 601 short-term spaces.
The updated plan removes the previously proposed southern POPS (Privately-Owned Publicly-accessible Space) in favour of two new public parks: a 1,384m² space fronting Eglinton Avenue, and a second 1,384m² park fronting the new public street. Plans also include a parkland over-dedication to be secured as an in-kind community benefit contribution adjacent to the public space that fronts Eglinton Avenue. As such, 16% of the site is proposed as public park space.
The site is roughly 300m from Mount Dennis station, which will link TTC, GO Transit, and the UP Express when it opens. Bus stops are accessible on both Eglinton Avenue West and Black Creek Drive, while cycling infrastructure is limited, with Black Creek Drive currently prohibiting pedestrian and cyclist access north of Eglinton.
High-rise intensification is seen along the LRT line. To the south, 955 Weston Road is proposed at 24 and 34 storeys, while to the west, a pair of towers is planned for 70–104 Brownville Avenue. Further east, near the Keelesdale station, 1860 Keele and 2636 Eglinton West are proposed at 19 and 36 storeys, respectively. A cluster of proposals just west of Mount Dennis station includes 9 Oxford at 35 storeys, 8 Locust at 37 storeys, Denard Towers at 39 and 43 storeys, 15 Hollis at 48 storeys, and 1175 Weston Road & 17 Locust Street with towers of 38 and 48 storeys.
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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EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been republished to correct a number of errors related to various statistics of the proposal.
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| Related Companies: | Arcadis, Bousfields, Counterpoint Engineering, EQ Building Performance Inc., Giannone Petricone Associates, Grounded Engineering Inc., o2 Planning and Design |
