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A Zoning By-law Amendment resubmission to intensify the site of St Luke’s United Church at 355 Sherbourne Street in Toronto’s Cabbagetown neighbourhood has had its height quadrupled. Kindred Works is now seeking approval for a 48-storey tower designed by KPMB Architects with heritage work overseen by ERA Architects. At the southeast corner of Sherbourne and Carlton streets, the project would reuse portions of St Luke’s Church into the podium of the expanded structure. The site falls within the College Station Major Transit Station Area (MTSA).
Addressed to 353–355 Sherbourne Street and 157 Carlton Street, St Luke’s United Church is a a two-storey stone structure plus tower completed in 1887 by architects Langley and Burke. Later additions including a 1912 Sunday School, a 1929 narthex, and a 1962 gymnasium. The property forms part of the Cabbagetown Northwest Heritage Conservation District, with an eclectic immediate context, ranging from Allen Gardens to low-rise Victorian houses, and bay-and-gable dwellings to taller apartment buildings.
The property was first brought forward for redevelopment in 2021, when United Property Resource Corporation proposed a 12-storey, 42m mid-rise. City Council approved the rezoning and heritage alterations in 2022, secured through a heritage easement agreement. Since then, planning policy and local approvals have shifted toward greater intensification, particularly with the enactment of the MTSA. The United Property Resource Corporation was an original applicant but is no longer an applicant on the project.
Bousfields has submitted Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications to the City of Toronto on behalf of the developers, for a tower rising 172.8m. The design features a six-storey podium that incorporates the retained St Luke’s United Church and 1912 Sunday School, while removing later additions to create a new forecourt on Sherbourne.
The resubmission increases the redevelopment program from 11,029m² to 37,027m² of Gross Floor Area, translating to a jump in Floor Space Index from 4.6 to 15.31 times coverage of the 2,419m² lot. Of this, 35,574m² is dedicated to residential space, delivering 440 rental units compared to the earlier 100, with 132 designated as affordable. Four elevators are provided to serve the tower’s 440 units, a ratio of one cab per 110 suites, requiring high speed motors to provide adequately prompt service.
The revised plan redistributes non-residential space, providing 1,453m² of community uses, including a large event hall, flexible event space, and café. Previously, while over 3,000m² was planned for community uses, only 30 units were designated as affordable. Indoor amenities would span 2,028m², distributed across Levels 3 through 6 and Level 17, while 253m² of outdoor terraces are planned at Levels 3 and 5. At grade, the plan creates a 226m² POPS (Privately-Owned Publicly-accessible Space) along Sherbourne, featuring a forecourt in front of the restored church, replacing the previously slightly larger 250m² POPS.
Two underground garage levels would accommodate 28 vehicular parking spaces for residents and 11 for visitors, whereas no parking was proposed in the previous design. Bicycle parking has been significantly expanded, from 148 spaces in the earlier, smaller plan to 484 in the current one, with 396 long-term and 88 short-term stalls.
The 506 Carlton streetcar which connects with College station is about 800m to the west, and the 75 Sherbourne bus which serves Sherbourne station to the north, and in a number of years Moss Park staton to the south, both stop immediately adJcent to the property. Cycling infrastructure includes north–south bike lanes on Sherbourne linking to east–west routes on Shuter, Richmond, and Adelaide streets.
This resubmission is the tallest proposal among other intensification plans and projects in the area. To the north, towers are planned at 405 Sherbourne (25 storeys), 383 Sherbourne (39 storeys), and 410 Sherbourne (42 storeys). Southward, construction is underway on the 18-storey 307 Sherbourne and the 21-storey Hoem Sherbourne. Regent Park’s renewal continues to the southeast, with Daniels on Parliament adding 10- and 25-storey buildings now rising, alongside future phases proposing heights up to 26 and 39 storeys. To the west, a 22-storey tower is proposed at 280 Jarvis while the 34-storey JAC Condos is completing construction. More distant to the northwest, proposals include 110 Maitland at 57 storeys and 2 Cawthra Square at 63 storeys.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on these developments, but in the meantime, you can learn more about them 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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EDITOR'S NOTE: The article has been updated to reflect the project's current development firm.
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| Related Companies: | Arcadis, Bousfields, ERA Architects, Janet Rosenberg & Studio, MHBC Planning, Mulvey & Banani, RWDI Climate and Performance Engineering |
