Applications have been filed with the City of Toronto to redevelop a trio of detached houses at 11 through 21 Johnston Avenue in North York's Lansing neighbourhood, where Stafford proposes a 48-storey residential rental building designed by Turner Fleischer Architects. Located south of Sheppard–Yonge station, the project is within the Sheppard–Yonge Protected Major Transit Station Area.

Looking southwest to 11-21 Johnston Avenue, designed by Turner Fleischer for Stafford

Goldberg Group has submitted Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications to the City on behalf of the developer. Plans call for the building to start with a five-storey podium topped by 43 more storeys of tower with an approximately 800m² floor-plate, reaching a height of 163.6m. The proposal would introduce 524 purpose-built rental homes in a mix of 334 one-bedroom units, 136 two-bedroom units, and 54 three-bedroom units. The building would be served by four elevators, equating to one elevator for every 131 units, indicating high-speed motors would be needed for adequate response times.

Site plan, designed by Turner Fleischer for Stafford

In total, the building would contain 37,611m² of Gross Floor Area, including 37,522m² of residential space and 90m² of ground-floor retail in the northeast corner fronting Johnston Avenue, resulting in a Floor Space Index of 20.80 times coverage of the 1,808m² site. Residents would be supported by 1,051m² of indoor and 526m² of outdoor amenity space, including indoor facilities on the ground and sixth floors and an outdoor amenity terrace above the podium.

Looking south to the podium, designed by Turner Fleischer for Stafford

Below grade, the project includes two levels of underground parking accessed from the public lane east of the site. The garage would contain 51 vehicle parking spaces, including 44 spaces for residents and seven for visitors. Cycling facilities would total 206 bicycle parking spaces, consisting of 178 long-term spaces for residents, 18 short-term spaces for visitors, and 10 publicly accessible short-term spaces.

Ground floor plan, designed by Turner Fleischer for Stafford

Roughly 50m west of Yonge Street, the rectangular site on the south side of Johnston Avenue is currently occupied by three one- and two-storey detached houses that would be cleared for the redevelopment. Properties in the neighbourhood close to Yonge are transitioning from detached housing to mid- and high-rise mixed-use buildings.

Looking southeast to the current site, image from submission to City of Toronto

The site is about 130m, or about a two-minute walk, from the Poyntz entrance of Sheppard–Yonge station, an interchange connecting Yonge Line 1 and Sheppard Line 4. The station is also served by TTC and GO Transit bus routes plying the corridor. Metrolinx is also studying the Sheppard Line 4 Subway Extension, which would expand transit connections along the Sheppard corridor to link with additional subway and GO Transit lines. While dedicated cycling infrastructure near the site remains limited today, nearby routes include the Glendora Park Trail about 800m east, which connects to cycling facilities along Willowdale Avenue, as well as bi-directional bike lanes along Sheppard Avenue East.

An axonometric view looking northeast to the current site, image from submission to the City of Toronto

Development activity continues at many sites nearby. Immediately east at 4696 Yonge Street, a 45-storey mixed-use tower is proposed, while further east, three towers are proposed at 48 Avondale Avenue ranging from 26 to 45 storeys, alongside 'Avondale' at 49 storeys. To the north, Poyntz Residences is planned at 51 storeys, and construction is progressing at 4800 Yonge Street, where a 49-storey tower is rising. Nearby at 45–47 Sheppard Avenue East, plans call for four towers ranging from 30 to 59 storeys.

Looking east to 11-21 Johnston Avenue, designed by Turner Fleischer for Stafford

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 altered to remove references to affordable units.

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UrbanToronto's research and data service, UTPro, provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe—from proposal through to completion. Other services include Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.​

Related Companies:  Arcadis, EQ Building Performance Inc., Goldberg Group, Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, MTE Consultants, Stafford, Turner Fleischer