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An application to the City of Toronto seeks to permit a predominantly residential, five-tower community rising to 48 storeys at 85 Corporate Drive in the Scarborough Centre area. Designed by WZMH Architects for Northcrest Developments, the development would rise within a planned Protected Major Transit Station Area around the under-construction Scarborough Centre station on the Danforth Line 2 Scarborough Subway Extension.
The 2.37-hectare site occupies the southeast corner of Corporate Drive and Consilium Place within the Scarborough Centre Secondary Plan area. Generally trapezoidal in shape, it is currently occupied by an inactive surface parking lot that formerly served nearby office buildings to the southwest. The eastern portion of the lands abuts the East Highland Creek corridor; its marginal slope encroaches slightly into the property. Surrounding uses include a mix of high-rise residential, commercial, and institutional uses.
Plans to redevelop the site date back nearly two decades. In 2007, the previous owner advanced applications for four condominium towers initially ranging from 36 to 40 storeys (later revised to 45 storeys). After acquiring the property in 2012, the current ownership initiated steps to address flood remediation requirements. Bousfields has now submitted reworked Official Plan Amendment, Rezoning and Draft Plan of Subdivision applications to the City of Toronto on behalf of the developer.
The proposal would reorganize the site into five mixed-use towers arranged around new public streets and open spaces. Four towers would rise from 4-storey podiums, reaching 42 to 48 storeys, alongside a 12-storey mid-rise framing a new public park. Heights would range from 46.9m for the mid-rise to 161.15m for the tallest tower. 2,424 condominium units are proposed within 160,204m² of Gross Floor Area (GFA), with a Floor Space Index of 7.5 times lot coverage. GFA would include 158,567m² of residential space and approximately 1,637m² of non-residential uses comprising retail and a 401m² daycare. The unit mix would consist of 1,572 one-bedroom units, 598 two-bedroom units, and 254 three-bedroom units.
The site would be delivered in two phases, divided by a new north–south public street, linking Corporate Drive to a future east–west connection. Phase 1 would introduce the three western towers and establish the primary street grid, including a partial dedication to complete the 20m right-of-way of a new Public Road B and a 9m-wide pedestrian mews delivered as a POPS (Privately-Owned Publicly-accessible space). Phase 2 would bring forward the eastern tower and mid-rise, along with a 1,855m² public park at the southeast corner and a 2,362m² conveyance to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority along East Highland Creek, with additional POPS areas totalling approximately 1,409m².
Amenity space would be distributed across podium rooftops and tower levels, totalling 6,129m² indoors and 3,669m² outdoors. Vertical circulation is planned with five elevators in each tower and three in the 12-storey mid-rise, resulting in approximate ratios ranging from one elevator per 92 units in the mid-rise to about one per 111 units in the connected high-rise towers in Phase 1.
Below grade, parking would be accommodated in a two-part garage system, with five underground levels beneath Phase 1 and four levels beneath Phase 2, together providing 1,631 vehicular spaces. The supply would include 1,070 resident spaces, 242 visitor spaces, and 319 spaces serving retail, daycare, and surrounding commercial uses. A total of 1,819 bicycle parking spaces are proposed, comprising 1,648 long-term and 171 short-term spaces.
The southwest corner of the property is approximately 250m from Scarborough Centre station on the Danforth Line 2 Scarborough Subway Extension, with the primary entrance at McCowan Road and Progress Avenue roughly 430m away on foot, or about a five-minute walk. The project will extend Danforth Line 2 northeast from Kennedy station. TTC bus routes operate within 500m of the site along Corporate Drive and Progress Avenue. The lands are also positioned near the planned Durham–Scarborough Bus Rapid Transit corridor, which would link communities east of Toronto to Scarborough Centre.
Development proposals are plentiful around the Corporate Drive and Progress Avenue area. To the southeast, a community has been proposed under CreateTO at 705 Progress Avenue, alongside a separate application at 710 Progress Avenue for towers of 41 and 46 storeys. Southwest of the site, a 3-storey Consilium Place Arena has been proposed, while 670 Progress Avenue would introduce seven towers ranging from 18 to 54 storeys. Further south, 675 Progress Avenue envisions six towers between 8 and 49 storeys. To the west, the long-term redevelopment of Scarborough Town Centre is envisioned, with plans for 32 buildings and heights reaching up to 65 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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| Related Companies: | Aercoustics Engineering Ltd, Bousfields, Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, Northcrest Developments, STUDIO tla, WZMH Architects |
