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A reworked proposal has been submitted to the City of Toronto for 270 Sheppard Avenue West, where a Minor Variance application seeks to advance a mid-rise development at the northeast corner of Sheppard and Addington Avenue. Now led by ELM Developments and designed by Studio JCI, the submission replaces an earlier Ontario Land Tribunal-approved 9-storey condominium scheme with a 10-storey purpose-built rental building.
The site spans 258 through 270 Sheppard Avenue West along with 1 through 5 Addington Avenue. The assembly is currently developed with low-rise commercial and mixed-use buildings. The surrounding Lansing neighbourhood is characterized by a mix of established low-rise residential areas to the north and east, with mid-rise and taller buildings increasingly lining the Sheppard corridor.
Planning for the site dates back to a 2017 Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application, culminating in a 2019 Ontario Land Tribunal-approved settlement permitting a 9-storey mixed-use condominium with site-specific zoning provisions. A Site Plan Application followed later that year, with a preliminary Notice of Approval Conditions issued in November, 2023 as the project advanced toward implementation. Changing market conditions ultimately stalled the condominium model, and the ownership group entered receivership in June, 2025. Following a court-approved sale finalized in early 2026, the new ownership has moved to revise the proposal through a Minor Variance application and Site Plan resubmission.
The revised scheme maintains a mid-rise form, but while the earlier OLT-approved proposal was limited to 9 storeys at roughly 30m, the updated design modestly increases height to 10 storeys and 36.6m, and refines the massing in line with the City’s 2024 Mid-Rise Building Design Guidelines. At the rear, the layout introduces a deeper setback of 12.5m, replacing the previously approved 7.5m setback.
A total of 206 purpose-built rental units are proposed, replacing the previously approved 179 condominium units and reflecting a shift in tenure driven by market conditions. The unit mix would include 59 one-bedroom, 133 two-bedroom, and 14 three-bedroom units. The proposal yields a total Gross Floor Area of 16,513m², including 13,943m² of residential space and 652m² of at-grade retail, resulting in a Floor Space Index of 4.57 times coverage of the 4,499m² assembly, up from 3.83 times.
There would be 522m² of indoor amenities distributed between the ground floor and rooftop, alongside 302m² of outdoor amenity areas. This replaces the previously approved 440m² of indoor and 344m² of outdoor amenity space. Vertical circulation would be provided by three elevators, equating to roughly one elevator per 69 units, indicating good response times.
Accessed from Addington Avenue, 199 vehicular parking spaces are planned on two underground levels, a slight increase from the 196 spaces previously approved, with 166 spaces dedicated to residents, while 14 spaces at grade are for shared residential visitor and retail use, and 10 retail spaces. Bicycle parking entails a total of 82 spaces, including 71 long-term and 11 short-term spots.
From the site, Sheppard station on Yonge Line 1 is 1.1km to the east. Sheppard West station is 3.1km to the west. Both can be reached by TTC bus stopping outside the site.
Development activity along Sheppard Avenue West reflects a corridor in transition. To the east, additional mid-rise intensification is planned with proposals at 202 Sheppard West (7 storeys) and 245 Sheppard West (11 storeys), alongside a 12-storey building at 234 Sheppard West. To the west, applications include a 6-storey building at 290 Sheppard West, a 9-storey development at 307 Sheppard West, a 14-storey proposal at 283 Sheppard Avenue West, and a 27-storey tower at 325 Bogart Avenue.
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: | ELM Developments, Jablonsky, Ast and Partners, KIRKOR Architects and Planners, LEA Consulting, MHBC Planning, SKYGRiD, Weston Consulting |
