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Revised plans have been submitted for a new tower at 191 College Street, where Unix Housing Group is seeking to significantly intensify a previously approved development in Toronto’s Discovery District. Designed by 17|21 Architects of London, Ontario, the updated proposal would replace the approved 31-storey mass timber building, once looking to set a new benchmark for timber height in Canada, with a conventionally-built 45-storey mixed-use rental tower. Located near Queen's Park station, the proposal retains the conservation and integration of heritage Victorians at 191 through 199 College Street and 74-76 Henry Street, with heritage work overseen by ERA Architects.
The site occupies the southwest corner of College and Henry streets with four 3-storey semi-detached heritage buildings dating to the late 19th century, previously occupied by small-scale retail, restaurant, and residential uses. The site is just south of the University of Toronto’s St George campus, with the proposal continuing to target a student-oriented rental market. Kensington-Chinatown lies to the southwest, while the Queen’s Park and Bay-Cloverhill precincts are to the east. The surrounding area includes a mix of institutional, commercial, and residential uses. Preliminary demolition work has already begun on site in advance of construction.
An Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application was first submitted in 2022, proposing a 31-storey mixed-use rental building designed by Icon Architects. City Council adopted the application in June, 2024, with final approval enacted in October, 2025. Following that, Unix Housing entered into agreements with the City addressing affordable housing delivery, dwelling replacement, and heritage conservation, allowing preliminary stabilization and demolition work to begin. Now, The Planning Partnership has submitted reworked Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications to the City of Toronto on behalf of the developer.
The proposal continues to organize the site with heritage street-fronts along College and Henry, while replacing the previously approved 95.18m-tall building with a significantly taller 45-storey form reaching 158.2m. The updated proposal would deliver 694 rental units, an increase of 204 over the previously approved 490 units. The original plan’s 408 affordable studio units would be retained, while the revision introduces 140 new affordable two-bedroom units and 64 additional market two-bedroom units, along with minor adjustments to other unit types, bringing the total affordable count to 548 units secured for 40 years.
Gross Floor Area (GFA) would rise from 21,352m² to 38,058m², including 1,355m² of retail space at grade and the second floor, while residential GFA would account for the vast majority of the increase. Floor Space Index nearly doubles from 13.21 to 24.1 times coverage of the 1,617m² assembly. The proposal maintains a 20m separation to the adjacent building at 203 College Street, slightly below the typical 25m guideline but without balcony encroachments on either side. Amenity space expanded to approximately 1,415m² indoors and 306m² outdoors, supported by the addition of a second amenity level at the ninth floor.
The tower’s floor-plate increases from 630m² to 803m², but is still only served by three elevators, equating to roughly one elevator for every 231 units, indicating possibly the highest-speed motors in the city would be required for adequate response times — when all elevators are operating: at times when one elevator is down or is on move-in service, the remaining two would have to serve 347 suites each. If approved, these numbers may be unprecedented in Toronto, and likely indicate miserably prolonged wait times for residents. If the increase from 31 to 45 storeys is not approved and the building is built to the approved Icon Architects design, then there would be one elevator for every 163 units, which is already pushing it, even with particularly high-speed elevators, in terms of lengthy wait times.
Below grade, two levels would accommodate building servicing functions and bicycle storage, while vehicular parking would remain limited to six short-term spaces accessed from the rear laneway, unchanged from the previous approval. Bicycle parking increases from 494 to 695 spaces, with 625 long-term and 70 short-term spaces.
TTC streetcar service is available immediately along College Street via the 506 line, with stops less than 100m from the site, while the 510 Spadina streetcar is located approximately 430m to the west. Queen’s Park subway station on University Line 1 is located roughly 350m away. The area is well served by cycling infrastructure, with dedicated bike lanes along College Street and on nearby north-south routes such as Beverley Street and St George Street.
The surrounding area is experiencing continued intensification. Additional height is proposed further west at 243 College Street with a 30-storey tower. Closer to Queen’s Park station to the east, proposals include the 18-storey Ronald McDonald House, 700 University Avenue with towers of 24 and 57 storeys, and a 60-storey proposal at 149 College Street. The University of Toronto is planning the Koffler Health & Wellness Expansion at 3 storeys, while the Temerty Building further into the site to the northeast would rise 11 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: | EQ Building Performance Inc., ERA Architects, Icon Architects, Vortex Fire Consulting Inc. |
