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Capital Developments has submitted a revised proposal for 90 Isabella Street in Toronto’s Church-Wellesley Village. Approved by City Council in 2023, the 69-storey Diamond Schmitt Architects-designed residential tower has now been reworked. While the overall height would remain the same, the resubmission introduces a lower unit count, new look overall, and a refined heritage strategy overseen by GBCA Architects.
The development site comprises 90, 90A, 92, and 94 Isabella Street, on the north side of Isabella between Church and Jarvis streets. The mid-block site is currently occupied by a row of low-rise heritage residential buildings fronting Isabella, with additional structures extending toward the rear of the property. Three of the buildings are designated on the City’s heritage register, while 94 Isabella is listed. The site sits within the Church-Wellesley Village, a Downtown neighbourhood characterized by a mix of apartment buildings, commercial uses, and a growing cluster of tall residential towers.
Planning for the site dates back to May, 2022, when an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment application was filed proposing a 69-storey residential tower with 837 units. A revised submission followed in June, 2023, and on December 15, 2023, City Council approved a Zoning By-law Amendment permitting a 69-storey building with 831 units and approximately 55,000m² of residential Gross Floor Area (GFA), including the in-situ retention of the front of the heritage buildings at 90–92 and 94 Isabella Street.
Brown Dryer Barristers & Solicitors has now submitted a new Zoning By-law Amendment application to the City of Toronto on behalf of the developer. The revised proposal maintains the overall massing framework approved in 2023, with a 69-storey tower rising to 228.1m from a 6-storey podium. While the height and general built form remain consistent, the design has been reworked with a narrower, rectangular floor-plate oriented north-south, rather than the previously approved square east-west configuration. This adjustment is paired with a series of setback revisions, including a substantial increase along the east property line and a reduction to the north setback. Along Isabella Street, the tower would now rise with a simplified massing expression of fewer step-backs.
The building would contain 818 condominium units, down from 831 in the 2023 approval (and 837 in the original 2022 submission). Residential GFA has been reduced to 50,149m² from approximately 55,000m², lowering the Floor Space Index from 23.19 to 21.95 times coverage of the 2,285m² lot. The unit mix shifts notably toward smaller formats, with studios increasing from 13% of the total to 32% (261 units), while one-bedroom units dropp from 47% to 25%. Two-bedroom units rise to 33%, while three-bedroom units remained steady at 10%. The revised tower floor-plate would be approximately 796m². Six elevators are proposed, equating to roughly one elevator per 136 units, requiring high-speed motors to minimize wait times. A seventh elevator would serve just the garage to the ground floor.
Amenity space has been reduced, with a total of 1,669m² provided compared to approximately 1,989m² previously. Indoor amenity space would entail 1,228m², while outdoor amenities decreased more significantly, from 729m² to 441m². At grade, the residential lobby would be accessed through the retained heritage facades at 90A and 92 Isabella Street. While the previous scheme retained only portions of the existing buildings, the revised design fully preserves 94 Isabella Street as a standalone structure and continues to conserve the front 10m of 90–92 Isabella, eliminating the previously proposed tower overhang.
Below grade, the proposal includes four levels of underground parking accommodating 54 vehicular spaces, reduced from 77 spaces in the approved plan, including 44 resident and 10 visitor spaces. Bicycle parking was also reduced to 902 spaces, down from 915, comprising 738 long-term and 164 short-term spaces.
The site is located approximately 500m, or a seven-minute walk, southwest of Bloor–Yonge station. Surface transit includes TTC bus service on Wellesley Street to the south. The surrounding street network also supports cycling, with nearby east-west routes such as Bloor and Wellesley streets offering dedicated bike lanes, complemented by north-south cycling infrastructure along Sherbourne Street.
The surrounding area is undergoing a rapid wave of intensification. Immediately to the west, 88 Isabella Street, seen in the renderings above, is planned at 62 storeys (with the same architect and developer), while further west, 48 Isabella Street is proposed at 69 storeys. To the northwest, the 47-storey The Charles at Church is completing construction, and to the north, 625 Church is proposed at 56 storeys. A cluster of additional proposals is taking shape to the east, including 10 Huntley Street at 45 storeys, Jarvis & Earl Place at 58 storeys, and 30 Huntley Street with towers rising 56 and 60 storeys. South of the site, 2 Cawthra Square is proposed at 63 storeys, while immediately southwest, 81–83 Isabella Street would reach 70 storeys. Another cluster further west includes 15 Charles East proposed at 66 storeys and 645 Yonge Street at 76 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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