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Geothermal drilling is now underway at 9 St Dennis Drive at Don Mills and Eglinton, marking the start of construction activity for a 38-storey purpose-built rental tower from Osmington Gerofsky Development Corp. Designed by architects—Alliance, the project will introduce 474 new rental units to an area largely characterized by older apartment housing stock, situated near Ontario Line 3’s future Flemingdon Park station and the interchange station at Don Valley for the Eglinton Line 5.
The development is planned as a mix of market and affordable rental housing, with suites ranging from studios to three-bedroom layouts. Of the 474 units, 210 are planned as one-bedrooms, alongside 126 two-bedroom units, 90 studios, and 48 three-bedroom suites, with sizes spanning from 282 ft² to 952 ft². Residents will have access to more than 18,000 ft² of indoor and outdoor amenity space, including co-working facilities, a fitness centre, party room, resident lounge, workshop and hobby room, guest suites, and a children’s playroom. A landscaped terrace with BBQ areas will connect to a new three-quarter-acre public park and pedestrian network. The development will feature interiors by Ste Marie and landscape architecture by The MBTW Group. The public realm strategy extends beyond the building itself through direct access to a new public park, tying the development into the broader neighbourhood.
The project’s geothermal system forms the core of its sustainability strategy, with 100% of heating and cooling planned to operate through geo-exchange rather than conventional fossil fuel-based systems. Approximately 80% of the building’s domestic hot water demand will also be provided via geo-exchange. For the installation and operation of the geothermal system, OGDC has partnered with Geosource Energy, a company that has delivered hundreds of geothermal systems since 2004. Combined with a high-performance building envelope, improved airtightness, in-suite energy recovery ventilators, and low-flow plumbing fixtures, the building is projected to consume 62% less energy and generate 82% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a conventional code-compliant residential tower.
A view across the site shows several geothermal drilling rigs operating simultaneously as crews continue installing the underground infrastructure that will support the building’s low-emissions mechanical systems. Construction fencing, staging areas, and service equipment now occupy much of the future tower footprint.
Finally, a broader view reveals the scale of the early geothermal and excavation operations now underway. Multiple drill rigs are positioned around the perimeter of an excavation pit partially filled with groundwater, while temporary haul roads, fenced work zones, staging containers, and service equipment organize activity across the property. Stacks of geothermal casing and mechanical support infrastructure are visible throughout the site as crews continue preparing the underground energy network before above-grade construction begins later this year.
Full building construction is expected to begin in June, 2026, with occupancy targeted for the first quarter of 2029.
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: | architects—Alliance, EQ Building Performance Inc., Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, Grounded Engineering Inc., Osmington Gerofsky Development Corp |
