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Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) has advanced its Swansea Mews redevelopment into the Site Plan Approval stage, submitting refined plans for the replacement of the shuttered low-rise community. Designed by KPMB Architects, the proposal will transform the 2.12ha site in Toronto’s Swansea neighbourhood with a pair of much denser purpose-built rental buildings rising 20 and 35 storeys. This follows City Council’s approval of the project’s planning applications earlier this year.
The proposal applies to a property addressed to 21 Windermere Avenue and 1–154 Swansea Mews, occupying the northeast corner of The Queensway and Windermere Avenue. The site is currently occupied by the vacant Swansea Mews complex, a collection of nine four-storey stacked townhouse buildings. The surrounding area includes mid-century apartment towers to the west, low-rise residential neighbourhoods to the north and east, and a growing concentration of taller residential buildings along The Queensway corridor.
Swansea Mews served for decades as a rent-geared-to-income housing community before being abruptly vacated in 2022 following a ceiling collapse. Subsequent engineering investigations determined that the aging buildings were structurally unsafe, prompting TCHC to relocate all 154 households and close the complex. Redevelopment plans were submitted in 2025 and approved by City Council in March, 2026. Now, Bousfields has submitted the Site Plan Approval application to the City of Toronto on behalf of TCHC.
The approved site layout remains largely unchanged from the rezoning application. A 35-storey tower rising 118.92m will anchor the southwest portion of the site at The Queensway and Windermere Avenue, while a 20-storey tower rising 72.05m will be integrated into a larger inverted U-shaped building occupying the northern portion of the property.
The north building will incorporate 5- and 8-storey mid-rise wings framing a central courtyard, while the south building will contain the project’s retail and community uses at grade. Together, the buildings will deliver 73,519m² of Gross Floor Area, including 72,089m² of residential space, 805m² of retail space, and 625m² of community space, resulting in a Floor Space Index of 3.46 times coverage of the 21,221m² site. Since the rezoning submission, retail space has increased by approximately 258m², while community space has been reduced. Retail uses within the south building are currently envisioned to include a grocery store.
Across both buildings, the proposal has been refined to contain 639 rental homes, down slightly from the 649 units proposed through the 2025 rezoning process. Of the total, 154 units would replace the site’s former social housing homes, while the remaining units would operate as market rental housing under TCHC ownership. The unit mix consists of 197 one-bedroom units, 203 two-bedroom units, and 239 three-bedroom-and-larger units. The south building would contain 308 units, while the north building would contain 331 units. The south building will be served by five elevators, with six serving the north building, equating to one elevator for every 62 units in the south building and one for every 55 units in the north building, indicating short wait times.
A network of landscaped open spaces is planned throughout the redevelopment, including a publicly accessible open space at the southeast corner of the property and a series of outdoor amenity areas for residents. The north building’s U-shaped configuration would create a large central courtyard. Plans entail approximately 4,879m² of outdoor and 666m² of indoor amenity space.
Vehicular parking would be accommodated within an enclosed at-grade parking facility in the north building. A total of 169 parking spaces are proposed, including 135 resident spaces and 34 spaces for visitors and non-residential users, an increase of 48 resident spaces compared to the rezoning submission. Bicycle parking would include 582 long-term and 128 short-term spots.
Stops for the 501 Queen (and rush hour 508 Lake Shore) streetcars are located at The Queensway Windermere intersection, while the 77 Swansea bus provides connections north to Runnymede station on Bloor Line. The 80 Queensway bus further links the area with Keele Station and Sherway Gardens. Looking ahead, the planned Waterfront West LRT would extend higher-order transit service along the waterfront corridor, while the planned Park Lawn GO station, approximately 1.8km west of the site, would add regional rail access. For cyclists, dedicated bike lanes on The Queensway connect to the Humber Trail, High Park’s trail network, and the Martin Goodman Trail along the waterfront, providing links across Toronto’s west end and lakeshore.
Some high-rise activity is seen in the area alongside low-rise development. West of the site, 34 Southport is under construction with towers at 26 and 32 storeys. To the southwest, 2002 Lake Shore Boulevard West calls for a pair of mixed-use towers rising 20 and 36 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: | Bousfields, Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, MCW Consultants Ltd |
