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A new Minor Variance application to the City of Toronto seeks a height increase for 1255 Bay Street in Yorkville, raising the approved 39-storey proposal to a 44-storey tower. Designed by Zeidler Architecture for KingSett Capital, the revised scheme would replace 399 condos suites with 329 larger rental units.
The site encompasses 1235 and 1255 Bay Street on its east side, extending north from Cumberland Street toward Yorkville Avenue. Its southern portion contains a 10-storey office building at 1235 Bay, while 1255 Bay has an aging nine-storey office building with street-level commercial space. The surrounding Yorkville neighbourhood combines offices, shops, and increasingly dense residential development, including numerous high-rise projects. The site is within the Major Transit Station Areas of Bay and Bloor–Yonge stations.
KingSett submitted Official Plan, Zoning By-law Amendment, and Site Plan applications in September, 2021 for a 35-storey mixed-use tower with 357 residential units designed by BDP Quadrangle. City Council approved the planning amendments in March, 2023, followed by Committee of Adjustment variances in March, 2024 allowing 39 storeys and 399 condominiums; the Site Plan application remains under review. After meeting City Planning staff earlier this month, Bousfields submitted the latest application to the City on the developer’s behalf.
The revision would replace 1255 Bay with a 44-storey tower comprising an 11-storey podium and cantilever above the retained 1235 Bay building. At 150.25m, it would stand 7.25m taller than the 143m design approved in 2024; below the penthouse, tower height rose from 135.5m to 142.75m, while the podium grew from 37.5m to 38.65m. Reduced floor-to-floor heights allow one podium and four tower levels to be added with no changes to the tower floor-plate or principal setbacks.
The 399 condominiums have become 329 market-rate purpose-built rentals, a reduction of 70 homes. All 123 studios have been eliminated from the plans, while one-bedroom units increase from 96 to 178, two-bedroom units decline from 140 to 118, and three-bedroom-and-larger units drop from 40 to 33. Gross Floor Area (GFA) across both buildings rises by 1,750m², from 38,500m² to 40,250m², increasing the Floor Space Index from 16.94 to 18.58 times coverage of the 2,167m² site. GFA includes 30,000m² of residential space (3,000m² more than previously approved) as well as 9,903m² of office and 347m² of retail space. The retained 1235 Bay building accounts for the offices, while the replacement at 1255 Bay would contain approximately 30,345m²; combined with fewer homes, the additional residential area allows for larger units.
Four elevators would serve the tower, up from three, improving the ratio to approximately one elevator per 82 units, indicating short wait times. Floors 2, 11, and 12 would provide 832m² of indoor and 313m² of outdoor amenities. Two underground levels would remain, but vehicular parking would fall from three spaces to a single visitor space, with none for residents, offices, or retail. Bicycle parking would decrease from 479 to 363 spaces, comprising 297 long-term and 66 short-term spaces.
The site is approximately 80m from Bay station and 350m from Bloor–Yonge station. Surface buses on Bay and Yonge provide further north–south connections, while protected cycle tracks on Bloor and bicycle lanes on Bay north of Cumberland connect with sharrows continuing south toward downtown.
The proposal joins a pipeline of development nearby, including the 41-storey 50 Scollard under construction to the north and proposed 39-storey 69 Yorkville to the west. Northeast, proposals for 906 Yonge, 835 Yonge, Yonge and Scollard, and 30 Scollard range from 23 to 63 storeys; east, The Pemberton’s 44- and 68-storey towers are under construction, while Cumberland Square calls for three towers from 55 to 75 storeys. Taller projects cluster around Bloor, including proposed 70-storey 50 Bloor West to the south; 77- and 78-storey towers at 83 and 80 Bloor West to the southwest; and, southeast, the 85-storey One Bloor West under construction and proposed 99-storey 19 Bloor West.
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: | Aercoustics Engineering Ltd, BDP Quadrangle, Bousfields, Ferris + Associates Inc., Grounded Engineering Inc., Mulvey & Banani, RWDI Climate and Performance Engineering |
