B L O O R S T R E E T B O O M I N G

SPREADING THE DENSITYRachael Williams

ith the scarcity of land available in Toronto’s downtown core,

developers are looking north to transform underutilized sites into massive high-rise condo communities. The City of Toronto is reviewing Kingsett’s application for a zoning by-law amendment at 2 Bloor Street West that would permit three new residential towers of 50, 66 and 69 storeys at the northwest corner of Yonge and Bloor streets. The development would provide 1,507 residential units and 13,685 square metres of commercial space in an already bustling neighbourhood. “Yonge and Bloor is definitely seeing a lot of redevelopment right now. Every single corner has some sort of active project going on,” said Ryerson City Building Institute research manager Graham Haines. Adjacent to the site is Great Gulf’s 51-storey mixed-use residential tower on the northwest corner of Yonge and Cumberland streets; a 58-storey mixed-use residential tower submitted by Bazis Inc. is under construction on the southwest corner of Yonge and Yorkville Avenue. Midway between these two developments is another

62-storey mixed-use proposal submitted by Metropia, Capital Developments and RioCan Living that is currently under review. Immediately south of the site, the Holt Renfrew store is slated to be redeveloped by Mizrahi Developments into a 71-storey mixed-use tower. “This [KingSett Capital’s] application certainly

W

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Rendering of KingSett Capital’s proposal for three new residential towers of 50, 66 and 69 storeys at the northwest corner of Yonge and Bloor streets.

Rendering of the proposed redevelopment of the Cumberland Square shopping plaza, looking southeast into the plaza.

SOURCE FOR BOTH: GIANNONE PETRICONE ASSOCIATES

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isn’t out of line with the other developments happening there, or along the Yonge corridor to Bloor,” said Graham. This 0.72 ha site has been part of at least five development applications over the past two decades, which have not materialized. These previous applications date back to 2001 and include proposals from OMERS Realty and Oxford Properties for residential developments ranging from 18 to 85 storeys. In 2015, Kingsett Capital purchased the property from Oxford. Toronto and East York District senior planner David Driedger said the three towers proposed by Kingsett range in height from 169 metres to 217 metres. The zoning by-law permits a 103-metre mixed-use development at Yonge Street and a 170-metre mid-block tower. “Obviously there’s a huge, unrelenting market and we’re getting more and more intense developments and it’s really being concentrated in a rather small area of the city,” said Greenberg Consultants principal Ken Greenberg. One of the challenges with this sudden population boom is that these increasingly concentrated populations are resulting in greater pressures being put on existing

infrastructure in the area. The developments around Bloor Street West are expected to create approximately 7,500 residential units, which will put added pressure on the Bloor-Danforth line, as well as the water and sewer systems. Greenberg explained that when the Bloor-Danforth line opened in 1966, and extended in 1968 and 1980, there was not a lot of development occurring around the subway stops. Stretches of two-storey commercial buildings with residential houses behind them dominated the streetscape for decades. “We hadn’t seen many examples of Bloor Street fulfilling its real potential until now...and I think this is a great opportunity,” said Greenberg. “However, we have to be more resourceful about using our land more broadly across the city rather than trying to shoehorn everybody into a tiny part of our urban footprint.” Pointing to large swaths of vacant industrial lands adjacent to the Museum of Contemporary Art near Sterling and Bloor Street West, Greenberg said he would like to see those lands converted from employment lands to mixed use to spread out the development along Bloor. However, this could only be

accommodated through a municipal comprehensive review and with provincial approval. Driedger said the city also has concerns with relation to the structural integrity of the proposed development in relation to the Bloor-Danforth subway line. The line runs in a wide configuration directly underneath the site. The supporting columns that would have to be built to hold up the proposed development would have to be carefully placed so as not to interfere with the subway tunnel. The existing tunnel also limits the amount of room for underground parking to one below-grade level.

Toronto and East York Community Council considered the staff report on KingSett Capital’s application yesterday. The city will be hosting a community consultation on February 21.

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SPREADING THE DENSITY

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