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The lands surrounding Fairview Mall in North York have long been populated with multi-family housing. Since 2002 when the Sheppard Line 4 subway opened its eastern terminus at Don Mills Road and Sheppard Avenue, many of the low-rise and medium-rise buildings — mostly built amidst expansive lawns and surface parking lots — have gradually been subject to redevelopment with higher density buildings, while the high-rises, similarly set in ‘Tower-in-the-Park’ landscapes, have seen infill buildings added to the low density parts of their properties. Now, a 19-storey rental building with 226 units at 2600 Don Mills Road that was initially proposed to have infill built next to it, is proposed to be demolished to make way for 4 towers over 40 storeys tall.
Situated 90m north of Sheppard Avenue East on the southwest corner of Don Mills and Leith Hill roads, the 13,665m² site’s 19-storey rental apartment building stands in the middle of the site among lawns and surface parking. Fairview Mall is across Don Mills Road to the east, while buildings of similar size are adjacent to the west and north, most of which infill redevelopment plans. Low-rise townhouses and single-family homes are prevalent further south and west.
Compten Management Inc. first proposed infill on this site in 2017 with a 39-storey residential tower to be built at the south end of the property while retaining the existing building.
Following a block planning exercise led by the City for this an adjacent properties, a settlement in 2020 revised the plan to a 33-storey tower of 108.45m along with three blocks of stacked townhomes on other parts of the site. The 384 new units would be supported with additional parkland and road network additions to serve the new buildings on this site and its neighbours.
Adjacent landowners have since withdrawn from a shared subdivision plan, however, while the site is now within the Major Transit Station Area around Don Mills subway station, where the Province now encourages greater density. The changing development scene has prompted this reimagined resubmission which places four towers rising 42 and 47 storeys around the edges of the site, replacing the suites in the existing rental building.
Goldberg Group has resubmitted Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications, along with a Rental Housing Demolition Application, to the City of Toronto on behalf of the developer. The proposal designed by BDP Quadrangle would create two towers of 42 storeys (140.5m) and two of 47 storeys (155.25m) with a total of 1,814 units. The 42-storey southwest tower, with 226 replacement and 149 market-rate rental units, would be built first to relocate tenants, followed by demolishing the existing structure for the other towers.
The towers, designed with consistent 6-storey podiums, ensure separation distances of at least 25m between them. The rental replacement building and a 47-storey tower front a new east-west public road on the south end of the site, while the other 42- and 47-storey towers share a podium facing Leith Hill Road.
The proposed development has a total Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 126,673m², a massive increase from the 49,400m² of the previous proposal. The net Floor Space Index (FSI) has increased to 11.8 times lot coverage from the previous 3.47. Shared across all towers, the indoor amenity space would total 3,765m², including ground-floor and second-floor facilities, with outdoor amenities spanning 3,621m² in courtyards and landscaped areas.
Each tower would have four elevators, with ratios of one per 94 units in the southwest tower, 128 in the southeast, and 116 for the shared podium towers. High-speed motors would be required in the larger buildings to provide acceptable wait times. A new public park, occupying 1,097m², is planned for the southwesternmost corner of the site, adjacent to a cul-de-sac at the end of the proposed street.
Two underground levels would provide 517 parking spaces, up from 437 in the previous plan, with 497 for residents and 20 for visitors. Bicycle parking entails 1,361 spaces, including 1,234 long-term and 127 short-term spots. While the closest existing cycling infrastructure is on Shaughnessy Boulevard, plans are underway to extend bike lanes along Sheppard Avenue East.
Don Mills station is approximately 100m away and accessible within a 2-minute walk. The station connects Sheppard Line 4 with multiple local and regional bus routes, including York Region Transit. Metrolinx’s ongoing Sheppard Subway Extension study explores extending Line 4 eastward to McCowan Road and the Line 2 Scarborough Subway Extension, plus westward to Sheppard West station on University Line 1. In the long term, Ontario Line 3 could be extended north to Sheppard and Don Mills.
Other proposals surround the site. To the west, proposals include a 9-storey infill at 12–24 Leith Hill and a 31-storey tower at 25 Leith Hill Road. Southward, 1650 Sheppard Avenue East plans a 31-storey infill, while 2500 Don Mills proposes two towers at 43 and 52 storeys. Further east, VIA 123 (Phase 2) calls for a 35-storey tower, while 5 Fairview Mall Drive envisions two towers at 31 and 36 storeys. Dominating the northeast, the Fairview Mall Redevelopment includes plans for 14 towers ranging from 22 to 52 storeys, with Phase 1 featuring three towers at 38, 45, and 52 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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