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Prominently positioned along Downtown Toronto’s Central Waterfront, Arkfield Development has proposed a 49-storey tower on the northwest corner of Queens Quay West and Lower Spadina Avenue. Designed by BDP Quadrangle, the building, addressed to 10 Lower Spadina Avenue, would replace an existing 7-storey office building. The site is also bounded by Lake Shore Boulevard to its north and Kings Landing, a 12-storey stepped condominium designed by renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erickson to its west. UrbanToronto reported on the proposal in November, 2024. Since then, a Community Consultation Meeting was held in January with over 200 people in attendance. Presentations were made by the City and the Applicant, followed a Q&A with local residents and members of the waterfront community.
The meeting kicked off as Toronto planning staff Benjamin Waters explained the application process, providing information on the planning framework for the area and site context, referencing zoning, plans, policies, and design guidelines. He clarified that within the Downtown Secondary Plan, the subject site is identified within ‘Mixed-Use Area 1’, a designation which permits the most intensive forms of development within the Downtown Area.
Reminding attendees of her push for vibrant, green, complete downtown communities, local City Councillor and Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik said, “I encourage developers, especially those looking to build in Ward 10 — the most development rich ward in the city — to take seriously how they are contributing to the local community… and how they are participating in ensuring our spaces and communities are accessible and well served for a long time to come.”
Representing the Applicant, Michael Goldberg from Toronto’s Goldberg Group planning consultancy outlined the proposed development: a residential tower of 511 units comprising 371 one-bedroom (73%), 7 studios (1%), 78 two-bedrooms (15%), and 55 three-bedroom (11%). It’s not been determined whether it will comprise condos or rentals, but it will be market housing. The proposal also incorporates a supply of 39 vehicle parking spaces across 3 underground parking levels, which are to be accessed from a car elevator off the existing driveway that is shared with the adjacent condo. As training is required for a car elevator, no visitor parking is provided. In addition, a small amount —1,378 ft² (128m²) [0.4% of GFA] — of ground floor commercial space would be situated along the south elevation.
At the proposed building’s base, the ‘grid-like’ façade responds to Kings Landing’s ‘grid’ language. The tower’s southeast corner is ‘eroded’ to ‘open up’ the corner and improve pedestrian flow; a nod to the public realm impact, the discussion of which was deferred until the built form is set. The tower design presents a sculpted character, with angular balcony form intended to reflect the ‘sparkle’ and wave-like patterns of Lake Ontario.
Goldberg, representing the developer, emphasized the positive aspects of height, relating a number of other towers that have gone up along major streets downtown. This generated a number of questions of whether height should be a goal, or should other aspects be prioritized. Architect Ken Brooks from BDP Quadrangle, responded, “We think there’s an opportunity to do something of a larger scale here. Our rationale: Spadina is the grandest avenue in terms of scale, width, and importance, and the way that it connects to the waterfront deserves some celebration. We think a special landmark building at this point is an appropriate response.” He continued, “The other thing we’re trying to link it to is CityPlace to the north with its large scale. One way to knit those elements together is to have a building of a similar scale, so we looked at City Place as being a reference point to give us a clue as to what would be an appropriate scale for a building at [this] site.”
Recognizing prior feedback, the City emphasized that the project is in early stages. “City staff do not think it is acceptable in its current form” said Waters, identifying a number of issues:
- Height, density, massing, fit within local context
- Setbacks from property lines
- Public realm
- Loading
- Ground floor layout
Waters then opened the floor for questions, comments and concerns from the community. The discussion appeared to coalesce around themes related to the built form; liveability, quality of accommodations within the building; and congestion.
Built form
The proposed tower is 152-metre height, well above the Harbourfront Zoning bylaw maximum permitted height of 25-metres (approx. 8 storeys). A number of attendees challenged the Applicant’s view that the tower height should be referenced to the highest buildings in the area. They offered a countering view that the 49-storey proposed height doesn’t fit the nature of the immediate waterfront neighbourhood, which is typified by buildings ranging in height up to 17 storeys, with existing 12- and 17-storey buildings abutting the lands to the west and east, respectively.
Attendee “Leslie” noted, “The intersection already has a landmark. You don’t need a 49-storey building to be a community landmark,” referencing the Arthur Erickson-designed Kings Landing while also remarking that it houses the headquarters of the National Ballet, both points that represent significant prestige to the locality.
Nasim Adab, Program Manager Urban Design at the City, said: “…The downtown policies are clear that not every property is suitable for a tall building even though Mixed Use Area 1 is suitable for the densest built form. The density, number of storeys, and height very much depend on site specific conditions.” Stressing the benefits of densification, Goldberg responded that: “What’s very evident in the downtown is that side by side, buildings of different height and scale co-exist compatibly amongst one another. Being very early in the process, there is opportunity for revision that hopefully we’ll be capable of doing. But we do believe, that in 2025, this is an appropriate scale building given its location.”
Livability
Participants questioned the proposed 75% of units in the building comprising 1-bedroom and studio layouts, averaging 525 ft² and 422 ft² respectively, noting that while Toronto needs housing, does it need more market price 1-bedroom units? While it is well documented that the condo market is undergoing some stress, with increasing days-on-market and price erosion, the City’s stated goal of developing affordable housing looks as difficult as ever with no affordable units proposed in the project.
Attendee “MaryAnne” called the conversation “disheartening” and “disrespectful to community.” “This means more unlivable units brought downtown. You can’t have a family. You can’t grow. You can’t live here for a long period of time. It means a more transient community.”
Responding to concerns on the unit mix, Goldberg explained: “The Downtown Plan requires 10% to be 3-bedroom, 15% to be 2-bedroom, another 15% to be capable to be converted into 2- or 3-bedroom. That is what the Downtown Plan and Growing Up Plan guidelines speak to, and we have met that policy direction.” He further commented that there is no requirement for affordable units to be included in the development and it is not clear how the project economics could be adjusted to accommodate the returns the developer and investors seek.
Congestion
Participants voiced a view that a building at this scale at this location will exacerbate already difficult traffic patterns and increase congestion, noting that Queens Quay West has a single travel lane in each direction and is notoriously difficult for drivers who are not regular visitors to avoid driving onto TTC tracks, and with cars often blocking streetcars at peak times. The intersection of Spadina and Queens Quay West, where no turn on red is allowed, is frequently congested at the pedestrian crossing to the waterfront in the busy season.
Theressa Chang-Hun, Transportation Engineer at BA Group, stated, “Based on our analysis, the intersection can operate as is, even with the proposed development.” She added, “On average, this [511 unit] building will only add 1 person per [streetcar] vehicle, given how often they come.”
As zero visitor parking is proposed onsite, it is not yet clear where the developer proposes to accommodate visitors, deliveries, contractors and service vehicles, other than from the planning documents, which state “reliance on existing public parking available in proximity of the subject site.”
Communication gap?
Board member of the neighbouring Kings Landing condominium “Dan” claimed that Kings Landing has a “reciprocal agreement” in place with the owner of 10 Lower Spadina, and that no one from the Applicant’s team had been in contact with them. He went on to voice concerns about the proposal potentially “stealing upon the air rights of Kings Landing.” In response, Goldberg said, “We don’t expect your site to redevelop at any time in the foreseeable future. We propose the setback above the height of your existing building.”
Whatever the result of the feedback and the City’s ongoing review of the application, watching a Community Consultation provides some insight into the creative tensions between developers’ profit needs, the stability of existing community needs, the growth needs of a neighbourhood and a city, and the integration of Municipal and Provincial rules that govern development. The Developer has the option to take its case to the Ontario Land Tribunal, if it cannot reach agreement with the City. How can quality of life be balanced with economic development? Which stakeholders have the greatest impact? Does the planning process balance multiple interests in a sustainable way?
Toronto doesn’t stand still and with Provincial and Federal elections rapidly approaching what seems a heightened state of uncertainty, 10 Lower Spadina’s future residents and their neighbours could be in a very different environment once the building completes in a few years.
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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