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A settlement offer for a contested proposal in Toronto’s High Park area has been accepted by City Council. Designed by Baron Nelson Architects for Old Stonehenge Development and Clifton Blake Group, the site at 1930 through 1938 Bloor Street West, and 3 through 21 Quebec Avenue is adjacent to High Park station, and therefore within its Major Transit Station Area where the Province encourages greater density.
The development site is an assembly of four properties of approximately 1,437m² in area at the northeast corner of Bloor Street and Quebec Avenue. Currently, the site hosts low-rise buildings, including a daycare, commercial spaces, and 12 residential rental units. High Park lies directly to the south across Bloor Street, while the surrounding area includes a mix of apartment buildings, house-form buildings, mid-rise developments, and commercial uses.
Initially proposed at 17 storeys and refused by the City, continuing discussions between the developers and City staff led to a revised plan, addressing concerns over massing and setbacks. City Council accepted the settlement offer with revised massing and height, now 19 storeys, at a meeting on February 5.
Goodmans LLP submitted the without-prejudice settlement offer letter to the City of Toronto on behalf of the developers. Rising to a height of 69.51m, increased from 62.31m, the plan includes a total Gross Floor Area of 12,629m², with 12,263m² allocated to residential uses and 365m² for retail at grade. The building would have a Floor Space Index of 8.79 times lot coverage, and contain 132 condominium units plus 12 replacement rental units.
The revised design reduces the podium height along Bloor from six storeys to four, with the fifth-floor step-back 2 metres from the west and south facades. Meanwhile, the tower floor-plate has been reduced from 855m² to 648m², both moving under the City’s preference of maximum 750m² floor-plates, and providing more separation between it and the property to the east.
The building would offer 288m² of indoor amenities and 288m² of outdoor amenities, located on the second floor and penthouse level. The building’s three elevators would result in a ratio of one elevator per 48 units, indicating minimal wait times for residents. A three-level underground garage would provide 60 residential parking spaces and three visitor spaces. For cyclists, the plan includes 130 long-term and 29 short-term spaces.
The site is located just 100m south of High Park Station on Bloor Line 2. Two stations east, Dundas West provides connections to GO Transit’s Kitchener Line and the UP Express. The area is also served by TTC surface routes, with buses operating along High Park Avenue. For cyclists, dedicated bike lanes run along Bloor Street West, offering a continuous east-west route through the city, though it is possible that the provincial government will rip them up. High Park’s trail system connects to the waterfront bike paths.
There is significant development activity near the site. To the east is a stale proposal at 12 High Park Avenue for a 3-storey micro-retail and nursery, while the existing High Park Village rental complex would add three more towers ranging from 11 to 35 storeys. Similarly, other Tower-in-the-Park style developments in the area are also subject to infill proposals such as 299 Glenlake, planned at 11 storeys, while 111 Pacific Avenue features two towers at 24 and 30 storeys, and at 21 Oakmount Road there are two additional towers proposed at 35 and 43 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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