{"id":14658,"date":"2023-03-26T17:14:38","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T00:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/resubmission-advances-35-storey-proposal-in-the-annex-neighbourhood\/"},"modified":"2023-03-26T17:14:40","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T00:14:40","slug":"resubmission-advances-35-storey-proposal-in-the-annex-neighbourhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/resubmission-advances-35-storey-proposal-in-the-annex-neighbourhood\/","title":{"rendered":"Resubmission Advances 35-Storey Proposal in The Annex Neighbourhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Developers take on a juggling act when proposing new builds. Always looking to maximize what can be built on a site, they must also contend with how their project will impact such things as privacy and light for neighbouring buildings, especially when they are at close quarters in tightly packed areas. In that regard,\u00a0Tribute Communities<\/a> and Greybrook Realty Partners<\/a>\u00a0have resubmitted their Zoning By-law Amendment application for a site spanning 148 through 158 Avenue Road and 220 through 234 Davenport Road, to respond to requests by the City of Toronto for changes to their 2021 proposal in the northeastern corner of The Annex neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

Looking northeast to 148 Avenue Road, designed by Chris Dikeakos Architects and CGL Architects Inc for Tribute Communities and Greybrook Realty Partners<\/span><\/p>\n

On the cusp of the Yorkville neighbourhood, with the surroundings a mix of residential, commercial, and recreational buildings, the\u00a0148 Avenue Road<\/a>\u00a0site on the northwest corner of Davenport Road and Avenue Road, is currently home to multiple commercial units. With some heritage exterior preservation planned, the Heritage Impact Study included in the submission notes the historic house-form buildings in the area, and concludes that that the proposal conserves the site and its adjacent units\u2019 cultural heritage value. The new design by\u00a0Chris Dikeakos Architects<\/a> and CGL Architects Inc<\/a>\u00a0(above) adds curves to and finer lines to reduce the boxiness of the earlier design (below).<\/p>\n

Looking northwest to the previous plan for 148 Avenue Road, designed by Chris Dikeakos Architects and CGL Architects Inc for Tribute Communities and Greybrook Realty Partners<\/span><\/p>\n

The revised design\u00a0takes the City\u2019s comments on the initial proposal into account. While maintaining 35 storeys, the height of the mechanical penthouse has been reduced, dropping the total from 114.76m to 112.97m. More significantly, the floor-plate has reduced from 789m\u00b2 to 750m\u00b2. This changes the proposed total number of units from 355 to 333. With three elevators included in the design, this would mean one elevator for every 111 units, somewhat above the 1 elevator per 100 unit ratio, but better than the previous ratio of 1 elevator per 118.33 units.<\/p>\n

Looking northwest to the revised podium of 148 Avenue Road, designed by Chris Dikeakos Architects and CGL Architects Inc for Tribute Communities and Greybrook Realty Partners<\/span><\/p>\n

The residential gross floor area changes from 25,211m\u00b2 to 24,138m\u00b2, with the non-residential gross floor area going from 375m\u00b2 to 491m\u00b2.<\/p>\n

The podium continues to still be three storeys to align with the surrounding two and three-storey buildings. The revised ground floor has an expanded plaza of 90m\u00b2, as well as a larger plaza of 127m\u00b2 in area at the southwest corner that would also be a POPS (Privately-Owned Publicly accessible Space).<\/p>\n

The proposed indoor amenity space on the ground, first, and fourth floors drops from 607m\u00b2 to 500m\u00b2. Meanwhile, the outdoor amenities have gained space, going from 488m\u00b2 to 508m\u00b2.<\/p>\n

Looking northwest to the previously planned podium for 148 Avenue Road, designed by Chris Dikeakos Architects and CGL Architects Inc for Tribute Communities and Greybrook Realty Partners<\/span><\/p>\n

The submission notes how all of these changes are meant to benefit the neighbouring properties, such as the floor-plate would now have \u201ccut outs\u201d in each corner that help improve south view for the existing tower just to the north, while the increased setbacks of the podium from the curb help lessen the proposal’s impact on views, lighting, and privacy concerns.<\/p>\n

Looking northwest across the intersection of Avenue Road and Davenport Road to the site, image retrieved from Google Street View<\/span><\/p>\n

These changes also include a reduction to the number of proposed vehicular parking spaces from 204 to 176, with 132 being for long-term residential use, and 35 being shared spaces for residential and commercial visitors. Conversely, the design has increased the number of bicycle parking spots from 320 to 334.<\/p>\n

An aerial view of 148 Avenue Road and the surrounding area, image retrieved from Google Maps<\/span><\/p>\n

The resubmission has juggled spaces and numbers to address concerns with lighting, shadows, views, and privacy, while striving to maintain the general design. The changes would also result in more plaza and public space. Overall, the juggling act has resulted in a design that aims to better suit the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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UrbanToronto has a research service,\u00a0UrbanToronto Pro<\/a>, that provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area\u2014from proposal through to completion. We also offer\u00a0Instant\u00a0Reports<\/a>, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter,\u00a0New Development Insider<\/a>, that tracks projects from initial application.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n