A zoning bylaw amendment application has been submitted to the City of Toronto for a mixed-use rental tower at 1960-1966 Yonge Street by the Biddington Group, which is proposing a 45-story building designed by Arcadis. The project in the midtown Davisville Village neighborhood would replace two low-rise buildings. The site is a short walk from Davislville Station on Yonge Line 1 and is within the Protected Transit Stop Area where provincial legislation encourages high-density development.
A top view looking southwest of Yonge Street in 1960, designed by Arcadis for the Biddington Group
The proposal covers Yonge Street from 1960 to 1966 and forms a site on the southwest corner with Imperial Street. The site contains a two-story commercial building and a four-and-a-half-story mixed-use building containing a Toronto-Dominion Bank branch and nine rental apartments above. The surrounding neighborhood includes a mix of mid-rise commercial buildings and emerging high-rises along Yonge Street.
Looking southwest at the current location. The image was retrieved from Google Maps
Bousfields has submitted an application to amend the building regulations on behalf of the project developer. The 45-story mixed-use rental building would reach a height of 149.15 m. An 11-story podium would frame the Yonge Street and Imperial Street facades. The tower is designed with a compact rectangular footprint of approximately 564 m². On the ground floor, the project would create 94sqm of retail space on Yonge Street. In total, the building would have a gross floor area of ​​23,994 m², including 23,900 m² of living space, resulting in a floor area index of 24.2 times covering the 988 m² site.
Looking west towards the podium designed by Arcadis for the Biddington Group
The development would create 379 rental apartments, including 9 replacement rental units in a mix of 221 one-bedroom units, 109 two-bedroom units and 49 three-bedroom units. Three elevators are planned, which corresponds to approximately one elevator for every 126 residential units. This means that high speed motors would be required to ensure adequate response times when all elevators are in operation.
Site plan designed by Arcadis for Biddington Group
The indoor facilities would amount to 632 m², of which 525 m² are outdoor facilities on floors 2 and 12. Parking is provided in a two-story underground car park, which offers 18 vehicle parking spaces, including 12 resident parking spaces and 6 visitor parking spaces. Bicycle parking consists of 379 permanent and 116 short-term parking spaces.
Ground floor floor plan designed by Arcadis for Biddington Group
The property is located approximately 60 m north of the side entrance to the Davisville train station. One station north, the Eglinton interchange station provides connections to the Eglinton Line 5, with the Canada Square entrance approximately 635 m away. Surface transportation is also readily available with several TTC bus routes. Cycling connections are supported by bike paths along Yonge Street near Davisville Avenue and the Kay Gardner Beltline Trail, approximately a quarter mile to the south.
An aerial view of the site and surrounding area, image from submission to the City of Toronto
Development activity around the Davisville station has increased in recent years. Immediately to the west, 21-story 25 Imperial Street is planned, while to the north, along Yonge Street, a number of mid-rise projects are progressing, including 15-story 2010 Yonge Street. The Millwood to the east is planned with 38 and 45 floors. Other projects southeast of the site include 37-story 55 Davisville Avenue, 39-story 60 Balliol and 40-story 22 Balliol Residences. Closer to the subway entrance to the south, proposals for 1900 Yonge Street call for a 45-story increase, while 1910 Yonge Street was expanded with towers of 48 and 53 stories.
UrbanToronto will continue to monitor the progress of this development, but in the meantime you can learn more in our database file linked below. If you’d like, you can join the discussion in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the designated area on this page.
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