At a press event this morning at the East Harbor site near the base of Toronto’s Don Valley Parkway, representatives from local and provincial governments gathered to announce that five Ministerial Zoning Orders (MZOs) have been delivered to the city to address the to support construction of Transit Oriented Communities (TOCs) at five stations along the Ontario Line. While the TOCs at the other four sites will be built by a private partner on land expropriated by the Ontario government for the construction of the stations, in East Harbor the government has signed an agreement with private landowner Cadillac Fairview.
“Our Government is tackling the housing crisis head-on,” said Steve Clark, Secretary of State for Communities and Housing. “This announcement is a testament to the strong partnership between our government and the City of Toronto. Today’s Minister’s building code regulations will help support transit-oriented communities while building approximately 7,000 much-needed new homes for Ontario residents and their families.”
MZOs are a tool that quickly establishes a new zoning at a given location, skipping the lengthy rezoning process that the vast majority of new-build proposals in that city undergo. MZOs can be viewed as friendly when the city council has requested them from the province to expedite redevelopment of a site consistent with city policy, but can be viewed as hostile when a city has not requested them. These MZOs are seen as friendly, and Mayor John Tory was present at the event this morning and said: “Building more transit-oriented communities will be good for this city and good for our residents. As our governments move forward with new transit projects, we must recognize the opportunities that exist to build more homes, public spaces, and create jobs for people near transit stations. We will continue to work in close partnership with the Province to build more housing and meet community needs These transit projects are designed to serve. I’m confident that together we will be able to increase both ridership and housing by providing places for people to live, work and play near future stations.”
At 38 acres, the East Harbor site is significantly larger than the other four and will create a large employment center with office and retail space for more than 50,000 jobs, as well as new living quarters, community facilities, and parkland. Of the 15 planned buildings, of varying heights and useful lives, a total of 4,300 residential units would be located across multiple of these buildings, all within walking distance of the new transit hub served by the GO Lakeshore East and Stouffville lines, the Ontario Line subway, and a new TTC streetcar line on a south extension of Broadview Avenue.
East Harbor table of contents, image by ?
MZOs have also been created for transit-oriented communities at future Corktown, Queen-Spadina, King-Bathurst and Exhibition stations being developed by Infrastructure Ontario (IO), the Department of Transportation (MTO) and Metrolinx. Private partners for these locations are being sought and will be announced in the future.
The proposed TOC at Exhibition Station will transform the area immediately north of the expanded station — served by GO Lakeshore trains, TTC streetcars and the new Ontario Line — into a connected transit hub with new residential, office and retail space, the new would support jobs. The exhibit TOC campus consists of two lots north of the station, lining both sides of Atlantic Avenue.
Table of contents of the exhibition, image courtesy of Infrastructure Ontario
The Exhibition Station development is expected to deliver approximately 568 residential units and add affordable units to the housing options. These are complemented by quality indoor and outdoor common spaces that serve as an extension of personal living space, contributing to the well-being of residents and the general livability of the area.
The proposed TOC at King-Bathurst Station also consists of two sites, one on each side of King on the east side of Bathurst. Attractions along popular shopping and dining streets are also served by the King and Bathurst TTC trams. As well as adding more residential and office space at the station, the new construction above will also take into account the historical components of the site and help to maintain the character of the vibrant district.
King and Bathurst TOC site, image courtesy of Infrastructure Ontario
The King-Bathurst TOC development is expected to deliver approximately 422 new housing units and expand housing options by incorporating new and affordable units.
The proposed TOC at Queen-Spadina Station is also intended to support a similarly vibrant community, also served by two streetcars as well as the new Ontario Line, and provide more residential and retail space for businesses, while respecting the station’s historic components. site. The Queen-Spadina site consists of two blocks, southwest and northeast of the intersection
Table of contents by Queen and Spadina, image courtesy of Infrastructure Ontario
The two proposed Queen Bathurst TOC developments are expected to deliver a total of approximately 217 residential units and add affordable units to the housing options. Similar to the exhibition grounds, these are supplemented by high-quality communal open spaces indoors and outdoors, which are intended to act as an extension of personal living space.
The proposed TOC at Corktown Station will connect local bus, tram and subway services to the Ontario Line and will offer a mix of new housing, commercial, retail and community space while honoring the history of the First Parliament site recall. Here packages are west of Parliament Street on both sides of Front Street. The site of the first through third Houses of Parliament – after Toronto became the capital of what was then Upper Canada – was here on the south side of Front Street.
Table of Contents Corktown, image courtesy of Infrastructure Ontario
The proposed TOC development at Corktown Station is expected to provide approximately 1,580 residential units, including affordable units. Similar to the Exhibition and Queen and Spadina locations, these are complemented by quality indoor and outdoor common spaces.
Ontario’s Transit Oriented Communities program will create more housing, including affordable housing, and jobs at and near transit stations along routes of the province’s four priority transit projects in the GTA and via the existing GO rail network. This will help increase public transit ridership, reduce congestion, create an estimated 375,000 construction jobs for the entire Subways-Transit Oriented Communities program and improve the quality of life for Toronto residents.
For more information, see our database files for the projects linked below. If you’d like, you can join the conversation in the related project forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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