Plans have been submitted to the City of Toronto to convert the low-rise commercial plaza at 1500 O'Connor Drive into a four-building rental development spanning 14 to 29 storeys. Designed by Arcadis for 1000920447 Ontario Inc., the mixed-use proposal in the O'Connor Parkview area of East York would result in elevations well above those in the immediate area.
Looking southeast at 1500 O'Connor Drive, designed by Arcadis for 1000920447 Ontario Inc.
The 1.47 hectare site is located southwest of the upcoming O'Connor stop on Eglinton Line 5 and extends from 1450 to 1500 O'Connor Drive on the north side of the road between Bermondsey Road and Northline Road. The property currently consists of three one- to three-story buildings and houses restaurants, offices, medical practices, light industrial uses and a daycare center, each of which is fronted by a surface parking lot. It sits amid a diverse mix of land uses, including low-rise and community amenities to the north and east, and commercial and light industrial buildings to the west.
Looking west from O'Connor Drive to current location, image from Google Maps
RDLandPlan Consultants Inc. has submitted official plan amendment, zoning bylaw amendment and draft subdivision plan applications to the city on behalf of the developer. The proposal calls for four buildings of 14, 15, 21 and 29 floors (54.5 m to 98.5 m), each anchored by a 4- or 6-story podium framing a new internal public street.
Looking southwest at 1500 O'Connor Drive, designed by Arcadis for 1000920447 Ontario Inc.
The plan would provide for 915 dedicated rental units on a total gross floor area of 73,849 m², resulting in a floor space index of 5.03 times the area coverage of the property. The residential use would cover approximately 72,300 m² of gross floor area, supplemented by 917 m² of retail and 595 m² for an on-site daycare center.
Site map designed by Arcadis for 1000920447 Ontario Inc.
A 1,465 m² public park is planned for the northeast corner of the site along O'Connor Drive and the new internal road. This would be complemented by a landscaped POPS (Privately-Owned Publicly-Accessible Space) extending over 211sqm along O'Connor Drive. The tallest tower would stand closest to the center of the site and slope down to the surrounding low-rise blocks to the north and south. Retail uses would front O'Connor Drive and enliven the street with upgraded boulevards, while the daycare center is planned at the base of the 15-story building west of the new park.
Looking west towards the internal street and public park, image from submission to the City of Toronto
The leisure areas in the four buildings would be divided between 1,830 m² indoors and 1,759 m² outdoors. Vertical circulation would be handled by 11 elevators (three per tower, excluding two in the 14-story building), serving an average of about one car per 83 units, meaning acceptable response times when all elevators are in operation.
Ground floor plan designed by Arcadis for 1000920447 Ontario Inc.
Below grade, three levels of underground parking would provide 461 vehicle parking spaces for residents, 54 shared visitor and commercial/daycare spaces, and six car-sharing spaces. The bicycle parking would include 825 long-term and 184 short-term spaces.
The site is served by TTC buses 70 O'Connor and 91 Woodbine, with stops a short walk away on Amsterdam Avenue. These routes connect south to Coxwell Station on the Danforth Line 2 and north to Eglinton Avenue, where the O'Connor stop on the upcoming Eglinton Line 5 will be approximately 0.8 miles (1.3 km) from the site. Cyclists would be served via the existing lanes on Bermondsey and Northline roads, connecting the development to the wider city network.
An axonometric view of the site and surrounding area looking northeast, image from the handover to the City of Toronto
The proposal stands out as the largest in its area, where most surrounding proposals remain low-scale. Nearby developments include a four-storey residential project at 49 Cranfield Road to the northwest, the four-storey Yardley Towns to the south and the seven-storey Vaultra Storage O'Connor development to the north-east. Taller buildings are rising northeast closer to Eglinton Avenue, with proposals such as the 10-story Sunrise Condos and 1400 Victoria Park, with four towers ranging from 13 to 26 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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