New affordable housing units added to Danforth Avenue building proposal
Following Toronto Council’s approval of Councillor Paula Fletcher’s motion to create more affordable housing in her ward last October, Toronto-Danforth is gearing up to introduce 79 new affordable units to the community.
Core Development is expanding a previously approved project at 1111 Danforth Ave. to now include the neighbouring property at 1117 Danforth Ave. – the latter solely comprising affordable units.
“I know Mainstay has been trying to redevelop this site for quite a while, but it’s been very hard,” said Fletcher during a March 27 community consultation meeting.
“And so when this site came up with (Core Development), I got in touch with both Core and Mainstay and said ‘are you interested in joining up?’ And they were.”
According to documents filed with the City of Toronto, the proposed development aims to “increase the amount of rent-geared-to-income and affordable housing, including housing for people living with mental health issues”.
To achieve this, Core Development partnered with Houselink and Mainstay Community Housing (HLMS), the non-profit organization which operates the supportive housing facility that’s currently on site.
Together, they are proposing a 14-storey mixed-use building that replaces the 27 rental units that are currently in the HLMS building on the site at 1117 Danforth Ave. while also adding more density across the entire project for a total of 106 purpose-built units
At the March 27 community consultation meeting, HLMS’s Executive Director Gautam Mukherjee revealed that the organization will act as the developer and keep ownership of the land. Core Development will take charge of the construction.
“We’ll own and operate the building that’s created here,” said Mukherjee. “So it will be a fully non-profit project all the way through.”
The proposal is attached to a demolition application as the current HLMS building will be torn down and rebuilt to seamlessly fit the design of the adjacent proposal at 1111 Danforth Ave.
“Our current building here is quite aged,” said Mukherjee. “We’ve been operating 1117 Danforth Ave. for just over 20 years. The building itself is much older.”
The building, said Mukherjee, lacks an elevator and amenities such as air conditioning. The new development, on the other hand, aims to address these issues.
“Accessibility is a very significant issue, both in the city and for Houselink and Mainstay,” said Mukherjee. “Creating buildings that are accessible for people who can’t manage stairs, as an example, is very important to us.”
The proposed development will incorporate “architectural elements that will serve to complement streetscape and the existing heritage façade” of the adjacent project (1111 Danforth Ave.). The site is home to the former Trull Funeral Home and St. Catherine of Siena Church. The facade of the funeral home will be part of the new building.
According to Fletcher, it will be constructed using the same model as the Riverdale Co-op (685 Queen Street E) which renovated the existing units while creating an additional 17 new units, for a total of 26 units. Like the Riverdale Co-op, the proposal at 1117 Danforth will be fully accessible. Although pledging only five parking spaces, the building will include 19 studio units, 50 one-bedroom units, 28 two-bedroom units, and 9 three-bedroom units.
There is a total proposed gross floor area of 7,027.50 square metres. A total of 63 square metres will be reserved for commercial use while the remaining 6,964.60 square metres will be affordable residential units.
Located close to the subway, with Donlands station to the west and Greenwood station to the east, this section of Toronto-Danforth has experienced an increase in development applications over the past few years.
Although most praise the proposal for its focus on housing affordability, one point of contention during the March 27 consultation meeting was the scarcity of parking spaces as only five are proposed for a building with 106 units.
“(I recognize) that transit is available, but I think people are wondering if five parking spaces is going to be enough, especially if there are staff from Mainstay who are making use of that for deliveries or whatever,” said Susan McMurray, a community member residing just south of the proposed development.
However, officials said there are no longer required minimum parking spaces by the City of Toronto, “except for business spots and accessible spaces”.
Due to easy access to TTC in the area, the developers instead opted to provide 106 bicycle parking spots for tenants.
With the current building at 1117 Danforth Ave. expected to be demolished, tenants will receive relocation assistance as well as the right to move back to the building upon completion. According to the planners, construction should take 30 to 36 months.
When completed, the design of the new building will take in the façade of the old Trull Funeral home which is just to the west of HMLS building at 1117 Danforth Ave.
Preliminary meetings for this project occurred just this past December, so the proposal is still in its early, pre-construction stages. But officials say there will be tenant meetings as well as more consultations to further discuss the proposal and its relocation assistance strategy.
— Amarachi Amadike is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for Beach Metro Community News. His reporting is funded by the Government of Canada through its Local Journalism Initiative.
Amarachi Amadike, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Beach Metro Community News
