Meeting on development proposal for 35-storey building at Woodbine and Danforth slated
The City of Toronto is set to hold a virtual community consultation meeting for a development proposal at 985 Woodbine Ave. (on the northeast corner of Danforth Avenue) early next month
The meeting is slated to take place on Monday, May 6, from 6 to 8 p.m.
The developer, Choice Properties REIT, is proposing a 35-storey residential building at the site of the present Valu-mart grocery store. It will share an underground parking area with a second 10-storey residential building along Strathmore Boulevard on the northeast section of the site (southwest corner of Cedarvale Avenue and Strathmore Boulevard).
Together, the developments will provide 646 residential units to the neighbourhood – 14 of which will be rental replacements.
The development will have a gross floor area (GFA) of 48,236.3 square metres with 2,148 square metres reserved for commercial use with 152 parking spaces.
According to documents filed with the City of Toronto, Choice Properties REIT’s application for this site is a resubmission of a proposal that was first made in 2019.
“As a result of ongoing discussions with City Staff, participation in the LPAT (Land Planning Appeal Tribunal) settlements proceedings on OPA 420, and feedback received from members of the community, a number of revisions were made to the proposal,” stated Bousfields Inc., which filed the application on behalf of the developer.
In 2014, Toronto Council requested that the city’s planning department undertake a study of Danforth Avenue from the Don River to Coxwell Avenue and from Coxwell Avenue to Victoria Park Avenue.
The Danforth Avenue Planning Study was completed in 2016 with recommendations being adopted by Toronto Council on June 15, 2018, and the Official Plan Amendment 420 (OPA 420) was enacted.
However, OPA 420 was appealed at the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) “by two landowners” in December 2019.
“Following the submission of the original application, the applicant participated in settlement proceedings with City Planning Staff related to the OPA 420 appeals,” stated the Woodbine and Danforth application’s documents.
Initially, Choice Properties REIT aimed to be granted a zoning bylaw amendment that would permit construction of a redevelopment of the site with a 15-storey residential mixed-use building and a nine-storey residential building with a total GFA of approximately 33,156 square metres.
“The site-specific Official Plan Amendment was filed out of an abundance of caution in order to allow for the proposed built form within the context of OPA 420 which, while adopted at the time of the submission, was under appeal by the applicant and accordingly not in force,” stated the cover letter filed with the new application seeking the 35-storey and the 10-storey buildings.
At the community meeting, residents will learn more about the project’s history and future plans. They will also have an opportunity to voice their opinions regarding the development.
Anyone who would like to participate is encouraged to join online at www.toronto.ca/CPconsultations.
For more information, please contact City Planner Steven Barber at steven.barber@toronto.ca or call 416-338-8567.
— 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
