Revised plans have been filed for a mixed-use, master-planned development at 1350 Sheppard Avenue West next to Downsview Park, and those call for 300 units on top of the already-approved 1,400. Designed by by The Planning Partnership for Canada Lands Company, the site in North York is part of the larger 520-acre Downsview Lands (once home to the Downsview Airport) targeted for major redevelopment over the coming decades.
The updated Zoning By-Law Amendment filed in mid-March outlines the development plans for "Phase 1" of Arbo Downsview, also known as the William Baker neighbourhood. As the northwestern-most neighbourhood in the Downsview Secondary Plan, the site is situated west of Downsview West and fronts onto Keele Street and Sheppard Avenue West.
Spanning 62 acres, the site received approval in July 2022 for a Zoning By-law Amendment that called for 1,400 units across eight buildings ranging from four to 20 storeys, under the condition that 20% of the units be affordable housing and a 2,152-sq.-ft Privately Owned Publicly Accessible Open Space (POPS) be included in the development, alongside a 200,929-sq.-ft public park.
Additionally, Canada Lands Company agreed to provide $7 million to support the development of the future Downsview Community Centre and another $1 million for public art that will one day grace the property.
Since then, the developer has continued to work with the City on the Phase 1 application and has decided to up the unit count, along with some other revisions.
"The proposed Municipal Zoning By-law Amendment will deliver up to 300 additional units at Arbo Neighbourhood Phase 1, while not altering the performance standards originally established under [the approved By-law]," says Canada Land Company's updated planning rationale. "The proposed Zoning By-law Amendment will also better leverage new infrastructure, planned community service facilities, and existing rapid transit."
The approved maximum total gross floor area is unchanged from the first submission, in addition to the minimum non-residential gross floor area and building setbacks and heights. But alongside the additional units, updated plans call for a modification that would lower the minimum size requirements for two-bedroom and three-bedroom units on the site "to allow for greater design flexibility and to accommodate the proposed units within the permitted gross floor area," says the planning rationale.
Essentially, the developer is seeking to increase the unit count by decreasing the allowed unit size, but according to their application, the approval of this request would allow "the flexibility to combine units based on market demand" in a market where family-sized units "are becoming more difficult to deliver."
Once complete, Arbo Phase 1 would be located in the southern portion of the site, capped by a new public street (Street B) that would extend from Dovehouse Avenue. Between the future Arbo development phases in the north and the cluster of eight buildings that will make up Phase 1 in the south will be a woodlot containing a trail network.
The master-planned community will incorporate a mix of uses including "commercial retail and services space, a seniors’ component, preservation and restoration of the woodlot, two new public parks, and other amenities," according to the Arbo website.
Upon the completion of future phases, the Arbo neighbourhood will be home to around 4,000 new housing units within close proximity to Downsview Park subway and GO stations.
1350 Sheppard Avenue West/Canada Lands Company
1350 Sheppard Avenue West/Canada Lands Company
1350 Sheppard Avenue West/Canada Lands Company
