On Friday, an application was submitted for a shiny new ModernTO building that would one day tower 21-storeys over Yonge Street in Rosedale.
For those in the dark, ModernTO is a City-run program announced last spring that repurposes City-owned sites -- including the former Toronto Coach Terminal and TTC home office -- for developments that include affordable housing. As part of the ModernTO program, CreateTO -- a new agency that was created to manage the City's real estate assets -- is exploring opportunities to repurpose eight City-owned sites for city-building benefits.
CreateTO, City Planning, and other City agencies determined that the site at 931 Yonge Street will be repurposed as part of the ModernTO portfolio.
CreateTO
The application for 931 Yonge Street details plans for the new development, proposing the creation of approximately 165 residential units. Zeidler Architecture has been hired to design the project, which is just one of many that the City has put forth as of late to tackle Toronto's housing affordability crisis.
Conveniently located at the corner of Yonge Street and Aylmer Avenue, adjacent to Budd Sugarman and Severn Creek parks, the site at 931 Yonge currently serves as the head office for the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), with a retail unit at grade. The seven-storey building has been there for decades and houses 230 TCHC employees. Office uses are planned to be relocated off-site as part of the office optimization objectives of the ModernTO Workplace Modernization Program. A key objective of this program is to reduce office-related expenditures by consolidating city-owned or leased office locations.
CreateTO
According to the City, the property would be redeveloped into a mixed-income, mixed-use high-rise that includes affordable ownership housing and public realm improvements, while also fostering sustainability. Of the 165 residential units, a minimum of 33% will be affordable ownership units. In total, the development will feature 124 one-bedroom (75%), 24 two-bedroom (15%), and 17 three-bedroom units (10%).
As part of ModernTO's mandate to include public realm improvements in its developments, the project will feature seating and newly-planted native species around the site.
Thanks to its close proximity to the TTC line, retail, and parks, the development will shine in the location department as it opens up accessibility to the highly coveted neighbourhood.
