A new 40-storey development proposed in early-March is moving forward with a Site Plan Approval for its East York development set to bring 546 new residential units to the neighbourhood.
The proposed project is ‘Phase 2’ of a development block, which shares the lot with a 24-storey apartment building, constructed back in 2012, as well as a 35-storey residential building and seven-storey mid-rise building now under occupancy, also known as ‘Phase 1’. The block is located at the addresses 90 Eastdale Avenue and 2 Secord Avenue and is known as 'Bela Square.'
Under review is the development of the southern portion of the 90 Eastdale property, including a northeastern chunk of the 2 Secord property.
Currently, this site is home to 31 three-bedroom rental townhouse units, for which the developers have also filed a Rental Housing Demolition and Conversion Application. In the Planning Rationale, it is stated that their reasoning behind demolishing and redeveloping the existing housing is in line with CMHC’s declaration of a housing crisis and call for 3.5M new homes — the goal being to “increase the proposed density on the Subject Lands.”
The developer behind the project, DBS Developments, submitted a Site Plan Approval in mid-July that is currently under review, along with a Zoning By-Law Amendment submitted in early-March. If approved, 'Phase 2' would complete the redevelopment of the East York block.
Now for the development itself.
The proposed build would be located at 90 Eastdale Avenue, just north of the Danforth and Main Street. It would sit on a roughly 5,179 sq. m lot and extend 40 storeys above a six-storey podium, comprising 38,848 sq. m of residential gross floor area.
Units would consist of 323 one-bedroom units (59%), 158 two-bedroom units (29%), and 65 three-bedroom units (12%), and residents would have access to 1,092 sq. m of indoor amenity space and 1,092 sq. m outdoors. Large indoor amenity spaces are provided on the second and third floor, with a smaller indoor amenity space being provided on the seventh floor.
On top of that, most residents would have access to their own patio, balcony, or terrace, and plans include a two-level underground parking lot with 172 spaces, 141 of which would be reserved for those who live there. Plus, there would be a whopping 603 bicycle parking spaces. Residents would also be within walking distance of Taylor Creek Park and within a 500m and 950m walking distance of transit, shops, and restaurants on Main Street and Danforth Avenue, respectively.
The building, designed by Arcadis, has a standard tower design, but a fun geometric podium, featuring large windows and sleek black masonry.
If approved, the new development at Bela Square would bring much needed additional housing units to the Danforth neighbourhood.
"This project continues our commitment to creating vibrant, connected communities designed for families and individuals alike," says Ben Rossetto, Chief Investment Officer at DBS. "It’s a true testament to our company’s strengths as a vertically integrated entity to be able to deliver this rental project in an increasingly challenging environment.”
