The rapidly growing University of Toronto (U of T) campus is in store for more changes.
The renowned university has had some work done in recent years, including the upcoming addition of a bold, nine-storey student residence at 40 Harbord Street, and the recently added, glassy new addition to Robarts Library.
Most recently, an application was submitted to the City that would permit the renovation and expansion of the one-storey portion of the campus’s Lash Miller Chemical Laboratories Building at 80 St. George Street. The building houses U of T’s Department of Chemistry, providing chemical labs and classroom spaces.
The existing Lash Miller building is L-shaped and features a six-storey wing along Willcocks Street, which steps down to a one-storey wing along St. George Street. The expansion would add nearly 3000 sq. m over three storeys within the existing footprint at the northeast corner of the building -- generally, at the corner of St. George and Willcocks Streets.
According to the application, the proposed expansion will result in a total gross floor area (GFA) of 5,121 sq. m for the entire Lash Miller building, which incorporates an existing 2,188 sq. m of retained GFA.
The addition will feature a three-storey vertical expansion (for a combined total of four stories) plus mechanical penthouse, renovations to the basement, as well as a modernization of the existing ground floor and entrance conditions in the one-storey wing. No changes are proposed to the remainder of the building.
The renovated building will become home to new laboratories and associated faculty and administrative space, as well as classrooms. The project will house an important research initiative: the Acceleration Consortium. According to the application, this makes the project a priority and therefore deserving of expedited approvals.
Members of the consulting team met with City Planning staff in October to discuss potential deliverables for the project. Following the meeting, a pre-application checklist for Site Plan Control was issued on October 13.
