avenue & Lawrence
New Development Proposed for Avenue and Lawrence (updated July 27, 2020)
On June 9th, 2020, Developer First Capital, submitted plans to the City of Toronto for a major re-development project at the north east corner of Avenue Road and Lawrence. This development will be the largest undertaken to date for this section of Avenue Road.
Application Details & Initial Comments:
The total site is 2.7 acres, encompassing seven existing properties, extending from the current medical building at 272 Lawrence, winding west around the corner of Avenue Road and Lawrence up to, but not including, Royal Lighting. 272 Lawrence West itself borders 250 Lawrence West, which is being re-developed as a nine-storey condominium development (29.9 metres tall and 179 units).
First Capital’s development application proposes two new condominium buildings referred to as “A” and “B”, and consists of 455 residential units. Details of these buildings are:
Building “B”, at the corner of Avenue Rd and Lawrence, replaces Starbucks, Fancy Franks, veterinary clinic, the car wash, small fifteen-unit rental apartment building, Carlson Wagonlit travel, and CLLC Learning College. The proposal is for a 46.4-metre-high condominium (15 floors) plus 4m of mechanical requirements: in comparison to other buildings on Avenue Road, the highest condominium to date, including the two under construction, is approximately 25 metres. As a further reference point for the proposed height, the building at 3018 Yonge Street on the south west corner of Lawrence, is actually 4 metres less than First Capital’s proposal. It is assumed that Pusateri’s would be the second level retail tenant.
Building “A” is proposed at the current location of Pusateri’s and would contain ten floors – 34.8 metres. The first floor of this building will be approximately 7.6 metres tall.
Both buildings do not meet the required set backs, step backs, and height as shown below with the blue line being City of Toronto Mid Rise guidelines and the red line being the Avenue Road Study reference. This results in excessive shadows being cast on the surrounding open space and the opposite side of Avenue Road.
There is no public parkland dedication in the current proposal, as is required by the City.
The proposal includes 605 parking spaces including retail and visitor parking. 600 of the parking spaces would be located in an underground garage.
The transportation study completed by First Capital’s consultant, (requirement of the planning application) indicates that the impact on local traffic would be minimal, in spite of the additional 455 units and delivery trucks servicing retail.
Access to the development would be by two private driveways that enter/exit off Avenue Road and Lawrence. Unsignalized left and right turns are proposed to be permitted onto both of these streets within a very short distance of the existing traffic light at Avenue Road and Lawrence.
All documents related to the Development Application submitted by First Capital are available for public perusal on the City of Toronto website - LINK. The file reference is 20 153975 NNY 08.
Resident Association strategy to review the First Capital Proposal and next steps:
The location of this development touches four Resident Associations. These are:
Lytton Park Residents’ Organization
Bedford Park Residents Organization
South Armour Heights Residents’ Association
Upper Avenue Community Association
The Resident Associations are collaborating to ensure the development application proceeds in a way that is appropriate and respectful of existing and future residents. We have requested a meeting with the City Planner for the application and Councillor Mike Colle to discuss our concerns. The City Planning process requires a public community consultation meeting. The Resident Associations will inform the community via our respective newsletters when this meeting is scheduled.
We welcome your questions, comments and input on this proposed development. You may reach us at info@upperavenuecommunity.com.