A consortium of North York landowners is looking to densify three adjacent properties along Wilson Avenue near the Allen with a mix of condos, rental units, and townhouses at 470 Wilson. The proposal would add a 13-storey slab condo building, a 12-storey rental tower, and a series of 4-storey stacked townhomes on the site, located within walking distance of Wilson subway station. The existing structures on the properties—which include two 4-storey rental apartment buildings and a 4-storey office complex—would be demolished.

View of the proposal looking northeast, image courtesy of gh3.

The three buildings are arranged around an east-west landscaped courtyard bisecting the site. The narrow 13-storey condo building runs along the southern edge of the site, while the L-shaped 12-storey rental building is located on the southeast corner. The two buildings are separated by the parking and loading access off of Wilson Avenue.

Site plan, image courtesy of gh3.

Along the northern edge of the site, a single row of townhomes stretches the length of the property, punctuated by a pedestrian access to the northern laneway and the parking garage. Roughly 670 square metres (7200 square feet) of retail will be integrated into the ground floor of the buildings along Wilson.

View of the south elevation, image courtesy of gh3.

Designed by Toronto-based multidisciplinary studio gh3, the complex of buildings features a uniform aesthetic of alternating solid and void rectangles mixed in with areas of glazing where appropriate. The upper portion of the condo building and the stacked townhomes feature a sawtooth plan with angled facades, while the roof of the condo building is also angled in a sawtooth pattern.

View of the south facade, image courtesy of gh3.

The condo building would feature 353 new units in a range of sizes, the majority of which would be two bedrooms. Roughly 830 square metres (8900 square feet) of indoor amenity space would be provided on the ground floor, facing onto both the courtyard to the north, where 820 square metres (8800 square feet) of outdoor amenity space is allocated, and onto Wilson Avenue to the south. A strip of retail would be located in the southwest corner of the building.

Ground floor plan, image courtesy of gh3.

Floor plans of the condo building, image courtesy of gh3.

The rental building offers 158 residential units ranging from one-bedrooms to two-bedrooms-plus-dens, providing replacement units for the existing 110 units of rental housing that would be demolished. The new rental units would be on average smaller in size than the existing, and would be grouped into a single building on the southeast corner of the site, containing ground floor amenity spaces and retail.

Floor plans of the rental building, image courtesy of gh3.

The 4-storey stacked townhomes will provide 112 new units, all of which are two bedrooms, and all of which will contain main entrances fronting onto the central courtyard.

Floor plans of the townhomes, image courtesy of gh3.

A total of 581 parking spaces will be provided in a three-level underground parking garage that is shared between the three buildings. The 1120 square metres (12,000 square feet) of existing office space in 530 Wilson would not be replaced in the new development.

North-south sections through the site, looking east, image courtesy of gh3.

Rendering of the central courtyard, image courtesy of gh3.

Stay tuned for more news as the proposal for 470-530 Wilson makes its way through the planning process. In the meantime, you can find more renderings in our dataBase file for the project, linked below. Tell us what you think by getting involved with the associated Forum thread, or by leaving a comment in the space provided on this page.