The initial phases of development in Toronto's West Don Lands (WDL) have already spawned a successful community that extends the vitality of the Distillery District to east, and new phases are now on the way to the north of the heritage district. A new Zoning Bylaw Amendment submission to the City is shedding light on the plan for Blocks 3, 4, and 7 of the WDL, calling for a mixed-use, mixed-income development that includes a significant affordable housing component.

Site of the proposal, image via submission to City of Toronto

The site is being developed by Dream Kilmer Tricon, a partnership between the three individual developers, who have entered into a 99-year land lease with Infrastructure Ontario on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure to build out the site. As part of this transaction, the development team is required to build for LEED Gold certification and dedicate 30% of the total residential gross floor area as affordable rental units.

West Don Lands, Blocks 3, 4, and 7, image via submission to City of Toronto

Currently in use a surface parking lots, the sites are proposed to be developed with an 8-to-13-storey building with wings extending across blocks 3 and 4, and a 13-storey building on the much smaller footprint of block 7. Like the plan for Block 8 on the southeast corner of Cherry and Mill streets, this latest application brings together the design team of COBE Architects and architectsAlliance. The new buildings here, like at Block 8, draw inspiration from the initial trio of condominium towers in the Distillery District, with heritage sensitive podiums topped by modern towers.

Looking south on Cherry Street, image via submission to City of Toronto

In total, the plan calls for 834 rental units. While other outlets have erroneously reported that this project is an "affordable housing complex", only 248 of the total 834 units are to be designated as affordable rentals, with the majority of units expected to rent at typical market rates. Of the total unit count, more than half of the layouts are multi-bedroom plans. Across the buildings would be 371 one-bedroom units, 352 two-bedroom units, and 111 three-bedroom units. Residents would share 2,130 m² of indoor and 1,560 m² of outdoor amenity spaces.

The buildings would be anchored to the public realm via a mix of retail and community hub space. 4,010 m² of retail space is proposed at grade along Trinity, Front, and Cherry streets, while a community hub space on Cherry Street is planned with a minimum area of 464 m² (5,000 ft²). The proposal also expands an existing laneway along the south sides of Blocks 3 and 4 into a new east-west street between Trinity and Cherry streets.

Looking west on Front Street, image via submission to City of Toronto

A relatively small parking component is being proposed for the 834 rental units, in part due to proposal's location on the Cherry spur of the King Street 504B streetcar line: a total of 150 resident and 466 non-residents parking spaces are proposed within a two-level underground garage. In contrast, the ratio of bicycle parking spaces to units exceeds a 1:1 ratio, with 768 long-term spaces plus 100 short-term spaces.

Additional information and images for the proposal can be found in our Database file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment below.

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