As part of the City’s Housing Now action plan to increase the number of affordable housing units in Toronto, City agency CreateTO has selected 11 city-owned sites to develop mixed-income rental housing; creating more affordable options across the city. The developer has proposed a two-tower residential development at 777 Victoria Park Avenue, adjacent the corresponding Line 2 subway station, to replace the TTC commuter parking lot on site.

Aerial view looking north-east to 777 Victoria Park, image courtesy of CreateTO

Proposed at 11 and 23 storeys, the towers would house 508 rental units when completed. 50% of the units would be designated as affordable housing, with the remaining set for market-rate rental. The unit mix would consist of 120 one-bedroom, 312 two-bedroom, and 48 three-bedroom units. 51 affordable apartments of all unit types would be constructed in a way that would be accessible to tenants with disabilities, serving a wider range of occupants.

223 parking spaces would be housed below-grade, 102 of these spaces would be intended for residents, with the remaining split between car share spaces (17 spaces), residential visitor spaces (13 spaces), non‐residential spaces (57 spaces) and shared residential/non‐residential spaces (30 spaces). Parking management would use an electronic system to flexibly determine how the shared residential/non residential spaces would be allocated on a day-to-day basis.

Lining Victoria Park are a number of public realm elements; the buildings themselves are generously set back to accomodate a landscaped transit plaza and park spaces. A pick-up and drop-off forecourt between the two buildings would break up the streetwall. In addition to a retail unit in the northern-most portion of the development, two separate community-centric spaces comprising over 15,000 ft² of community space would be located at grade, further activating the public realm.

Public realm zones fronting Victoria Park Avenue, image courtesy of CreateTO

The Montgomery Sisam Architects-designed buildings are currently in a purely massing form. The north tower rises 76 metres in a consistent tower volume, while the 40-metre tall south building utilizes an L-shaped floorplate, which steps back at the 9th, 10th, and 11th-storey levels.

Additional information and images can be found in our database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.

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