A new public meeting has been scheduled for March 22 at 6 p.m. to provide an update on a housing development proposal at a city-owned site at 931 Yonge St. with a focus on affordable housing.
Last summer, the city and the federal government announced a plan to redevelop the government offices at 931 Yonge St. into a new residential building with affordable housing.
The development application for the site was submitted late last year detailing the proposal.
“The redevelopment of the Subject Site represents a significant project within the ModernTO initiative to provide new housing in a 21-storey (73 metre) mixed-use building (“the Proposal”). The Proposal will provide for additional housing and affordable ownership units to the Bloor-Yorkville area, an area which has exceptional transit access and is well-served by parks and open spaces, community services, restaurants, and services,” read a cover letter submitted with the development application.
Developed under a city program dubbed ModernTO, if the development application is approved, the site will be home to a 21-storey mixed-use building with 165 residential units. The development will include affordable ownership units between the upscale neighbourhoods of Yorkville and Rosedale.
The development application for the site was submitted to the city by Bousfields Inc. a private community planning firm working on the plan for CreateTO.
“The redevelopment of the Subject Site represents a significant project within the ModernTO initiative to provide new housing in a 21-storey (73 metre) mixed-use building (“the Proposal”). The Proposal will provide for additional housing and affordable ownership units to the Bloor-Yorkville area, an area which has exceptional transit access and is well-served by parks and open spaces, community services, restaurants, and services,” read a cover letter with the application. “A total of 165 residential units are proposed and, to achieve City Council’s mandate, a minimum 33% of these will be affordable ownership units. The new dwelling units will contribute to the diversity of housing options by providing 124 one-bedroom (75%), 24 two-bedroom (15%), and 17 three-bedroom units (10%).”
Currently, the home of Toronto Community Housing (TCHC), the site has been identified as one of eight municipal properties to be “modernized” by the city.
Other sites under the ModernTO program include the following city-owned properties:
- 610 Bay Street
- 277 Victoria Street
- 33 Queen Street E.
- 75 Elizabeth Street
- 1900 Yonge Street
- 18 Dyas Road
- 95 The Esplanade
“ModernTO saves millions of taxpayers’ dollars on an ongoing basis, it opens up some properties for different uses including affordable housing, and the modernized spaces will allow for more jobs to be located in city-owned buildings as opposed to expensive leased space,” said Mayor John Tory in a statement when the program was announced. “This is exactly what people expect us to do here at City Hall – find sensible ways to do things in the most efficient way possible, reducing costs so as to keep our city operations affordable, and creating more opportunities for top priorities like affordable housing.”
