A futuristic condo tower slated for Yorkville that’s been in the works for years has submitted yet another round of revisions to Toronto city planners.
The plan to build a 29-storey mixed-use tower with a “vertical forest” and a distinct retail hub at 33 Avenue Road has undergone some tweaking. In late April, a Rezoning Application Resubmission and a new Site Plan Control application was submitted to the City for the project slated for 33-45 Avenue Road and 136-148 Yorkville Avenue. The Rezoning application was initially filed in December 2020, and has since been altered based on feedback from various local resident associations, councillors and planners, said the application’s cover letter.
The “fundamental details of the application remain unchanged,” and the project intends to keep the original vision of a 29-storey tower with a standalone “retail jewel box” located on the site’s southwest corner. The biggest amendments to the building include a reduction of the gross floor area and the number of condo suites from 100 to 78.
The tower would still keep its “vertical forest,” which involves planting full-sized trees on three-metre-deep balconies on multiple sides of the building. The latest application has reduced the size of said balconies down from four metres so that they are “less intrusive.” Changes have also been made to the pedestrian underpass that connects Avenue Road and York Square.
As per the project data sheet, the 78 condo units would entail 66 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom suites averaging 2,225 to 3,095 square feet in size.
A dog play area, outdoor pool, rooftop patio with fire pits, and a catering kitchen are to be included as amenities, according to the most recent architectural drawings by BBB Architects. A four-level underground parking garage would house 187 spaces, mostly for resident use.
The proposal to build at 33 Avenue Road dates back to January 2012. According to past reporting by Livabl and Urban Toronto, Empire Communities submitted the first Rezoning application for a 38-storey, mixed-use condo tower, which later evolved to 40-storeys with the inclusion of First Capital on the project.
Additional plans saw the inclusion of York Square, a cluster of Victorian homes built in 1968 by architects Jack Diamond and Barton Myers. In 2016, the concept for the “vertical forest” was introduced. By March 2020, the current developers, First Capital and Greybrook Realty Partners, put forward their version of the tower to the City.
In the neighbourhood, sales are still underway at Avenue 151 Yorkville, while registration is open for 89 Avenue, Yorkville.
