In November 2011 an application was submitted to the Toronto and East York Community Council proposing to redevelop the Hilton Garden Inn situated on the northeast corner of Dundas Street East and Jarvis. The proposal was for a brand new mixed use building comprising of two towers, 48 storeys on the west side and 35 storeys on the east, sitting atop a podium ranging from 2 to 10 storeys in height. Plans for a few retail stores at grade and an office to be included in the base of the building were also included. The building was set to have 693 residential units and 352 parking spaces in a below-grade parking structure.

The City's response was that the proposal represented overdevelopment of a site that is adjacent to a low-rise neighbourhood to the northeast. The details of the proposal have since been substantially altered, and the Planning Department is now recommending to Council that they approve the new application.

Hilton Garden Inn - Downtown Toronto, image courtesy of Hilton Garden Inn Hotels

The new proposal suggests that the building be redeveloped into a 45-storey mixed use development with retail, cultural and residential space. The building would be made up of a 29-storey tower atop a 16-storey base, which cascades down to 14-storeys and then 4-storeys on George Street. The development would include 767 residential units, 405 vehicular parking spaces and 786 bicycle parking spaces.

The applicant made these changes so that the structure would adhere to planning intentions for the area, which is to transition from high-rise along Jarvis Street to the local Neighbourhood form. While the new proposal conforms to the Official Plan and is compatible with most urban design guidelines, the applicant awaits amendment of zoning by-law 438-86 as the proposed building's height exceeds the outdated maximum height for buildings in the area by 127 metres.

200 Dundas Street East, proposed South Elevation by Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects

The rectangular floor plate of the tower is proposed to be 900 sq metres, larger than the 750 sq metres the City normally seeks. The size is much less than the total floorspace of the two individual towers proposed in the eariler plan. All of the details of the design can be read in the report hosted in the City's website here.

The application to amend the zoning by-law will be considered by Council at its next meeting on June 18th, 2013. You may leave a comment on this page, but if you wish to join in the conversation in the UrbanToronto Forum, you will find it here.

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