Location: 1650 Dupont Street, Toronto
Developer: Gairloch
Architect: Gabriel Fain Architects
Toronto’s Junction Triangle neighbourhood could be getting a sustainably built development made mostly of wood.
Last month, a site plan approval application was submitted to city planners to create a six-storey residential building with 30 suites at 1650 Dupont Street. The mid-rise development would be built using mass timber construction techniques and Ontario cross-laminated timber (CLT). A similar six-storey mass timber building with residential rental apartments was constructed along Queen Street East in 2020.
“This is a forward looking building that will serve as a model for sustainable development as we move away from energy intensive materials typically used for these types of buildings such as concrete and steel to more healthy and renewable materials like wood,” says Gabriel Fain Architects’ project application cover letter to the City.
According to the architectural drawings, the development site in question is located on Dupont Road between Osler Street and Edwin Avenue. Few details have been provided in the application of what currently exists on the site, but recent reporting by UrbanToronto explains that the project would replace the Sporting Clube Portugues de Toronto that currently exists at 1650 Dupont Street.
Of the 30 proposed condo units, the breakdown would include 15 one-bedroom, 11 two-bedroom and four-three bedroom suites ranging from 722 to 1,125 square feet in size. Each unit would have its own private, weather-protected balcony.
The mid-rise is designed to be “elegant and minimal,” with the units arranged in a staggered formation to break up the building’s scale and massing along Dupont Street. Feeling that it is important to express the structure’s wooden composition, Gabriel Fain Architects intends to expose the CLT construction on the underside of each balcony. Charred wood, called shou-sugi-ban, which is an ancient Japanese wood preservation technique, would be used on the interior faces of the balconies to add “rich texture and depth.” Wood, stone and metal elements would be incorporated into the building’s frontage.
The building would centre around a courtyard inspired by traditional Japanese gardens. The yard would showcase a Japanese maple tree as a centerpiece, and double as a stormwater management solution and social gathering space.
A total of 1,377 square metres of indoor and outdoor amenity space would be included in the project. Two retail and commercial units would occupy the building’s ground floor facing Dupont Street, which would ideally be used for a small shop or gallery, according to the cover letter.
The garage at the rear of the building would be integrated into the structure’s base, the roof of which would be used as a terrace. Seven parking spaces would be provided via car stackers, along with 33 spots for bicycles.
In the neighbourhood, The Sterling Automotive Condos is open for registration while sales are anticipated to start at House of Assembly later this year.
