Rendering: BuzzBuzzHome
Location: 15 Glen Morris Street, Toronto
Developer: CoStone Group
Architect: A R K
A 19th-century home located on the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus is looking to get an ultra-modern facelift.
Earlier this month, a site plan approval application was submitted to city planners on behalf of CoStone Group to build an eight-storey residential project at 15 Glen Morris Street. The developer has another condominium project currently under construction in Dovercourt Park called Sanctuary Lofts.
The rectangular 3,256 square-foot development site sits on the south side of Glen Morris Street, just east of Spadina Avenue and within the northwest portion of the University of Toronto campus. As per the planning rationale, prepared by The Planning Partnership, the site was once subject to an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment application under a previous owner that would have accommodated an eight-storey apartment building with 18 suites.
A one-and-a-half storey home and a detached garage at the rear currently occupy the land. Built in 1878, the residence is known as the Samuel Bennett house, and contains five vacant units. The historic home was added to the Toronto Heritage Register in April 2017, and designated under Part IV of the Heritage Act in July of the same year. Elements of the Samuel Bennett house were found to have historic value, including the veranda roof, orientation of the building and brick cladding.
The proposal seeks to retain and integrate the existing Samuel Bennett house with a contemporary addition that would provide 17 units for student living. Spanning 17,071 square feet, the structure would have one suite per floor from levels two to six, with six to seven bedrooms in each. Every self-contained unit on these floors will provide shared kitchen facilities and a private washroom for each bedroom, explains the planning rationale. On the upper levels, six one-bedroom units will be allotted be per floor with their own bathroom and kitchen.
“Together, each of these dwelling unit configurations provides a wider range of options to meet the need[s] of students,” says the planning rationale.
Drawing: ARK Architects
A total of 2,152 square feet is designed for amenity space within the proposal. The front entryway off of Glen Morris Street would lead to the ground-floor lobby, mailroom, resident lounge and waste storage area. Two underground levels are included for amenity space, with a recreation area, laundry room, office space and bike storage planned. On a seperate site located 300 metres from the building, 18 parking spaces will be provided through a lease agreement.
The application explains that the development will be an apartment building, in terms of its built form, and the individual units as registered condo suites. CoStone and other partners plan to operate the building as rental housing for students, while the tenure allows the developer to make ownership investments in the individual units.
“Some of the smaller studio units in levels 7 and 8 may also be bought by individual investors or by parents or families wishing to purchase an investment property for their children to utilize while attending school at the University of Toronto,” explains the planning rationale.
In the neighbourhood, two other condominium projects have been proposed north of the U of T campus, including a 29-storey project at 316 Bloor Street West, and a 26-storey building at 300 Bloor Street West.
