Location: 1406 Yonge Street, Toronto
Developer: Metropia
Architect: IBI Group
A prominent cemetery in Toronto’s Deer Park neighbourhood could anchor a future multi-storey development that would bring hundreds of new units to the community.
Last month, an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment application was submitted to city planners to construct a 39-storey mixed-use tower at 1406-1428 Yonge Street. If approved, the new high-rise would back onto the existing St. Michael’s Cemetery. According to the application’s planning rationale by Bousfields Inc., St. Michael’s Cemetery is Toronto’s oldest-surviving Catholic cemetery, having opened in 1855. Holding 29,000 graves, the cemetery is designated under the Ontario Heritage Act.
The planning rationale names two applicants — YSC Development Corporation, which owns 1406-1428 Yonge Street, and the Archdiocese, known as the Catholic Cemeteries and Funeral Services – Archdiocese of Toronto, which owns the 10-acre St. Michael’s Cemetery. A car laneway leading from the cemetery onto Yonge Street crosses over the development site, referred to as the ‘Archdiocese Access’ in the rationale.
The site is located on the west side of Yonge Street, just south of the Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue intersection. St. Michael’s Cemetery forms the western boundary of the rectangular site, with 1406-1408 Yonge Street located on the south side of the Archdiocese Access and 1418-1428 Yonge Street to the north of the Access. A three-storey building with a ground-floor restaurant and upper-level units occupies 1406-1408 Yonge Street, while a single two-storey building with commercial uses is located at 1418-1428 Yonge Street.
The development proposal would see the creation of a 39-storey mixed-use tower supported by a four-storey podium with ground-floor retail space.
Of the 406 residential units in the project, the breakdown includes 184 one-bedroom, 182 two-bedroom and 40 three-bedroom units. The tenure of the units is unclear, with the project rationale stating that the units would be dedicated as rentals, while the application’s project data sheet refers to the units as condos.
Totaling approximately 962 square feet, two retail spaces would be included in the northeast and southeast corners of the building fronting onto Yonge Street. The residential lobby and mailroom would be situated off of the northeast retail space, next door to a driveway in the location of the existing Archdiocese Access. This would provide access to the cemetery and adjacent properties, as well as to two car elevators, a moving room, loading space with a truck turntable, and bicycle elevators. A cantilever over the building’s retail and residential lobby entrances would provide weather protection to pedestrians.
On the building’s second floor, a long-term bicycle parking room accessible via an elevator would provide storage for 324 bikes. Additional bicycle storage would be located in the two-level underground parking garage, which includes space for 24 cars.
Indoor amenity facilities are situated on level three, plus a 2,195-square-foot outdoor amenity area on the 39th floor.
In the neighbourhood, registration is open for One Delisle, while construction and sales continue at The Foxbar at Imperial Village.
