Location: 21 Broadview Avenue, Toronto
Developer: Streetcar Developments
Architect: CEBRA Architecture and Kasian Architecture
Toronto and Danish architects have teamed up to transform a block of East End homes into a new mid-rise community that would bring hundreds of homes to the neighbourhood.
In early September, an official plan and zoning by-law amendment application was submitted to the city to build a 12-storey mixed-use building with 340 condo units in South Riverdale. The developer, Streetcar Developments, has previously worked on a number of condo projects in Toronto, including Corktown District, The Carnaby and The Southwood Condos.
The development site covers several municipal addresses, spanning 21-53 Broadview Avenue, 18-34 and 40 Lewis Street, and 344 Eastern Avenue. Located near the northeast corner of Broadview and Eastern avenues, the 5,137 square-metre area is occupied by a mix of residential and commercial properties.
This includes 10 rowhouses and two semi-detached houses on Broadview Avenue (all derelict and vacant), an automotive dealership, a repair garage and a two-storey accessory unit at 22A Lewis Street. The project would also cover a 14.5-metre deep severed portion of the rear yards belonging to 12 properties along Lewis Street, according to the application’s planning rationale.
If approved, the development would turn the land into a mixed-use community with various housing types, including a 12-storey mid-rise building and 21 three-bedroom townhomes. Danish architectural company CEBRA, a multi-disciplinary firm that strives to “merge human empathy and architectural expression into locally rooted projects,” has teamed up with Toronto-based Kasian Architecture on the development.
Of the 340 residences in the project, the breakdown would include 110 one-bedroom, 195 two-bedroom and 35 three-bedroom units.
The mid-rise building portion would wrap around the corner of Broadview and Eastern avenues. A separate block of 15 three-storey, west-facing townhomes would be constructed on the east side of the site in the 22A Lewis Street property and the 12 severed backyards.
The townhomes would front onto an internal courtyard, which is designed to act as a private communal backyard and living space for residents to share. Landscaped areas, a vertical playground and semi-private front yards for the townhomes would be contained within the courtyard. The remaining six townhomes in the project would be integrated into the mid-rise building.
The ground floor of the main building would house retail commercial space fronting along Broadview Avenue, plus indoor amenity facilities, bicycle storage and the primary residential lobby on the corner of Broadview and Eastern avenues.
The building’s exterior would feature contrasting brick and metallic materials, along with cantilevering elements and inset-cuts into the façade to break up the massing. To meet flood-proofing requirements, the lobby would be accessible via a landscaped exterior stair and ramp system from the public sidewalk. The face of the mid-rise along Broadview Avenue would provide seat walls and stair risers to act as informal gathering spaces, accompanied by raised planters and planted trees. Private terraces and balconies would be incorporated into the building. The development also includes a 466 square-metre public park fronting onto Eastern Avenue.
A driveway on the site’s northwest corner would lend access to a single-level underground parking garage with 102 vehicle parking spaces. Throughout the project, 350 bicycle spaces would be added for long- and short-term use.
In the neighbourhood, sales are expected to launch this month for Biblio Lofts, while construction is underway at Riverside Square Phase 5.
