Location: 954 Broadview Avenue, Toronto
Developer: Diamond Kilmer Developments
Architect: Graziani + Corazza Architects Inc.
Plans that date back to 2018 to merge a historic school building with a new residential component in Toronto’s Playter Estates neighbourhood have recently been updated by the site’s new owner.
Official applications have been submitted to city planners to construct a 16-storey condo building at 954-958 Broadview Avenue and 72 Chester Hill Road. The 1.16-acre development site, located on the northwest corner of the Broadview Avenue and Chester Hill Road intersection, is occupied by a series of detached and semi-detached homes.
The site is also home to a 19th-century Ontario Heritage Trust building, known as Chester Public School, which was constructed in 1891. Multiple additions and a parking lot were added to the historic schoolhouse between the 1960s and 1990s, explains the application’s cover letter.
According to the most recent planning rationale authored by Bousfields Inc., an Official Plan Amendment was originally submitted to the city in February 2018 on behalf of the previous owner, followed by a Zoning By-law Amendment application a year later. Several months after a community consultation meeting was held in May 2019, the property and applications were acquired by Diamond Kilmer, the current owner.
The original application envisioned an 18-storey building with 214 purpose-built rental units that would be used as assisted and independent living suites for seniors. The retention and restoration of Chester Public School was also included as part of the plan.
The newly revised proposal would see the development of a 16-storey building with 223 condominium units across 170,586 square feet of gross floor area. A four-story podium would be built at the site’s west side, while the three-storey heritage schoolhouse would be incorporated as a podium fronting onto Broadview Avenue. The additions to the heritage building would be removed to keep the original structure, and portions of the roof line, bell tower and facade would be restored. Above the podiums, a 10-storey, mid-rise portion with brick masonry elements would be topped by a slimmer glass tower from the 11th to 16th floors.
Of the 223 suites, the breakdown would consist of 148 one-bedroom, 51 two-bedroom and 24 three-bedroom units.
According to the updated architectural plans, a 1,883-square-foot retail space would be built adjacent to the building’s lobby, accessed from Broadview Avenue. Indoor and outdoor pet-friendly amenities, such as a pet spa, have been added in the revised proposal along with an indoor gym, party room, an outdoor amenity garden on the roof of the western podium, and a ground-floor urban garage. Ninety-one parking spaces would be provided for visitor and resident use in an underground garage.
In the neighbourhood, sales are underway for No. 7 Rosedale, while registration is open for Nahid on Broadview.
