A 25-storey tower has been proposed on the southeast corner of Bathurst Street and St. Clair Avenue West. It’s the last corner of that intersection that does not have high-rise development or at least approval to build high-rise development. The mixed-use building would have a six-storey podium, 324 residential units and 283 parking spaces. At 88 metres, it exceeds the current zoning, which permits a height of up to 16 metres.

But Coun. Joe Mihevc said that the zoning is out of date. Taking this into consideration and the fact that the site falls outside of the recent St. Clair Avenue West Study, Mihevc has taken the opportunity to initiate a planning review for the area southeast of Bathurst Street and St. Clair Avenue West.

“I want to go through the community process and figure out if we can find the right compromise,” he said. “I do feel that 25 storeys is too high.”

Shane Fenton, vice-president of Reserve Properties, said that he feels they’ve come forward with an appropriate proposal. He welcomes the planning study, which he believes will reinforce this.

“We have a large piece of property, and we didn’t try and come in with two towers, we came in with one tower,” Fenton said. “And that’s why we located the tower where we did on the site — to be as least impactful as possible on the residential community.”

Robert Levy, president of the Casa Loma Residents Association, said his group is receptive to an honest dialogue with the developer. Sensitivity to the historic neighbourhood, characterized by single-family homes and sprawling green space, will be key. “It really is very much a transition corner, and the southeast corner is very much the Casa Loma corner and cannot be compared to any other corner on that intersection,” Levy said.

After a recent community consultation meeting, where traffic concerns dominated the discussion, it’s up to the developer to decide whether or not to revise the application before city staff issues a final report.