Condos keep coming north of Yonge & Eg

Latest 28-storey proposal would sit on south side of Helendale

This month, Toronto City Council will consider a recommendation from the planning and growth committee to establish a midtown planning group that would take a comprehensive look at development in the Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue area. The request was put forward by local councillors Karen Stintz and Josh Matlow. Targeted for intensification by the province, the area has already seen a flurry of activity, from the 64-storey proposal on the northeast corner to the appealed 48-storey application on Eglinton Avenue West — and it’s expected to see more with the coming construction of the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown light rapid transit.

Recently, in Coun. Stintz’s ward, separate but neighbouring applications to build a 28-storey condo building at 2360 to 2378 Yonge Street and a 24-storey apartment building on Helendale Avenue triggered a block study of the area between Duplex Avenue and Yonge Street, and Helendale Avenue and Orchard View Boulevard. Stintz felt that it was important to consider the applications in the context of one another.
“Although they’re in an apartment neighbourhood designation, I think [they’re] a little much for that area because what we’re trying to do is make sure that any new development transitions back in to the neighbourhood to the north,” she said.

“It’s starting to feel a little bit like the Wild West up here.”

David Lehberg, president and CEO of developer Knightstone Capital Management, which put forward the 28-storey proposal, enlisted a consulting team to determine the appropriate height and density for the project.

As for transition, he pointed out that the site is located on the second block north of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, where the RioCan Centre sits, and immediately south of the post office, which he anticipates will be sold off to a developer.

Ann King, co-ordinator of community relations at Stanley Knowles Housing Co-op, which is located on Orchard View Boulevard, supports a study, as the applications represent a huge population increase on their block.
“It’s starting to feel a little bit like the Wild West up here,” King said.

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