Office Space Dropped, Affordable Housing Added at Bloor and Mount Pleasant
A year and a half after garnering significant attention on UrbanToronto in August, 2022, a revised plan for the redevelopment of 350 Bloor Street East makes notable changes for the 63-storey tower designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects for Osmington Gerofsky Development Corp. The resubmitted proposal refines the integration of the heritage base where it pivots from office to residential space, including the addition of affordable housing units.
Nestled at the northeast corner of Bloor Street East and Mt Pleasant Road, the site spans a 2,530m² plot across the ravine from Toronto's tony Rosedale neighbourhood. It currently hosts a vacant six-storey office building owned by Rogers. Portions of its Modernist and Brutalist architecture are set to be preserved and incorporated into the redevelopment.
The initial applications from June, 2022 for Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment, and Site Plan Approval, underwent revision in resubmissions from October, 2023, influenced by feedback from City staff, community consultations, and the evolving context of Toronto's real estate market.
The revised proposal still calls for a 63-storey mixed-use tower, maintaining the building height at 209.07m but with an increased total Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 49,111m², up from the original 48,102m². This is largely attributable to the conversion of office space to residential units, with the entirety of the previously proposed 8,259m² of office GFA on levels 2 through 6 now designated for residential use. The proposal notes this is a response to the excess supply of office space in the downtown core due to higher vacancies and the trend towards remote work.
The development now proposes 806 residential units, a significant rise from the initial 675, and introduces 16 affordable housing units, offered as a benefit to the City of Toronto which normally does not allow existing office space to be removed in renovations. The 16 affordable units — aiming to chip away at the pressing at the housing crisis — would be guaranteed for 99 years.
The residential GFA sees a substantial increase to 48,409m² from the initial 39,356m², with the retail GFA slightly adjusted to 484m². Amenities have been slightly increased to reflect the additional units, with 1,710m² indoors and 706m² outdoors. The building's layout would include six elevators, with three of them going up to the 34th floor, resulting in approximately one elevator for every 134 units, indicating long wait times.
Vehicular parking across three levels of underground garage has been decreased from 74 to 63 spaces, comprising 51 resident and 12 visitor spaces. An increase in bicycle parking spaces takes them from 713 to 807 spaces, including 726 long-term and 81 short-term spots.
The six-storey commercial office building onsite was designed by John C. Parkin and completed between 1968 and 1970. Though the initial application called for rehabilitation of the building, it was not listed on the City's Heritage Register nor designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. However, City Council moved to designate the building under the Act in July, 2023.
Its existing walls would be conserved, save for the east wall, which would feature a curtain wall, while demolishing the interior to integrate the space into the new development. This involves cataloguing, disassembling, and then reassembling the precast concrete panels of the building's primary facades.
Within walking distance of Sherbourne station on Bloor-Danforth Line 2 and the Bloor-Yonge interchange station, the development is part of a broader trend of intensification in the area. This includes proposals for 57 Sherbourne Street and HuntleySelby to the south at 63 storeys each, as well as applications for 135 and 137-141 Isabella Street both calling for 69-storey towers. The most notable nearby approval since the initial application, as highlighted in the resubmission, is The One to the west at 91 storeys