City seeks to accelerate housing and school project at Don Mills parking lot

development

City seeks to accelerate housing and school project at Don Mills parking lot

Councillor Burnside is asking City Council to waive the normal referral process and vote immediately on directing CreateTO to advance a mixed-use redevelopment at 770 Don Mills Road, a city-owned site near Don Valley Station. The proposal includes market and affordable housing, an elementary school, park space, retail, and childcare. Council did not substantively debate or vote on this at the previous meeting; this motion seeks to move it forward under urgency.

adoptedToronto City Council · Thu, Jul 30You can weigh in

Who did what

Councillor Jon Burnside (Ward 16, Don Valley East) movedMember motion requesting waiver of referral and advancement of the Don Mills redevelopment direction
Mayor Olivia Chow secondedSeconded Burnside's motion

From the floor

“On favor of waiving referral?”City staff

Also in this item

• 770 Don Mills Road is a city-owned surface parking lot immediately adjacent to the new Don Valley Station, positioning a redevelopment for transit integration; the proposal combines housing (market and affordable), schooling, park space, and childcare on a single city-controlled site.

The journey

Wed, Jul 29 · Toronto City Council · adopted

Time to act

You can weigh in

If Council votes on this item at a future meeting, residents can depute at that session or contact their councillor before the vote. The urgency motion itself may be voted on at this meeting.

On video

Jump to this item in the meeting video

Why is this story here?

Big deal at city hallThe motion directs CreateTO to advance planning and redevelopment strategy for a city-owned site expected to include hundreds of housing units and major institutional infrastructure (school, childcare). This is a multi-year capital commitment and a decision about what gets built on a major city asset, constraining future uses and requiring substantial capital and operating budgets. The scope and permanence classify this as substantial rather than merely contained.Touches a narrow groupThe site is a specific location, and while it will eventually house residents and serve students and families, nothing has been built yet and the redevelopment is in the planning phase. The present effect on daily life is indirect: the decision advances planning, not a completed development. Salience is narrow because it affects the specific neighbourhood and future residents of this site, not a broad group this week.

Stories are ordered by how much weight a decision carries and how directly it reaches daily life. They rise as a decision date approaches and fall as they age.

Official title: Re-opening and Amending Item 2026.MM42.60 - Advancing a Redevelopment Strategy for the Toronto Builds site at 770 Don Mills Road - by Councillor Jon Burnside, seconded by Mayor Olivia Chow · meeting video