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Scarborough Community Council · 2026-07-09 · 2026.SC33.8

Scarborough zoning approved for 259-unit rental building on Lawrence Avenue East with 40-year affordability lock

Scarborough Community Council approved a zoning by-law amendment allowing a 13-storey rental building at Lawrence Avenue East and Kingston Road, yielding 259 units: 77 affordable and 182 rent-controlled, all locked in for 40 years through a contribution agreement with the city's Housing Development Office. The building replaces a derelict site in a neighbourhood improvement area with severe housing need.

amendedScarborough Community Council · Thu, Jul 9On the Toronto City Council agenda for 2026-07-29

Who did what

From the floor

“The proposed building in metric height is 45 meters in height, 13 stories. As I mentioned, 259 units are proposed and that includes a range of room units from studio to three-bedroom units. However, it's also very important to understand that 77 of the units will be secured as affordable units and the 182 additional units will be rent controlled. This will be secured through a contribution agreement with the housing development office for a period of 40 years.”Speaker not identified
“I'm very happy to move the recommendations. Uh this building's in my ward. I want to thank the Neighbors Community Homes. This area, Kings Road, Galloway, Orton Park is one of our neighborhood improvement areas. So, this type of housing is very badly needed in my community.”Councillor Jamaal Myers (Ward 23)
“The support that we've received in getting the zoning bylaw is exactly what is needed to get affordable housing projects built in the current context where um all orders of government want to see shovel ready projects. and our organization has the bandwidth to with city support to bring this project to that state and uh bring 259 units to West Hill.”Speaker not identified

Also in this item

• 40-year affordability lock: 77 units secured as affordable, 182 as rent-controlled, via contribution agreement with city Housing Development Office. This is an unusual length and structure for Toronto; most affordability agreements run 20-30 years.

• Access mechanism still in flux: city is building a new lottery-registry system (not yet live) for allocating units in affordable projects; staff could not specify qualification criteria or timeline at meeting.

• Site context: property has been derelict; site is in a designated neighbourhood improvement area (Kingston-Galloway-Orton Park) where affordable housing is explicitly identified as badly needed by ward councillor.

The journey

Thu, Jul 9 · Scarborough Community Council · amended
Wed, Jul 29 · Toronto City Council · scheduled, not yet heard

You can still act

On the Toronto City Council agenda for 2026-07-29

Decision

Zoning by-law amendment approved; staff recommendation carried unanimously without recorded opposition

Watch it happen

Jump to this item in the meeting video

Why is this story here?
Big deal at city hallThis is a permanent zoning change (hard to reverse without significant political cost) unlocking 259 units on a site that has been unable to develop for years. The 40-year affordability lock is a structural constraint on future use; once signed, a future council cannot simply rezone this land to market housing without breaching a legal agreement. The decision also establishes precedent for tower-on-avenue zoning in Scarborough outside high-order transit (bus service only), potentially opening other sites. Multi-year commitment affecting a class of future residents (259 households).Felt nowThe building does not exist yet and construction timeline is not stated ('we're a bit aways from that sadly'), so no resident's week changes today. However, this decision directly affects the housing market in a specific neighbourhood (West Hill, Scarborough) where shortage is acute ('very badly needed in my community'). Future occupants will directly experience the affordability lock; current residents at the site (none, given dereliction) and nearby households will experience neighbourhood change (height, density, traffic, street animation). The effect is direct once occupancy begins, but deferred. Score reflects present effect (project does not yet touch daily life) discounted for a live, high-salience subject (shortage in this ward).

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.

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Official title: 4129, 4137 and 4139 Lawrence Avenue East - Zoning By-law Amendment - Decision Report - Approval · meeting video