housing
36-storey tower approved at Wellesley and Church; 65 rental units to be replaced
City Council will be asked to approve a 36-storey mixed-use building with 409 units (including 65 replacement rental units) at Wellesley Street East and Church Street, contingent on the city upgrading the Swansea pumping station to handle wastewater capacity. The vote marks the end of a major application process for a prominent downtown site, with a tenant assistance plan for existing renters and heritage considerations still to be reviewed separately.
From the floor
“We have considered all of them. the application included a detailed traffic study prepared by Lee Consulting which was reviewed by staff and no outstanding con concerns remain from a traffic perspective.”City staff
“That is a related to the Swansea pumping station and capacity at that station and to deal with that capacity issue. We are proposing and our staff have proposed and we are accepting of a holding provision that would require the city to undertake work related to that public station to ensure that there is sufficient capacity prior to the application being able to be brought forward.”City staff
“There is a community benefit contribution as part of this application which is a expanded section 37 in the form of additional public art on the site.”City staff
Also in this item
• A wastewater holding provision: the city must upgrade Swansea pumping station capacity before zoning can be exercised, meaning the applicant cannot build unless the city completes infrastructure work
• 65 existing rental units will be demolished and replaced at similar rents; tenants have a right to return under a Tenant Assistance Plan
• Heritage alterations to the designated heritage property at 64 Wellesley Street East remain to be decided separately by City Council
The journey
Time to act
You can weigh in
This decision report goes to City Council for final approval. Residents who wish to express support or objection to the development, or to the holding provision on pumping station capacity, or to the heritage alterations may depute at the Council meeting or contact their councillor before the vote. The timeline for that Council meeting is not stated in the transcript.
Decision
The recommendation is approval of amendments to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit a 36-storey building (122.5 metres including mechanical penthouse) with 409 dwelling units and 852 square metres of non-residential gross floor area. Approval is contingent on a holding provision requiring the city to complete upgrades to the Swansea pumping station to ensure sufficient wastewater capacity before zoning permissions can be exercised. The applicant proposes to acquire and demolish Dapper Lane as part of the development. A related rental housing demolition application and heritage alterations report will be considered by City Council in a separate process.
On video
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