Revised Proposal Reduces Heights of Towers in Vaughan

urbantoronto.ca
Anthony Teles
July 21, 2023

In the Thornhill neighbourhood of Vaughan, development plans for the site at 784 Centre Street are moving forward. The residential project, located about 200m west of the Disera-Promenade Station part of the vivaNext rapidway project, has undergone several revisions since its original proposal in August 2021. Developer Metrontario Group has submitted revised Zoning By-law Amendment, Official Plan Amendment, and Site Plan Approval applications, while the legal counsel for the land owner has submitted a settlement proposal in order to address concerns raised by Vaughan City Staff.

The site is near Centre Street and Bathurst Street, more specifically situated on the southeast corner of New Westminster Drive and Gatineau Drive. It is on the north side of Centre Street, with Promenade Mall to the south. There is currently a 5-storey residential building at the northwest corner of Centre Street and New Westminster Drive, along with paved parking to the east. The existing building would be retained with the new project developed to its north and northeast.

Previously in 2021, the proposal called for two buildings standing 36 and 25 storeys, or 108.0m and 81.0m. The revision in 2022 had both towers at 29 storeys or 101.95m; now, one of those towers would be reduced to 26 storeys or 92.75m. The total amenity area has also been decreased from 2,720m² to 2,380m², with equal area designated to indoor and outdoor amenities. The latest design by Rafael + Bigauskas Architects has a gross floor area (GFA) of about 52,075m², over 11,000m² less than the original proposal.

The taller building would include 326 units, with the shorter accommodating 268 units. The total number of residential units has been reduced from the original 715 to the current 594 units. The architectural drawings indicate four elevators per tower, resulting in 89 units per elevator for one and 67 for the other. Therefore, both buildings would be well below the threshold of 1 elevator per 100 units, making for short wait times for residents.

The development is designed with four levels of underground garage containing a total of 523 vehicular parking spaces, of which 400 would be for residents and 123 for visitors, including 4 car share spaces. This is only slightly reduced from the original 565 spaces, but with a larger reduction in residential spaces to accommodate more visitor parking. The proposal also provides a total of 418 bicycle spaces, including 60 short-term and 358 long-term spots, in contrast to the original proposal of 501 spaces.

The settlement proposal notes that as the City of Vaughan no longer requests a public park, which has been removed from the revised submission. Instead, a Privately-Owned Publicly Accessible Space (POPS) has now been proposed for the west side of the site, totalling 616m² in area.

784 Centre Street, designed by Rafael + Bigauskas Architects for Metrontario Group
The POPS area proposed for the west end of the site, designed by Rafael + Bigauskas Architects for Metrontario Group

The site's location is particularly noteworthy as it is recognized as a Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) by York's Regional Official Plan. Situated on Centre Street, the site's proximity to public transit, its adjacency to Promenade Mall, and the commercial and retail options along Centre Street make it well-suited for intensification. The site is within a designated "Primary Centre" intensification area, in addition to being a Major Transit Station Area because of the inclusion of the Disera-Promenade BRT as a protected MTSA in York Region.

UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.