City committee holds public meeting on proposal for 18-storey and seven-storey buildings in Queen/Eastern/Coxwell area
By MATTHEW STEPHENS
A public meeting on the proposal for an 18-storey and a seven-storey building on the land just east of Coxwell Avenue between Eastern Avenue and Queen Street East is planned for next week.
Toronto’s Planning and Housing Committee will hold the public meeting for the area of 1631 and 1641 Queen St. E., and a portion of 1080 and 1090 Eastern Ave., on the morning of Thursday, Jan. 22, at Toronto City Hall.
The proposal will see an 18-storey residential building facing Eastern Avenue at the south end of the site, and a seven-storey residential building facing Queen Street East at the site’s north end.
The proposal for the seven-storey building facing Queen Street East would appear to go against the city’s Queen Street East Urban Design Guidelines (UDG) which call for a height limit of six storeys for buildings along Queen Street East between Coxwell Avenue and Nursewood Road in the Beach.
“You have the Urban Design Guidelines, and that’s size. But there’s also issues around the quality of these buildings, especially if you’re on a main street like Queen, which has a certain character and has a pedestrian kind of experience with its small stores and not something that’s the same all the way along,” said local resident Glenn Chadwick, who emphasized concern that the 18-storey building could jeopardize the character of Queen Street East during a previous public meeting held on the proposal on Oct. 22, 2025.
At that meeting, city staff said the proposed height on Eastern Avenue was necessary to “support the city’s affordable housing targets,” and “make the site economically viable.”
The proposal discussed at the October meeting was for two separate buildings of six and 18 storeys in height. However, several amendments have since been made to the official plan and zoning bylaw.
Amendments include removing a portion of the subject lands along Eastern Avenue; permitting a seventh storey atop the established six storey building – provided it is partially used as amenity space – and increasing the maximum street wall height from 12.5 metres to 15 metres on Queen Street East; setting a maximum building height of 25 metres on Queen Street East and 60 metres on Eastern Avenue; setting a maximum gross floor area of up to 25,600 square metres, and a minimum non-residential interior floor area of up to 1,070 square metres; ensuring required minimum setbacks and separation distances; setting a minimum proportion of two and three-bedroom dwelling units; and permitting vehicle access to loading space from Eastern Avenue.
The Jan. 22 public meeting prior to the meeting of the city’s Planning and Housing Committee is at 9:30 a.m. in Toronto City Hall’s Committee Room 1, 100 Queen St. W.
The meeting can also be attended by video conference at https://www.youtube.com/TorontoCityCouncilLive
At the public meeting, the committee will receive feedback and review the proposal before making recommendations to Toronto Council.
To address the committee, register by email to phc@toronto.ca or by phone at 647-397-4579 before 12 p.m. on Jan. 21. After registering, city staff will contact attendees with instructions on how to participate in the meeting.
Please note that the committee may request that attendees file an outline of their presentation with the city clerk.
