Plan for 33-storey building on Danforth Beer Store site passed with provision that dedicated park space be found in area
By MATTHEW STEPHENS
Toronto Councill has approved a proposal for a 33-storey building at the Beer Store site on Danforth Avenue just east of Victoria Park Avenue, with an amendment requiring the developer to include a “parkland dedication” to mitigate potential shadow impacts from the proposed building.
Applicant Batory Planning & Management’s proposal at 3130 and 3150 Danforth Ave. is seeking to redevelop the existing low-rise Beer Store building and associated surface parking lot into a 33-storey mixed use building with 445-residential units and 29,009 square metres of residential gross floor area, which could accommodate the Beer Store’s return, according Greg Uens, a member of the applicant’s management team.
“We’ve gone to great lengths to try and increase the commercial space on site to create opportunities for retailers of various sizes; including the Beer Store if they wanted to come back,” said Uens at a Scarborough Community Council meeting on April 20.
During that meeting, Scarborough Southwest Councillor Parthi Kandavel questioned the proposed building due to unit affordability and shadow impacts on the surrounding neighbourhood.
Addressing affordability concerns, Uens said the developer was waiting on the status of the province’s inclusionary zoning regulations before determining whether affordable units would be included.
“Right now, I’m not sure what the status of inclusionary zoning will be by the time the project moves forward,” said Uens.
Earlier this year, the province changed inclusionary zoning policy in three major cities (including Toronto), putting a temporary hold on affordability requirements in residential developments near transit hubs.
Uens said the city’s Community Benefits Charge (CBC) could still help to secure affordable units on site, despite not being included in the current proposal.
In a May 20 amendment to the proposal, Toronto Council tasked the city’s Executive Director of Development Review to work with the applicant, city staff, and the local councillor to “explore the feasibility of an in-kind community benefit package,” that could allow the provision of affordable housing on site.
During the April community council meeting, Scarborough North Councillor Jamal Myers also raised concerns regarding a lack of parking for many of the proposed building’s tenants, noting that only a third would be provided on-site parking. “There’s 445 units, and then there’s 137 parking spots – so roughly a third. Is there an expectation that most people in the building will be using transit?” asked Myers.
Uens said the proposal “greatly exceeded” the city’s parking requirements for new buildings in proximity to Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSA), noting that that the municipal planning act “does not require any parking in buildings in major transit station areas.”
The proposed building’s potential shadow impacts on the adjacent Madelaine Park also stirred contention with Kandavel questioning the impact casted shadows will have on the local community.
“Also finally is the impact this would have on a very newcomer Canadian, racialized lower-income family neighbourhood which has this limited park that will see impacts from the shadowing,” said Kandavel at the April community council meeting. “That gives pause for me, and as part of seeing this move forward, I’ll be moving this without recommendations to help address these questions for clarity as well as improvement on parkland and shadowing.”
To remedy the issue, Toronto Council at its May 20 meeting passed an amendment to the proposal requiring the applicant to identify “a suitable off-site parkland dedication as a substitution for an on-site parkland.”
As part of the amendment, the off-site parkland dedication must be “a good physical substitute,” accessible to the proposed building, and not exceed the estimated value of the current on-site dedication.
In accordance with Chapter 415 Article III of the Municipal Code, if the off-site parkland dedication is less than the value of the on-site parkland dedication, the property owner is required to provide a “cash-in-lieu payment” to make up for the shortfall. If the property owner is unable to provide the city with a substituted off-site parkland dedication, they will also be required to pay a fee to satisfy the parkland dedication requirement before receiving a building permit.
For more information about the Beer Store proposal, head to https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/application-details/?id=5619081&pid=8157&title=3130-DANFORTH-AVE.
