A seniors’ residence could be a welcome addition to the neighbourhood. The building as approved, however, has some aspects that are not compatible with this mid-block location.

 

Height: At its July 23-24, 2025 meeting, City Council approved a Zoning By-law Amendment to permit a 13-storey (50.4 metres, plus 6.0 mechanical penthouse) seniors’ residence building. This height is out of scale compared with other new and planned buildings mid-block between Eglinton and Lawrence. Current zoning permitted a maximum height of 36.1 metres. The two local councillors, Colle and Chernos Lin, whose residents will be most impacted, voted no to the approval.

 

Rental Units: An existing rental building on Yonge Street will be demolished. The new seniors’ building will include two storeys with 31 replacement units. Tenants of the rental units will not need to be provided with access to any amenities.

 

Alexandra Gates: The owners are committed, in consultation with the Ward Councillor and the Lytton Park Residents’ Organization, to the reconstruction and restoration of the historic gates and columns located at the northwest and southwest corners of the intersection of Alexandra Boulevard and Yonge Street.

 

Yonge Street Frontage: There is little setback from the Yonge Street sidewalk. Pedestrians will face a building rising straight up from the Yonge Street sidewalk for 6 storeys to a height of  41.6m (136.6ft), at which point there is a setback of 1.5m. A further 2.4m setback above the 8th storey extends to the top of the 12th storey. (per the plans entitled ISSUED FOR REZONING, which bear the date 2025-05-26, and are listed on the AIC website as being posted on JUN 5, 2025)

 

Intrusion into neighbourhood street: The residential home at 19 Alexandra is included in the plans, and moves the building site more deeply away from Yonge and into the residential side-street.

 

Parking is minimal, public transit is not convenient: This seniors’ residence building intends to provide independent residential suites, assisted-living suites and memory-care suites. This will require a large staff to be on site. The building has only 24 stacked parking spaces. The owners said that they expect their staff to use public transit. The building is located approximately 1 kilometre from the nearest subway stations at Eglinton and at Lawrence; the TTC 97 Yonge bus runs infrequently and often erratically, with waits of up to 30 minutes in all sorts of weather (frigid, rainy, sweltering hot). Staff and visitors using public transit will have a 1-kilometer walk to the subway, or a long wait for a bus in rain, heat, and snow.