Above illustration of proposed condo by RAW Design was submitted as part of Public Consultation

Torontonians can learn a lot from the recent brouhaha that’s erupted in Cabbagetown over a proposed condo development on Parliament Street. A public consultation on May 30 demontrated many people have objections to the plan. What happens next with this proposal will provide an indication of what’s coming to other parts of Toronto as the city wrestles with a housing crisis.

At the heart of the matter is a 10-storey, mixed-use condo with space for ground-floor retail and 85 dwellings. It’s located on the east side of Parliament Street between Wellesley and Carlton (505-509 Parliament). The existing 1 ½ heritage façade of 509 Parliament will be retained and the existing building at 505-507 will be demolished. There will be stacked parking spaces at the rear of the condo with the main vehicular access being through Broadcast Lane.

 Proposed site of condo on Parliament

A Bylaw Amendment is needed for this condo project to move forward. The current zoning for the area has set a 14-metre height restriction but the height of the proposed condo (including mechanical penthouse) is 36.6 metres. The proposed site also is above allowable density and other issues that may be flagged including the impact of windows and balconies overlooking adjacent properties, shadowing, and provision of outdoor amenities.

The virtual Community Consultation held on May 30 allowed community member to learn more about the project from the developers and give city officials their feedback. There were passionate pleas from community members to scrap or scale back the project. About 20 people spoke against the existing plan while others (I counted 3) were in support. Claims of NIMBYism were made by one attendee while others on the other side cited greed on behalf of the developers.

Broadcast Lane off of Winchester Street

Some homeowners who spoke face the possibility of losing a significant amount of equity in their homes; some businesses fear the loss of their livelihood, while others have safety concerns with the added traffic on Broadcast Lane.

The community consultation is near the beginning of the application process which began in March 2023 when the application was received by the City.  There will be further consultations, revisions, another public meeting at community council and finally a City Council decision. The entire process can take 6 months to a year.

While amendments to bylaws are voted on by City Council, these votes are informed by the city’s Official Plan (https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/official-plan-guidelines/official-plan/chapters-1-5/) which sets policies for the entire city. These policies must conform to the direction giving by the province. The province has designated the city centre and areas with access to mass transit for increased density.

“You know there are limits to what I can do as a councillor in what a private developer can or can’t do with their property,” said local Councillor Chris Moise at the meeting.

“If it were up to me, I would not support this [application]” added Moise. “But it’s not up to me to decide that.”

Sean McGaffey a planner from WND (a company involved with planning the development), says  zoning bylaws in this and other cases don’t reflect the direction given by the province.

“The zoning bylaws that [are] in place [do] not align with the official plan policy or the provincial policy to be honest,” says McGaffey. “And in this case, that’s what you’re seeing in this project.”

Basically, the broad strokes of development are governed by the province. The city has its marching orders.

That said, public input is taken seriously. Whether you are in favour or not, I would suggest you watch the video of the community consultation meeting and contact Chris Moise’s office or Tiffany Ly from the Community Planning, City Planning Development with your opinions.

You can find more information on the proposal here. I will be posting updates as they come up both here and on my Instagram and Facebook pages. 

The future of our city is being planned – be a part of it!