Yonge Street Mission plans to expand affordable housing in Cabbagetown and Regent Park
The charity hopes to bring 11 storeys, 228 units, pop-up retail and a skills training centre to the revitalized neighbourhood
An affordable housing project in the east end has been revised to include more units while barely adding any height. Owner Yonge Street Mission is now looking to bring an 11-storey, 228-unit building to 306, 308 and 310 Gerrard Street East, a block east of Parliament and directly on the border between Cabbagetown and Regent Park. The proposed tower was designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and will be developed by the Daniels Corporation.
City council approved original plans for the residence in 2023, but the redesign makes more efficient use of the allotted space, with another 34 apartments squeezed in. Programming space—which will be used for YSM offices, training and events—has been trimmed down by 2,721 square metres.
At the moment, half of the units are earmarked for affordable rentals, half will be leased at market rate and 48 per cent of all residences will be for families. YSM and Daniels also have plans to build a computer literacy centre and a micro-enterprise pop-up shop, plus a learning exchange centre that will offer workshops, training and skills development for all ages.
Currently home to the Double Take Thrift Store, the site is one of five operated by YSM. And Daniels, for its part, is familiar with the area, having played a central role in the neighbourhood’s $1.6-billion, 69-acre revitalization.
Zakiya Kassam is a writer and fact checker whose work has appeared in Post City Magazines, This Magazine and Now Toronto. She was previously the associate editor at Storeys.
