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Project Summary

Downtown Toronto is characterized by tall buildings. As it grows and evolves, tall buildings will continue to accommodate people and jobs drawn to the City’s core. The objective of the Tall Buildings Downtown Project is to create a vision for tall buildings which identifies which downtown streets tall buildings should be located on and the height ranges and built form typologies that these tall buildings should adhere to in order to enhance the pedestrian environment; minimize shadowing of sidewalks, parks and public squares; protect landmark views and heritage resources and improve the quality of life (access to natural light, sky views and privacy) for people living and working in the core.

A Tall Buildings Downtown project milestone occurred with the completion, in April of 2010, of a consultant’s study entitled “Tall Buildings, Inviting Change in Downtown Toronto”. This study proposes a vision and a set of performance standards for tall buildings in Downtown Toronto.

The consultant’s study, undertaken by Urban Strategies Inc. and Hariri Pontarini Architects, in consultation with City Planning staff, in recommending a set of customized performance standards for tall buildings downtown, draws upon pre-existing Toronto-wide design guidelines known as the “Design Criteria for Review of Tall Buildings Proposals”; an on-the-ground assessment of local conditions and the results of selective testing of chosen sites in Downtown Toronto; and an assessment of experiences of comparable cities from around North America.

Together, the vision and performance standards are intended to add a finer grain of detail to the review of tall building applications in Downtown Toronto.

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Project Area

The Tall Buildings Downtown Project area encompasses portions of Wards 20, 27 and 28. It is bounded by Bathurst Street on the west, Dupont Street on the north, the Don Valley Parkway on the east and Lake Ontario on the south. Secondary Plan Areas falling within the study boundaries have been excluded from the Study.

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Project Video
“Living Up to It: Tall Buildings, Inviting Change in Downtown Toronto” produced by Leslieville Productions in cooperation with Urban Strategies Inc. and City Planning Division which provides an overview of the Tall Buildings Downtown Project and Consultant’s Study. (7.38 minutes).

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Project Background

Downtown urban environments can vary enormously in character, quality and livability. Issues such as microclimate, light, shade and wind levels become more acute as buildings become taller, as do issues of how tall buildings meet the ground; how they integrate with their setting and how they engage, define and support pedestrian life on the street.

Compatibility of new development and the ability of buildings to work together to help define a street, a neighbourhood or public park or space, is a matter of scale and scale is relative to: height, bulk and massing, spacing, location of building components, design and context, the last of which takes into account historic and landmark buildings and sites; significant parks and public spaces; view corridors, important vistas, and more.

During the past decade residential and mixed-use development in Downtown Toronto has increased dramatically, much of it through buildings which are much taller than the City’s current zoning by-law maximum height limit provisions anticipated. The style/character of tall buildings has changed over time from one with a shorter and bulkier floorplate to taller point towers with smaller floor plates. Today, tall buildings are being sited closer to each other and to the edges of established mid and low-rise areas. The smaller lot sizes in the Downtown and the fragmented nature of lot ownership which makes land assembly more difficult; the somewhat irregular laneway system that causes challenges for servicing of multi-storey buildings and a sensitive historic context, has created special locational challenges for assessing/reviewing tall building development in Downtown Toronto.

In 2003, City Planning Division commissioned a consultant’s study entitled “Design Criteria for the Review of Tall Building Proposals”. City Council adopted the resulting report and the citywide tall buildings guidelines in 2006. These guidelines have undergone a period of testing and stakeholder consultation, and are currently continuing to be used by City staff to evaluate tall building development proposals on a city-wide basis.

Subsequent to the release of the "Design Criteria for Review of Tall Buildings Proposals", the City Planning Division undertook a comprehensive tall buildings visioning, mapping and 3D modelling exercise in November of 2006, specifically reviewing the Downtown area. The purpose was to identify appropriate areas for intensified growth and sites where tall buildings should be permitted. In 2007, Council provided funding for a consultant’s study focusing on “Intensification and Tall Building Location Analysis” for the Downtown. The City issued an RFP, selecting planning firm Urban Strategies Inc. to complete this Study. A draft Study document was submitted to City Planning staff in the Summer of 2009. Additional work followed, with the final Study document and Consultant’s report being submitted in April of 2010.

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Summary - “Tall Buildings, Inviting Change in Downtown Toronto” Consultant’s Study

High Streets Vision

The Study identifies portions of major Downtown streets where tall buildings are considered to be appropriate. These streets are called “High Streets” and include streets such as Bay, Bloor, College, King and others. A range of heights is proposed for properties fronting onto High Streets. The six height range categories are: 47 to 77 meters; 62 to 107 meters; 77 to 137 meters; 92 to 152 meters; 107 to 182 meters; and 137 meters and up.

A three-tiered height limit is proposed by the Study as follows:

• a base building height to be established in the City’s Zoning By-law;
• an “as-of-right” height for High Street tall buildings, which is based on the prevailing heights of existing buildings along the given street segment; and
• a “maximum” height to be established in the Official Plan, which reflects a build out of the “Downtown Vision” and takes into account all recent development approvals.

The “maximum” height level can only be achieved through a site-specific rezoning that includes the provision of Section 37 community benefits with the Section 37 valuation being based on the additional increase in density that accompanies the increase in height between the “as-of-right” and the “maximum” height.

Tall Building Typologies

The Consultant’s Study characterizes tall building typologies in the Downtown, such as the Tower-Podium Form; Canyon Form; Landscaped Setback Form and Secondary High Street Form. However, and with little exception, the performance standards identified below apply to every typology.

Performance Standards

All tall building proposals located along the “High Streets” would be subject to the set of performance standards (referred to as “regulations” in the consultant’s report). These performance standards (or regulations) relate either to the base or the tower portion of the building. The intent of the regulations is to ensure that each new building and group of buildings achieves not only excellence in architecture, but also the desired cumulative relationship with one another and with the streets onto which they front, as follows:

Regulation #1: Tall buildings will include a podium built to the property line that extends the length of the site on all street frontages. The façade of the podium should generally align with adjacent building façades, parallel to the street, with some strategic setbacks permitted for covered walkways and building entrances to create architectural interest.

Regulation #2: The minimum height for the podium of tall buildings will be 3 storeys, and the maximum height will be a 1:1 ratio to the width of the street allowance. To ensure greater sunlight penetration on the sidewalk across the street, the main front wall can be no higher than 80% of the width of the street allowance before applying a 3m setback to the remainder of the base building height. If a tall building site fronts onto more than one street, the podium will be massed to address both frontages, giving prominence to the corner.

Regulation #3: Street level façades of tall buildings will display a high degree of permeability between interior and exterior space through the use of transparent windows and doors that provide clear and unobstructed views into and out from ground floor uses. At least 60% of the frontage on High Streets between 0.5 metres and 3 metres in height must be glazed and transparent.

Regulation #4: Tall building podiums will be lined with active street-related retail uses on street segments identified as Priority Retail Streets to encourage activity and natural surveillance. At least 60% of the total building frontage on such street segments must contain active street-related retail uses. Lobbies should be limited in width.

Regulation #5: The minimum height for grade-related retail and other uses associated with tall buildings along High Streets is 4.5 metres, measured floor to floor.

Regulation #6: Entrances to tall buildings will be clearly defined with maximum visibility to ensure ease of access directly from the street, and be free of obstructions. Architectural treatment and, where appropriate, landscaping should be used to accentuate entrances, and to differentiate between residential and commercial entrances in mixed-use buildings. Each retail store in a building must be identifiable and accessible from the sidewalk.

Regulation #7: Tall building podiums will be designed to include human scale treatment of building mass, materials, texture and composition. Façades should be well articulated with an interplay of rhythm between transparent glass and solid materials. Pedestrian weather protection will be provided along High Streets, particularly over entrances to residential and retail uses. Blank walls will be avoided, and if necessary must be well articulated. Air vents and mechanical equipment will not be located adjacent to the public realm. Colonnades are discouraged.

Regulation #8: Streetscaping and landscaping elements such as street trees, street furniture, lighting, soft landscaping, seating and public art should be used to activate building façades, soften building contours, highlight important architectural features, screen less attractive elements, add colour, texture and visual interest, and provide shade.

Regulation #9: Locate and access parking, loading, service areas, and utilities primarily from a lane or at the rear of the building so as not to conflict with pedestrian-oriented activities.

Regulation #10: The maximum gross floor area per floor of tall building towers is 750 square metres including all the built area within the building but excluding balconies.

Regulation #11: The tower portion of tall buildings, including balconies, must be set back from the podium a minimum of 3m for a minimum of two-thirds the length of the tower facing the street.

Regulation #12: Tall building towers must be set back a minimum of 10m from side and rear property lines or the centre line of an abutting lane, measured from the external wall or exterior face of balconies. If a project includes more than one tall building, the buildings must be spaced apart so as to permit a minimum separation distance of 20m, measured from the external wall or exterior edge of balconies.

Regulation #13: Sites that are too small to permit a tower with the required setbacks on all sides (“Small Sites”) are not appropriate for tall buildings. Small Sites are generally those sites that are less than 45m by 45m for a mid-block site or 45m by 35m for a corner site. A building on a Small Site may only be constructed to the permitted Base Height of the street on which it fronts, above which a 45 degree angular plane may be used for additional levels set back from the street and the side and rear property lines.

Regulation #14: When tall buildings are located abutting a stable low rise residential area, the tower portion of the building will be set back from such abutting property line(s) a minimum of 20 metres. The podium will create a smooth transition between the residential area and the tall building, and will be designed to reflect the built form character of the adjacent neighbourhood.

Regulation #15: No new shadows may be cast by any tall building on designated First Tier Parks between 10 AM and 4 PM on September 21st. No new shadows may be cast by any tall building on Second Tier Parks between 12 noon and 2:00 PM on September 21st. Tall buildings will be designed and oriented to minimize shadow impacts on all parks and open spaces at all times of the day.

Regulation #16: Tall buildings will not interrupt the view corridors or appear behind the building silhouettes of the three Landmark Views Downtown: Queens Park, Old City Hall and City Hall. Other landmark views should be considered in the review of tall building proposals.

Regulation #17: Tall buildings will not visually impede the setting of listed/designated heritage buildings. Where heritage buildings are low-scaled, the podium of the tall building will respect and reflect the unique urban grain and scale, visual relationships, topography and materials of the surrounding historic building(s). The tall building will preserve and enhance the character and appearance of the setting of the adjacent listed/designated building(s).

Promoting Design Excellence

In conjunction with its Downtown height and typology vision and the performance standards outlined above, the Tall Buildings Downtown Study strongly endorses the use of design review panels to uphold standards of design excellence for tall buildings Downtown and encourages the City to continue utilizing initiatives which recognize great architecture.

Conserving Heritage Buildings and Fabric

Designation as a High Street will not exempt any property from any of its heritage obligations. The heritage policies and legislation at both the City and Provincial levels that are currently in place and the current system of negotiations for preservation of historic buildings will prevail over the High Streets designation.

The Consultant’s Study recognizes the obligation that tall buildings have in the Downtown to be well designed and meet a high level of fit with neighbouring properties and with the public realm (namely, streets, open spaces and views). It notes that not every downtown lot is suitable for tall building development as a result of constraints imposed by size and by the fact that tall building redevelopment may be incompatible, in certain instances, with the need to preserve the City’s historic buildings and adjacent historic fabric.

“Tall Buildings, Inviting Change in Downtown Toronto” Consultant’s Study

(***Please note: some of the following files are quite large and may take a few minutes to load, depending on your download speed.)

• Final Consultants’ Study - Full document (PDF 44 MB)

Community Consultation Sessions were held on:

View the meeting notice.

View the open house/meeting display boards:

• Display Board 1 - Project Summary
• Display Board 2 - Study Summary
• Display Board 3 - Location of High Streets
• Display Board 4 - Recommended Height for High Streets
• Display Board 5 - Tall Building Typologies
• Display Board 6 - Tall Building Performance Standards, Part 1
• Display Board 7 - Tall Building Performance Standards, Part 2
• Display Board 8 - High Street Sample Info from Study
• Display Board 9 - Constraints on Tall Buildings - Parks, Views, Heritage
• Display Board 10 - Heritage Context
• Display Board 11 - Tall Building Prototype
  
  

View the Consultant's Presentation.

View the list of  issues, comments and opinions expressed by participants in the community and stakeholder consultation sessions, including comments and questions raised (and being responded to) as part of the tallbuildings@toronto.ca on-line feedback  process.

View the Summary of Questions/Comments Received during & after the Downtown Tall Buildings Project Consultation Meetings.