Enormous 50-storey tower proposed amid a block of Toronto bungalows

Transformative changes are ahead for the area surrounding the future Steeles TTC station on the upcoming Yonge North Subway Extension, as entire blocks of small homes are put on the chopping block to make way for higher-density housing.

A new application landed on the desks of city planners earlier in October, calling for the redevelopment of a group of five single-family homes spanning 26 through 34 Nipigon Avenue, just southeast of Yonge and Steeles and under 250 metres from the future Steeles Station on the northerly Line 1 extension.

The application from DiamondCorp and Trove Developments calls for the demolition of the existing homes, and seeks to build a 50-storey condominium tower designed by Kirkor Architects on the 0.23-hectare site.

The developer is looking to increase the amount of housing on the site by order of over 100 times, dedicating 100 per cent of its 38,687 square-metre floor area to residential space with a total of 569 condominium units, broken down into a mix of three studios, 366 one-bedrooms, 143 two-bedrooms, and 57 three-bedroom units.

Such an increase in density, along with a proposed height of 159.53 metres, may seem out of character with the current one- and two-storey surroundings, though this is certain to change in the years to come.

Similar low-density blocks of single-family housing have been targeted for redevelopment, including a stretch of Abitibi Avenue to the immediate south, where another 50-storey condominium tower was proposed just a few months earlier.

Other similarly tall proposals in the immediate vicinity promise to create an entirely new skyline centred around the future Steeles Station in the years to come.

Active development plans in the area include tall towers at sites including 6355 Yonge, 88 Steeles West and Centerpoint Mall, to name just a few.