A Buddhist temple near King Street West is proposing to build a new 10-storey building housing retail and childcare space, as well as a new religious space on its upper three floors.
Writing on behalf of applicant Karma Sonam Dargye Ling, Brutto Planning Consultants recently applied for an official plan and zoning bylaw amendment to permit the development.
The building would be a mid-rise mixed-use tower with ground-floor retail and daycare. A temple with religious residences would rise above the 7th floor, according to the application.
The design is by High Park Architects and purports to be "bird-friendly".
An artist's rendering features the words "Kagyu Monestary" in a large letters on the upper part of the building.
The renderings also suggest a standard seven-storey building with a temple sitting on top with access to a mezzanine level.
The building would be at 1464 King St. W. and 10-12 Maynard Ave. on a lot of 1,600 square metres.
An existing temple currently occupies a three-storey residential style building at 12 Maynard.
The site for the new project involves adjacent properties and has 37.25 metres of frontage on Maynard and 45 metres of depth on King West on the northwest corner of King and Maynard.
It currently has an unoccupied single detached dwelling, a low-rise apartment building with 19 rental units (ranging from bachelor to three-bedroom), and an existing temple dwelling with four living spaces used by the Temple Lamas.
There's an existing driveway at 10 Maynard Ave. that provides access to a shared parking lot for the three dwellings, the applicant says.
'Bird-friendly' design
The new building would contain 61 new residential units, 19 rental replacement units as well as 19 temple visitor (non-residential) units.
The proponents say the site is in an ideal location as provincial planning "encourages intensification, the redevelopment of underused land, and affordable housing" within the city’s built-up area.
"This is especially fostered in areas that are well served by existing or planned municipal services and infrastructure, which includes frequent transit areas," Brutto Consulting writes.
The site is right next to the King Street West streetcar line, which connects to Line 1 of the subway.
The project will allow for new residents and both retail and institutional jobs within the local area while improving opportunities for housing and supporting the idea of "complete communities" sought by the City of Toronto, the applicant says.
"The proposed development will have an overall positive impact on this segment of King Street West and demonstrates good planning practices."
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