Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (EHON) is a City of Toronto initiative to facilitate the construction of more low-rise housing in residential neighbourhoods to meet the needs of our growing city. The Beaches-East York Pilot Project is one component of EHON and will consider the feasibility of building missing middle-type buildings, ranging from duplexes to low-rise walk-up apartments, on selected City-owned sites that are designated Neighborhoods in the City’s official plan. The pilot project aims to deliver feasible missing middle demonstration projects that can be used as model for other sites, beyond City-owned properties, while ensuring a focus on affordability, accessibility resiliency and sustainability. City Planning and Environment & Climate staff have partnered with CreateTO to pursue this pilot project.
The selected site at 72 Amroth represents the second portion of the pilot project after the typology study. As a recently divested Toronto Parking Authority site, its placement made it a prime candidate for missing middle scale development: it is perfectly positioned to act as a transition zone between the denser commercial corridor to north, and the existing single-family detached dwellings to the south. The site’s unique L-shape also allows for explorations of multiple building types and sizes on one site, and its larger size allows for more units than the previous typology study.
The design takes advantage of the unique characteristics of the site to create two structures: one larger structure containing a 5-storey portion (Building A) and 4-storey portion (Building B), and one smaller 3-storey structure (Building C), emulating the approach of a main dwelling and garden suite and reinforcing the transition zone approach. The two structures form an internal courtyard for social interaction and access to outdoor space. Building A fronts Amroth Avenue and acts as the main entrance with a lobby and mail area. The ground floor units in Building B and Building C have direct entry from the outdoors, creating a townhouse-esque feel. Each unit has a private balcony, which are separate structures and adhered to the main building, reducing thermal bridging and structural complications. Corridors are kept as small as possible with a point-block structure, single stair and elevator serving four units per floor in Building A, two units per floor in Building B, and three per floor in Building C. The three buildings contain 30 units, with a mix of 1-, 2-, and 3-bedrooms.
Materiality was inspired by common materials in Toronto residential neigbourhoods, mainly brick and wood, as a nod to heritage manifesting in a contemporary manner and for their tactility and human scale. The massing avoids the “wedding cake” trap of setbacks at every floor, stepping back once at 4 storeys. Carveouts for balconies are strategically placed to minimize overlook into neighbouring yards, and the composite guards provide privacy for the residents without sacrificing views, while also shading the glazed patio doors.
The design conforms with Toronto Green Standard Version 4 Tier 3, a key factor of the feasibility study set out by the client. With no minimum parking requirements, there are no basements in the scheme, drastically reducing construction costs and carbon emissions. Structure and framing materials are primarily wood, with solar panels, a high window-to-wall ratio, and extra thick exterior walls contributing to low operating energy costs. Energy modeling and life cycle assessments conducted for both structures found that the higher-performing options (i.e. electric heat pumps rather than gas boilers) offset the upfront investment costs with lower operational energy expenses, proving the feasibility of highly sustainable buildings in the missing middle scale.
