Station Sites - What Next?

Back in 2021 Dieter Riedel and I, Valerie Eggertson, represented the GDNA on the Local Advisory Committees for the new Ontario Line subway stations at King/Bathurst and Queen/Spadina respectively.  That was an Infrastructure Ontario engagement.  Each LAC submitted a wish-list of community benefits and architectural features to be incorporated into the design and development of each station site.  There were also online Open House presentations … a total of three which can be accessed here: one for Q/S, one for K/B, and a third one combining both.

Then construction began.  Focus turned to Metrolinx and its interaction with the community via working groups and Construction Liaison Committees, well documented here: Metrolinx - Ontario Line - Community meetings

But behind the scenes, Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH)  were busy preparing Minister’s Zoning Orders dated April 8, 2022 for each site.  Planning Act R.S.O 1990 authorizes MMAH to make a minister’s zoning order (MZO) for regulating the use of land, buildings, and structures anywhere in Ontario.  If there is a conflict between an MZO and a municipal zoning by-law, the MZO prevails.  The Province provided a draft of the MZOs to the City for review prior to issuing them.  There are four station sites in our catchment and here are the four MZOs:

Queen/Spadina South	O. Reg. 334/22 ​
Queen/Spadina North	O. Reg. 333/22 ​
King/Bathurst South	O. Reg. 332/22 ​
King/Bathurst North	O. Reg. 331/22

These MZOs are very specific, specifying maximum building height, amenity space, setbacks, bedrooms/unit mix, bicycle parking spots, etc.  Currently only a few other station sites have MZOs, as found on this list:  Minister’s Zoning Orders – City of Toronto .
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In conjunction with these four MZOs, Infrastructure Ontario has produced detailed documentation (Planning Rationale, Project Data Sheets, Architectural Plans, Shadow Studies, etc).  These documents contain information on which a future developer will ultimately base their proposal.  For example … a height limit for a building on the south site at Q/S is 48.2m (15 floors), Q/S north site 50.8m (17 floors), K/S south 82.9m and K/S north 83.4m (each 25 floors + mechanical penthouse). Again, the City undertook a detailed review of these materials, providing feedback to the Province and reporting to Council on the findings of the review.

Access all these documents and their wealth of information at Queen-Spadina | EngageIO and King-Bathurst | EngageIO.  Similar documentation for some other station sites has been made available here: Ontario Line | EngageIO
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Urban Toronto has expanded on this information and posted these articles about  the Queen/Spadina site and the King /Bathurst site.

​On April 17th, 2024, Dieter and I met representatives of Infrastructure Ontario’s Transit-Oriented Communities Program, Ontario Line south segment: Josh McCann, Vice President and Yvonne Yeung, Director of Development. 
Our question to them: what next?
Their answer:
With MZOs in place and site details worked out:

1. IO will post opportunities to developers, list which sites are for sale
2. Developers will submit an “expression of interest”
3. There will be an “assessment process” of interested applicants based on pricing, qualifications, track record, etc.

With the realtor CBRE as intermediary, IO has already undertaken steps 1 and 2 above for the two King/Bathurst sites.  Step 3 is likely to take years yet to complete.  Although these first two steps for the K/B sites are now closed, I was able to find reference to them HERE and HERE.  The Queen/Spadina sites have not yet been subjected to either of these early steps.

​Once the developer is selected, post step 3, City Planning will play a familiar role ... reviewing the developer's "site plan application", liaising with residents and businesses, addressing affordable housing and community benefits, coordinating activities with other City departments.  One day we are likely to find these sites have been added to the City’s Planning Application Information Centre.