33 Isabella (Isabella Court) Community Consulation

The "tower in the park" style of building, pioneered by Le Corbusier, was popular in Toronto in the sixties and seventies. These residential towers were distinguished by the generous amount of open space around them, leaving room on the property for trees, gardens, water features and other landscaping. Now that land values have skyrocketed, owners of some of these properties are looking to monetize their open spaces with infill projects. 

​One example is Isabella Court, the 27 storey, 400 unit rental building at 33 Isabella. Cromwell Property Management is proposing a 4 storey building on the west side of the property, with 15 apartments and ground floor administrative offices.

A community consultation, held on May 8, provided an update on the original proposal. City staff had noted that, over time, some amenity spaces at 33 Isabella had been replaced by rented office space.  As well, the infill building removes the existing outdoor tennis court. Some key points: 

• new amenity spaces will replace the current main floor south side rental offices in the existing building.
• new landscaping
• a significant increase in bike parking 
• to minimize noise to neighbours, HVAC will be contained in a sloped green roof
• garbage storage and removal for 33 Isabella will be improved to minimize disruption in the public realm. 

A key component of the proposal is a two year agreement between the City and the owner not to download the cost of the build to current tenants. 
Negotiations between the City and the owner will continue before the City provides final approval of the project. 
Related:
City Staff preliminary report (Dec., 2018) 
Toronto Development Application