Architect's rendering of Knightstone U of T residence.Diamond Schmitt Architects
Residents of low-lying neighbourhoods protesting a proposed 24-storey student residence just off the University of Toronto campus have expressed concern that one high-rise may beget more.
That concern has been realized: Last week at an Ontario Municipal Board pre-hearing into the rezoning application by Knightstone Capital Management for the residence (south of College Street, between Spadina and Huron Avenues), it came to light another company has filed a rezoning application to allow for a 30-storey building next door.
In June, Bailey & Company Inc. put in a rezoning application for a mixed-use building that would include office, retail and residential space, the company's lawyer Calvin Lantz confirmed in an e-mail. Mr. Lantz declined to elaborate on why Bailey & Company Inc. has an interest in the Knightstone hearing.
The Knightstone building would house 759 students from U of T, and possibly from Ryerson University as well. Though U of T wouldn't be responsible for the residence, the U.S.-based company that has been proposed to run it has made a commitment to meet university standards, university spokeswoman Laurie Stephens wrote in an e-mail last week.
The next pre-hearing into the Knightstone case is set for Nov. 28. Lawyers representing the City of Toronto, Bailey & Company Inc., Knightstone Capital Management and a lawyer representing several resident associations (the Grange Community Association, the Harbord Village Residents' Association, the Annex Residents' Association and the Huron Sussex Residents' Organization), have given notice of their intention to speak about the proposed student residence.