Item - 2016.PG9.1

The Planning and Growth Management Committee received the item for information.

This report provides a summary of the first phase of ConsumersNext, a multi-faceted study to support continued employment investment in the Consumers Road Business Park and residential intensification in Mixed Use Areas along Sheppard Avenue East and Victoria Park Avenue.  This phase of study focused on obtaining an understanding of the study area and yielded a number of key findings on the historic and emerging context of an area that represents the largest concentration of office jobs in Toronto outside of the downtown core. 

Recent changes to permitted uses within a portion of the business park and lands around the intersection of  Sheppard Avenue East and Victoria Park Avenue signal the potential for significant new residential and employment intensification.  To manage this growth, support employment uses and direct investment into broader community improvements, the City Planning Division initiated ConsumersNext: Planning for People and Business at Sheppard and Victoria Park.

Launched in June 2015, ConsumersNext consists of a number of initiatives to ensure a cohesive vision for the study area including a planning and urban design study, a transportation and infrastructure review and master planning, an economic potential study and a community services and facilities (CS&F) study.  In addition to key findings outlined in this report, the first phase of ConsumersNext has resulted in a series of guiding principles necessary to develop and evaluate alternative scenarios to be advanced in the next phase of work.