Item - 2017.PG17.7

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

Don Mills Crossing is a planning study initiated to shape and manage the anticipated development at the intersection of Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue East in response to the public investment in the Crosstown LRT and bus terminal at this location.  Through the adoption of Eglinton Connects in 2014, City Council identified three corners of the intersection as a Focus Area for intensification and directed that a Secondary Plan be prepared to provide a comprehensive planning framework to manage future growth.  More recently, Council settled an Ontario Municipal Board appeal for the 24 hectare parcel of land at the northwest corner owned by Celestica Inc.  This settlement provides for these lands to redevelop into a complete mixed use community with a variety of employment, residential and community uses.

Building on the work of Eglinton Connects, Don Mills Crossing will integrate the Celestica lands with the directions for the Focus Area to create a planning framework for the area.  This framework will be anchored by a new Secondary Plan alongside other implementation measures such as design guidelines, transportation and infrastructure master plans to support co-ordinated development of employment, residential and community uses.  Over the next year and a half, Don Mills Crossing will answer key questions about what is needed to build a complete, well connected and walkable community at Don Mills and Eglinton.

This report marks the conclusion of the first phase of Don Mills Crossing presenting a profile of the study area and its immediate surroundings.  The Don Mills Crossing Profile outlines how the study area is a collection of single use precincts, developed at a large scale between expansive natural valleys of the Don River.  It focuses on the history and demographics of the study area, updating and confirming the findings of Eglinton Connects on community infrastructure needs.  Based on a number of detailed technical reports completed as part of the Phase 1 work program, the Profile identifies key findings to inform future phases of Don Mills Crossing.