One of a series of Greater Toronto Area addresses that were placed under receivership in late-2023 and early-2024 has cropped up on the City of Toronto’s development application portal, with Osmington Gerofsky Development Corp filing plans in mid-August for the site at 39 Newcastle Street. The site, which neighbours the Mimico GO station, at the southeast corner of Newcastle Street and Windsor Street, was set to be developed by the Vandyk Properties before the company fell into severe financial distress.
According to a planning report that went to the City in mid-August, Osmington’s application is on behalf of 2495065 Ontario Inc. — the single-purpose real estate entity formed by Vandyk to redevelop the site. According to a spokesperson with Osmington, the firm is only the applicant on the file and “have not taken any ownership interest.”
“The property is in the hands of the receiver. LaCaisse (formerly Otera) was the primary lender to Vandyk and thus is steering the current effort with our support as applicant,” they also said.
Meanwhile, the application is in favour of a 39-storey tower and two 42-storey towers, to be delivered over two phases. The report further specifies a total gross floor area (GFA) of around 1,139,198 sq. ft, to be divided into approximately 5,490 sq. ft of non-residential GFA (to be located at grade, at the corners of the proposed development along Windsor Street) and around 1,133,708 sq. ft of residential GFA.
Pending the City’s approval, the development is set to deliver a total of 1,578 residential units — all planned to be rental in tenure — including 79 studios, 1,033 one-bedrooms, 303 two-bedrooms, and 163 three-bedrooms, for almost a 30% share of larger family-sized units.
View at the corner of Newcastle and Windsor/TACT Architecture
The proposal calls for a total of 50,956 sq. ft amenity space “evenly split between indoor and outdoor areas.” The bulk is planned for the mezzanine level, and the rest will be provided on the ground and eighth floors. In addition, 425 vehicular parking spaces with 592 bicycle parking spaces are planned. Finally, the report explains that a new privately owned public space (POPS) is planned along Windsor Street, to be “framed by the proposed retail spaces, contributing to a vibrant, active streetscape.”
Renderings of the development prepared by TACT Architecture show the 42-storey ‘Tower A’ with a five- to seven-storey podium, the 39-storey ‘Tower B’ with a five- to seven-storey podium, and the 42-storey ‘Tower C’ with a five-storey podium. The towers encircle an internal courtyard, which are joined at the mezzanine level.
“The buildings are designed to provide appropriate transitions in height and scale to the surrounding context,” the planning report explains. “Building height is concentrated adjacent to the Mimico GO station, decreasing towards the established residential neighbourhood to the northwest. The 39-storey tower is located on the northwest of the site, with the two 42-storey buildings oriented adjacent to the Mimico GO station and rail corridor.”
View south from the POPS/
View across Windsor to the proposed POPS/TACT Architecture
“The towers have compact floor plates that are oriented to maximize sunlight into the proposed dwelling units and mitigate shadows on the surrounding area,” the report goes on to say. “To address rail safety matters, a crash wall is proposed along the south side of the building, with low-occupancy uses proposed within the rail safety buffer area, in accordance with Metrolinx’s requirements.”
As mentioned, 39 Newcastle Street was roped into receivership proceedings over several properties owned by Vandyk. The order was granted by the Ontario courts on December 12, 2023, amid allegations that LaCaisse (formerly Otera Capita) was owed around $72,945,845. The property was approved for sale in March 2024 alongside 10 other Vandyk-owned sites, with CBRE to handle the process.
Prior to the insolvency proceedings, Vandyk was seeking approvals for 22, 30, and 36 storeys with 833 residential units, according to an application filed with the City in July 2017. Although the plans were refused by city staff later that year (in October), Metrolinx announced a partnership with Vandyk in October 2018 to fund the construction costs of a revamped Mimico GO station as part of the Mimico GO Transit Oriented Community (TOC) known as Grand Central Mimico.
Grand Central Mimico extended to include 23 Buckingham Street and 315-327 Royal York Road, and 39 Newcastle Street was identified as “a future phase” of the larger project in May 2023. That all said, the receivership proceedings surrounding Vandyk led to Metrolinx terminating its TOC agreement with the embattled company in February 2024.