The redevelopment of 3385 Lawrence Avenue East, Scarborough is for a new 10-storey rental apartment building with 110-plus residential units. The existing six-storey apartment building on the site was constructed in 1992 and contains 48 units of subsidized rental housing that are to be retained.

The proposed development would offer family-friendly amenities, a large courtyard, timber construction, and passive ventilation. Passive House Certification and Zero On-Site Carbon are also being pursued, with geothermal to be explored throughout the development process.

A 10-storey height along Lawrence Avenue East is proposed and is designed to provide a transition in height from the northeast corner of the site to the rear of the site where the height is reduced to two and three storeys. A new interior courtyard is proposed between the new and retained buildings.

As with all Kindred Works projects, accessibility and sustainability is a core value. One third of the new units are targeted to be barrier-free. The project targets an 80 per cent reduction in embodied carbon against industry standard, and the design uses Passive House principles to enable low energy use throughout the building’s life. This approach extends to residents, too – the apartments will make the most of passive ventilation and daylight to create a healthy living environment.

Ensuring a safety and people focused design, there is ample interior and exterior amenity space and all of the vehicular movement is located at the rear of the site. The redevelopment of 3385 Lawrence Avenue East represents an interesting opportunity for existing residents, new residents, and the wider community.