U of T launches new initiative to add housing complex to a fire station

A new intiative from the University of Toronto in collaboration with the City of Toronto could see a fire station be turned into a housing complex.

U of T’s School of Cities project revealed plans on Thursday at the UN World Urban Pavilion at Regent Park Exhibition, to reimagine at least two Toronto fire stations at Sherbourne Avenue and Front Street to include housing.

The work is being done in partnership with the the city through CreateTO and fire services.

U of T Professor of Geography and Planning Matti Siemiatycki said the facilities in question would be completely rebuilt.

“We’re looking at an innovative idea to build housing on top of fire stations and other social uses to use the public land to be able to rebuild a fire station and then on top of it to put public spaces and public uses that are so critical for our cities,” he said.

As Toronto real estate prices continue to skyrocket and demand increases while supply is harder to come by, Siemiatycki says these ideas would hopefully provide more options for affordable housing, such as the location near Sherbourne subway station.

“We’re in the midst of a housing crisis. This is a prime location in the midst of the city near public transit. We can be doing so much more,” said Siemiatycki. “There’s development happening all around here. And this is an opportunity for the public to be taking advantage of public land, build new public service facilities like the fire station and go on top of them with places for people to live.”

The fire hall itself already has a daycare centre, and the hope is the rebuild would add even more social services spaces.

“It’s really a different way of thinking about city building. You think in three dimensions and you think about reintegrating and using the public lands for the greatest benefits.”

As for a lack of parking in the area, Siemiatycki said they are still discussing how they would reintergrate parking and what needs there actually are for it.

“Keep in mind, we’re right on public transit and building down, especially for parking, is hugely expensive. And so if we’re talking about providing affordability, we would really need to look at whether any parking or how much parking would need to be on this site.”

When asked whether the project would be public or privately developed, Siemiatycki said both options are available.

“It could be entirely a public project where it’s rental housing and the government borrows against future rental revenue,” said Siemiatycki. “[Or it] could be a public-private partnership where the air rights are sold and then in exchange, the developer rebuilds the fire station. So there’s a variety of methods and models this can be done.”

While at least the location at Sherbourne has been identified as a good fit, there is no timeline yet as the plans are still in the very early stages.