Located in Toronto’s “Chinatown,” the two buildings that constitute 15 Larch Street and 76 Grange attempt to fit in with a dense, low-rise context. Although most of the residential buildings in the immediate surroundings are two-storey, row and semi-detached houses, the form belies the population density as many of the older buildings have been subdivided into smaller apartments. The adjacent main streets are intensely used for commercial and retail activity. Along Spadina Avenue, much of this activity is accommodated in older industrial buildings of up to six storeys, whereas Dundas Street West is characterized by low-rise development similar in scale to the residential stock. The neighbourhood, close to the central business district, is well served by public transit.

The Larch Street buildings were designed for the Toronto Housing Company (formerly Cityhome), a municipal, non-profit housing provider. Both buildings are three storeys high, fitting with the scale of the neighbourhood. They address the streets by providing many of the units with their own front doors, and the apartments on the east side of Larch are clustered around a semi-public courtyard. The project was constructed on top of a separately owned underground parking structure that was designed to serve the businesses in the area. This complicated the development process, and, despite the establishment of local working groups to discuss the concerns of residents and business owners, the project took almost ten years to complete.

Richard Milgrom