Request for a Minister’s Zoning Order to convert an existing office building to residential uses

A Minister’s Zoning Order, made pursuant to clause 47(1)(a) of the Planning Act, regulates the use of land and the erection, location and use of any building or structure on the land, and prevails over the existing municipal zoning by-law to the extent there is any conflict. 

The Minister is considering a request from Vimy Strategies on behalf of the Aura Group of Companies and their partners for lands at 5220 Yonge Street, in the City of Toronto (City). This request has written support from the Minister of Seniors and Accessibility. 

The subject lands are approximately 0.64 hectares and are situated to the west of Yonge Street, north of Park Home Avenue, east of Beecroft Road, and south of Ellerslie Avenue with 43.06 metres of frontage along Yonge Street. See link to location map below. 

The subject lands are currently occupied by a residential building comprising 308 dwelling units, ground-floor retail stores, commercial office space across two towers, a three-storey podium and four levels of underground parking. The lands are zoned as a multiple-family high-density residential exception zone (RM6(247)) under the former City of North York By-law No. 7625 (as amended by By-law No. 323-2017) and designated Mixed Use Area in the City’s official plan.  

The requested MZO seeks to facilitate the provision of 164 seniors’ residential units by converting existing office space within the building. The requested MZO would permit seniors’ residential uses and would reduce the amount of non-residential gross floor area required on the subject lands.

The additional uses would be accommodated within the existing building envelope through the interior conversion of previously approved commercial office space. No changes to the building’s exterior, footprint, height (other than the addition of one storey created through interior renovation), density, setbacks, massing or built form are proposed. Ground-floor retail space would remain.

This request is being made to facilitate the timely construction of seniors’ housing on the subject lands.

To help ensure decisions are made in a transparent manner and support government priorities, the Ministry is seeking feedback on whether this request should be considered and any additional information that may help inform a decision. In particular, any potential environmental risks, financial impacts on the municipality or implications for other approved developments and how these can be mitigated. 

This proposal for an MZO is posted for consultation as a “regulation” notice type due to webform template formatting limitations. However, as a result of amendments to section 47 of the Planning Act by Bill 60, Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025, which received Royal Assent on November 27, 2025, the proposed MZO, if made, will not be a regulation and will not be filed with the Registrar of Regulations.