2699 Keele Street: How a Toronto Development Site Was Taken Through Rezoning to Approval

Last updated: October 19, 2026

How do I take a Toronto development site to approval? You secure a zoning by-law amendment that permits the new use and scale, then move the site plan through review until the conditions of approval are set. At 2699 Keele Street in Downsview, a former gas station site beside Highway 401, City staff recommended the zoning amendment in June 2022, City Council approved the rezoning in July 2022, and the site plan application has a Notice of Approval Conditions issued.

How do I take a development site to approval? The 2699 Keele Street answer

Taking a development site to approval at 2699 Keele Street meant two separate municipal decisions under Ontario's Planning Act. The first was a Zoning By-law amendment, which changes what the land is allowed to hold. The second is site plan approval, which settles how the building sits on the land.

Worsley Urban acted as developer and development manager. The firm carried the site from acquisition strategy through planning and rezoning to approval. City staff recommended the amendment in a Final Report dated June 2, 2022, and City Council approved the rezoning in July 2022.

The result is an approved mixed-use condominium of more than 400 residences over grade-level retail. The site plan has a Notice of Approval Conditions issued. Both applications are public and can be looked up in the City's Application Information Centre under 20 159444 NNY 06 OZ and 21 249733 NNY 06 SA.

If you are a landowner in Downsview or elsewhere in the GTA holding an underused commercial lot, a former service station or a single-storey building on a major road, this case is written for you. It is also for the institutional investor weighing whether to back a local execution partner on an entitlement-stage site.

What We Found

The 2699 Keele Street site had three defining facts: it was a former gas station, it fronted Keele Street, and it sat beside Highway 401.

A former fuel station is generally a site where environmental condition matters to any change of use. In Ontario, moving land from a commercial use like fuel sales to a residential use typically engages the province's record of site condition requirements under Ontario Regulation 153/04. The exact steps for a specific property depend on its history and must be confirmed with qualified environmental and legal advisers.

A site beside a provincial highway raises its own questions. Land next to Highway 401 sits within the interest of the Ministry of Transportation, which generally reviews setbacks and access near provincial highways. Noise and air quality from the highway also shape where residences, amenity space and retail are placed on a parcel like this.

Keele Street frontage is the opportunity. A major road with grade-level retail serving a growing residential population is exactly the kind of mixed-use form planning policy tends to direct to arterial corridors.

How We Solved It

The entitlement of 2699 Keele Street followed the sequence the Planning Act sets out: rezoning first under section 34, site plan control under section 41. The steps below describe that public path and the decisions on the record. They are not a template; every site has its own constraints.

1. Acquisition strategy. Worsley Urban began with the question of what the land could become. Setting the development strategy before entitlement defines what the rezoning application will ask for.
2. Zoning By-law amendment application. The rezoning was filed as application 20 159444 NNY 06 OZ in North York district. A rezoning application asks Council to change the permitted use, height and density on the parcel.
3. Technical review and revisions. City divisions and outside agencies circulate comments on a rezoning. A site next to Highway 401 and on a former fuel use draws review on matters such as transportation, servicing, noise and environmental condition.
4. Staff recommendation. City staff issued a Final Report dated June 2, 2022, recommending the Zoning By-law amendment for 2699 Keele Street.
5. Council decision. City Council approved the rezoning in July 2022, establishing the permissions for a mixed-use condominium of more than 400 residences over grade-level retail.
6. Site plan application. The site plan was filed as 21 249733 NNY 06 SA. Site plan review deals with the building's placement, access, landscaping, grading and servicing details.
7. Notice of Approval Conditions. The site plan application has a Notice of Approval Conditions issued. In the City's process, this notice sets out the conditions that must be satisfied before final site plan approval.

Rezoning, site plan and conditions compared

Entitlement for a site like 2699 Keele Street involves three distinct stages that landowners often treat as one. Each answers a different question and is decided by a different part of the process. The table sets them side by side.

A rezoning is a Council decision. Site plan approval in recent years has largely been a staff-level process, and the conditions attached to it are practical obligations rather than policy debates. Provincial legislation such as Bill 23 (2022) and Bill 185 (2024) changed parts of this framework, and the rules continue to change, so the current process must be confirmed for any specific site.

Why value is created before construction

Entitlement value at 2699 Keele Street came from changing what the land is legally permitted to become. A parcel zoned for a gas station and a parcel approved for a mixed-use condominium of more than 400 residences are, in practical terms, different assets.

This is the counter-intuitive point many owners miss. The visible work of development, cranes and concrete, comes after the step that most changes a site's prospects. Rezoning removes the largest uncertainty a buyer, lender or partner faces: whether the use and scale will be allowed at all.

That does not mean entitlement guarantees anything. Market conditions, financing, construction costs and the remaining conditions all bear on what an approved site is worth and when it can proceed. No outcome is assured, and an owner should take independent legal, tax and financial advice on their own property.

What This Means for Landowners

Landowners holding a former service station, an aging plaza or a low-density lot on a major road can draw three lessons from 2699 Keele Street. Each is tied to what the record shows. None depends on a forecast.

First, the site's history is part of the strategy, not an obstacle to hide. A former gas station use and a Highway 401 edge are facts the application has to address directly. Second, the order matters: rezoning sets the permissions, and site plan conditions follow. Asking how do I take a development site to approval is really asking how to sequence those decisions well.

Third, an owner does not have to choose between selling as-is and taking on the whole process alone. Worsley Urban can evaluate a property, lead entitlement and development, structure a partnership or an acquisition, and carry the project through completion. For an institutional investor, the same capability means a local development and execution partner on a site-by-site basis.

That work rests on long roots. The Longo family entered real estate in 1921, and three generations have built, developed, managed and brokered property in Toronto and Mississauga. Dino Longo, Founder and Principal, brings more than four decades across ownership, investment, development and construction. More of that history is at worsley.ca/#legacy, and other projects are at worsley.ca/#projects.

Every opportunity begins with a conversation. If you are a landowner evaluating the future of a property, you bring the property; Worsley brings the path to its value. Start a private conversation at worsley.ca/#contact or write to dlongo@longocorp.com.

Our view

In our opinion, owners overweigh the drawings and underweigh the strategy. A handsome rendering does not get a rezoning recommended. A clear argument for why a use and scale fit a specific street, and a straight answer to every constraint, does.

We also think the Notice of Approval Conditions stage deserves more respect than it gets. It looks administrative. It is where agreements, securities and technical obligations are settled, and treating it as an afterthought can stall a site that has already won its rezoning.

Finally, the question how do I take a development site to approval has no universal answer. Provincial and municipal rules have shifted repeatedly since 2022, and they will shift again. Confirm the current framework for your parcel before deciding anything.

FAQ

Can a former gas station site be rezoned for residential use?

A former gas station site can be rezoned for residential use, as 2699 Keele Street shows: Council approved its rezoning in July 2022 for a mixed-use condominium. A change from a fuel use to residential generally engages Ontario's record of site condition rules under O. Reg. 153/04, so environmental advice specific to the property is essential.

What is the difference between a rezoning and a site plan approval?

A rezoning and a site plan approval answer different questions under the Planning Act. The rezoning (section 34) sets what use and scale are permitted, while site plan control (section 41) settles how the building sits on the land. At 2699 Keele Street, these were separate applications: 20 159444 NNY 06 OZ and 21 249733 NNY 06 SA.

What does a Notice of Approval Conditions mean?

A Notice of Approval Conditions means the City has set out the conditions a site plan must satisfy before final approval is issued. The 2699 Keele Street site plan has one issued. It is a late-stage step, but the listed conditions still have to be met.

Does a landowner have to sell to get a site through entitlement?

A landowner does not have to sell outright to take a site through entitlement. Worsley Urban can lead entitlement and development, structure a partnership shaped around what each party brings, or acquire the property. The right route depends on the owner's goals, so independent legal, tax and financial advice should come first.

Sources

1. Staff recommendation of the 2699 Keele Street Zoning By-law amendment, Final Report dated June 2, 2022 - City Planning Final Report, June 2, 2022
2. Zoning by-law amendments (section 34) and site plan control (section 41) - Ontario Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13
3. Record of site condition requirements - Ontario Regulation 153/04