TORONTO — A long-underused piece of land at Eglinton Avenue West and Martin Grove Road could become home to approximately 685 new residences as Ontario plans a transit-oriented community beside the future Martin Grove Station.
The Martin Grove TOC is being planned around the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, placing new housing beside a major expansion of rapid transit into western Toronto.
Infrastructure Ontario says the proposal has the potential to deliver approximately 685 homes, flexible retail and commercial space, pedestrian-friendly public areas and parkland. The site would connect directly with the future Martin Grove Station as well as existing TTC bus service.
Planning material presented in 2026 envisioned four 18-storey buildings arranged around a central publicly accessible space near the station entrance. The proposal illustrates a different form of intensification than the very tall towers associated with some downtown or major-node developments: substantial mid-to-high-rise density distributed across a larger station-area site.
That is important for Square Footage because Ontario’s housing shortage cannot be addressed only through downtown skyscrapers. Transit corridors across the region will need to absorb significant new housing, particularly where publicly funded rapid-transit infrastructure creates the capacity to support more residents without requiring every trip to depend on a private vehicle.
The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension is designed to extend rapid transit west from the existing Line 5 corridor toward Renforth Drive, with a planned connection toward Pearson Airport. Martin Grove therefore sits within a corridor that could become substantially more connected to jobs, neighbourhoods and regional transportation over time.
The development also demonstrates the role of land that has remained underused for decades. Converting vacant or low-intensity land around future stations into housing can add supply without requiring outward urban expansion.
But, as with every proposal Square Footage tracks, approximately 685 planned homes are not the same as 685 delivered homes. The project must continue through planning, approvals, development and construction before those units become part of Toronto’s actual housing stock.
Square Footage will track whether the Martin Grove proposal advances alongside the transit line it is intended to support.
🏙️ Square Footage is GTA Weekly’s weekly look at design, density, and development across Ontario’s transit corridors.
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