Projects

Swansea Mews Revitalization

A new chapter for Swansea Mews.

The ask: Support Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) in advancing the revitalization of Swansea Mews through comprehensive planning, urban design, and community engagement services, which includes the preparation of a Zoning By-law Amendment and Rental Housing Demolition application.

Website
https://torontohousing.ca/building-construction-and-revitalization/revitalization/swansea-mews/swansea-mews-vision
Collaborator
KPMB Architects
PFS Studio
BA Group
Client
Toronto Community Housing
Location
21 Windermere Avenue, Toronto

Tags:

  • Community Engagement
  • Planning
  • Urban Design

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Team Members

Partner

Partner, Urban Design

Partner

Senior Associate

Senior Associate

Associate

Senior Project Manager

Images

The Challenge

In May 2022, a structural concrete panel collapsed into a unit in the Swansea Mews community. The incident resulted in a City-issued emergency order, and all residents were immediately temporarily relocated. The goal of the Swansea Mews revitalization is to provide a community that former tenants can look forward to returning to, while adding more affordable housing, higher-quality homes, more community spaces and amenities, and more open space and improved connections.

Our Solution

Bousfields assembled a multidisciplinary team of planners, urban designers, and community engagement specialists to guide the revitalization process from visioning through approvals. Through close collaboration with City staff and project partners, the team advanced planning applications to support housing replacement, intensification, and the creation of a vibrant mixed-use community. Working closely with TCHC and its Engagement Team, we designed and delivered a comprehensive engagement program that balanced focused discussions with tenants and stakeholders alongside broader community consultation.

The Outcome

City Council adopted the Final Report recommending approval of the applications in March 2026. The approved plan will deliver 649 residential units, including 154 rent-geared-to-income replacement homes, in two mixed-use buildings of 35- and 20-storeys. The development will introduce retail and community-serving uses, publicly accessible open spaces, indoor and outdoor amenity areas, and enhanced site connectivity—creating a vibrant, inclusive, and resilient new chapter for Swansea Mews.

Swansea Mews Revitalization

Toronto Community Housing

Address: 21 Windermere Avenue, Toronto

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Emma West

Partner

Planning
416-947-9744x266
ewest@bousfields.ca

Emma is a Partner at Bousfields, having joined the firm in 2015 with eighteen years of experience in urban and environmental planning for the public and private sector clients. Emma has led a broad range of community-building projects in downtown, suburban and rural locations.  As a Registered Professional Planner, her portfolio of work includes projects at all scales from regional plans to site-specific development approvals across Canada and in the Middle East.  Emma has acted as an expert witness at the Ontario Land Tribunal.  In addition to residential and mixed-use developments, Emma has a particular focus on approvals for colleges, universities and health care projects as well as large-scale affordable housing projects.  Emma focuses on collaborative problem solving in her work. She is an active leader in the Urban Land Institute having held and continuing to hold positions locally, in the Americas and globally. 

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Caroline Kim

Partner, Urban Design

Design
416-947-9744x249
ckim@bousfields.ca

Caroline offers a unique perspective to community building, including residential, commercial and mixed use developments.  A licensed Architect with a Master’s Degree in Urban Design and a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture, her experience in development review at the City of Toronto, combined with her management role for Waterfront Toronto on the Quayside plan, means that Caroline has a unique perspective on development in downtown Toronto and its waterfront. Caroline has provided her expertise to a wide range of development projects, master plans, precinct plans, secondary plans and urban design studies and guidelines for a variety of scales and locations.  Caroline has provided evidence as an expert witness at OLT and is a member of the Mississauga Urban Design Advisory Panel.

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Jocelyn Deeks

Partner

Community Engagement
416-947-9744x284
jdeeks@bousfields.ca

Jocelyn Deeks is a Partner at Bousfields and leads the Community Engagement practice. Jocelyn is a Registered Professional Planner and brings several years of experience working at the intersection of planning, development, and community engagement in the public and private sectors. She has developed and executed stakeholder engagement strategies for some of the GTA’s most complex and challenging development projects. Jocelyn also has experience developing strategic plans for Ontario municipalities.

Jocelyn has a Master in Planning (M.Pl) degree from Queen’s University.  She is a member of the Ontario Professional Planning Institute and the Canadian Institute of Planners. She is a regular presenter at conferences including those hosted by the International Association of Public Participation and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, speaks on panels, and enjoys sharing ideas with peers on podcasts. 

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Allison Chewter

Senior Associate

Planning
416-947-9744x402
achewter@bousfields.ca

Allison is a Senior Associate at Bousfields, having joined the firm in February 2017 with a broad range of experience in land use planning, development approvals, land acquisition and feasibility analysis. Allison graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2014 and holds a Honours Bachelor of Environmental Studies in Planning, with a specialization in land development and urban design. At Bousfields, Allison is involved in a variety of land use planning matters and development projects throughout Toronto, Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area.

She is actively involved in the management of various development applications and regularly prepares planning rationale reports and associated studies for Official Plan amendment and rezoning applications, as well as supporting materials for minor variance, consent and site plan approval applications. Allison further applies her knowledge of Ontario’s land use planning system in the preparation of highest and best use reports and the preparation of evidence for expropriation hearings.

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Simone Hodgson

Senior Associate

Community Engagement
416-947-9744x236
shodgson@bousfields.ca

Simone is a Senior Associate at Bousfields and a key member of Bousfields’ Community Engagement Practice. Simone develops, manages, and implements community and stakeholder engagement strategies for private and public sector clients with projects across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

Simone is experienced in spearheading and facilitating engagement and communication approaches at a range of scales and using a variety of methods. She is an expert in virtual engagement, including how to use project websites, social media, and other creative means to reach broader and more diverse audiences. Drawing from her experience, Simone aims to generate dynamic approaches to engagement that spark meaningful and constructive dialogue, as well as inspire those who may not traditionally participate to do so.

Simone holds a Master in Urban Planning (MUP) degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design. She has presented at a number of conferences, including the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) North American Conference, Public x Design Conference, and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) Annual Conference. She also holds a Certificate from IAP2 in Foundations in Public Participation.

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Mona Al-Sharari

Associate

Planning
416-947-9744x269
malsharari@bousfields.ca

Mona joined Bousfields in May 2021 as a Planner. Mona holds a Bachelor of Community Design and Planning (Honours Urban Design and Planning) from Dalhousie University and a Master of Science in Infrastructure Planning, Appraisal and Development from the Bartlett School of Planning at University College London (UCL). Mona delivered, and continues to deliver, guest lectures on various topics at UCL, such as promoting participatory practices in planning and delivering infrastructure projects.

Prior to pursuing her Master of Science at UCL, Mona worked in the private sector as a Land Use Planner at another consulting firm in Toronto. In that role, she worked on a variety of mixed-use, residential, commercial and industrial projects. Mona also brings international development experience. Previously, she worked as a Planner at a consulting firm in Amman, Jordan, where she assisted with developing planning strategies for communities in Jordan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Also, she completed an internship at the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in Nairobi, Kenya.

Projects Include:

Lewis Walker

Senior Project Manager

Community Engagement
416-947-9744x263
lwalker@bousfields.ca

Lewis joined Bousfields’ Community Engagement Practice in October 2022 as a Project Manager. Originally from Singapore, he moved to Canada for his undergraduate studies and to explore living abroad. During his studies, Lewis worked in the non-profit sector as an engagement practitioner specializing in youth, newcomers, and lower-income groups, while finishing his BA (Hons.) in Urban Studies and Human Geography at the University of Toronto.

Since joining Bousfields, Lewis has worked on developing and implementing engagement strategies for development projects in the City of Toronto. Key to Lewis’s work is ensuring that engagement strategies both align and build on the context of the community. Through his work, Lewis has experience employing a variety of engagement strategies, ranging from tenant-related communication to public open houses. Lewis’s passion for making planning and city building more accessible has ensured that he finds new and creative ways to create spaces for the public to be involved in city building.

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