1125-1131 Leslie Street

[Northern Light]

This extremely large site on Leslie Street is seemingly in play.

Currently employment/commercial, I imagine the desire is for something else.

Just north of the Phoenix Centre site at 1123, divided from it by the small gully/ravine discussed in that thread.

This site comes in at 3.3 hectares/ or just over 8 acres of land.

The aerial pic first:

Now for some streetview:

The bulk of the site is accessed via this driveway off Leslie:

But does feature this Leslie-fronting building, just to the north:

Should you go up the driveway, it looks like this:

Details for Subject Matter Registration: SM32786​

Decision(s) or issue(s) to be lobbied

1125, 1127, 1129, 1131 Leslie Street

Client is: The Downing Street Group

 

[toronto647]

Any updates on this site?

 

[junctionist]

I just happened to notice this location on Google Maps Street View. It's fascinatingly unique from an architectural and urbanistic perspective. You have these three International Style pavilion-like office buildings that are surprisingly intact (or at least they were back in 2018 when the imagery was captured).

They must have had owners that appreciated the architecture their whole existence, which is rare. You can't see them from the main street, Leslie. Rather, they're built along a laneway and surrounded by greenery.

If you continue along the lane and past the property that's the subject of this thread, you reach the delightful facade of the Korean Canadian Cultural Centre and the beautiful International Style 1135 Leslie Street. It was a Massey Medal finalist from 1961 according to its TO Built page, which contains a great write up about its significance.

This simple lane off of a busy suburban-style arterial road contains so many gems. Any new development here should be sensitive to its strengths, namely the existing architecture, massing, and landscaping and should build on them. The plan can't just be to bulldoze everything for towers. With that said, I think the circa early 1990s Late Modern office building fronting onto Leslie, though nice, is expendable given its relatively generic design. The sheer amount of trees on the property is a major asset, though.

Don Mills punches above its weight in terms of architecture and landscaping, but a lot of what it has is seemingly at risk. What was once a model "new town" suburb is now being confronted by the reality of being in the middle of a big city. We need to recognize Don Mills' strengths and cultural value and make sure that new development is sensitive to them.