Toronto 2040 Queen Street East | 23.91m | 6s | Crombie | RAW Design

Northern Light · Mar 24, 2023

This is a series of store fronts along Queen East, just west of Lee Avenue in Toronto's Beach community.

Most of these are or have been vacant for an extended period of time, much to the consternation of the locals.

Also included is the very popular, long-time institution of the Beach, the Foodland supermarket. (IGA for many years)

There is now movement in the form of Bousfields registering to lobby on this block on behalf of Crombie REIT.

Streetview as is:

The Foodland:

Aerial Pic:

Site size: ~2000m2 or about 22,000ft2

Large enough to sustain a range of options; though I would expect a midrise proposal here. In general, the Beach is under a 6s height limit.

Further Comment:

This is the Beach, pushback is to be expected. The Foodland will be a controversial element here The two buildings to the west are unremarkable, the Foodland building isn't all that special either, but it is well liked and the mural on the building
side is quite popular as well.

A replacement supermarket would be an expectation.

I would also imagine a requirement for sidewalk widening and managing loading could be interesting.

Northern Light · Nov 29, 2023

A new registration from Bousfields on this site, still for Crombie.

The language used is a bit atypical....

There's also an entry with the more conventional language for 'Planning and Development application'

AlbertC · Nov 29, 2023

Redevelopment here would be welcomed. The Beaches area retail scene has been stagnant for years, with your periodic report in local news every so often of locals trying to raise awareness of the amount of vacant store fronts. A midrise here bringing an influx of new residents would do the area good.

Northern Light · Nov 29, 2023

AlbertC said:
Redevelopment here would be welcomed. The Beaches area retail scene has been stagnant for years, with your periodic report in local news every so often of locals trying to raise awareness of the amount of vacant store fronts. A midrise here bringing an influx of new residents would do the area good.

Broadly, I agree, but I would add, the Foodland in this block (previously IGA for a generation or two} is a very busy staple business.

The area will be royally upset if they go out of business.

Northern Light · Feb 5, 2024

As I first noted here 11 months ago.......change is afoot here.

The proposal for this site is now public; and is filed with the City (though not yet public-facing through the AIC). But many of the Docs are on the project website.

Media Article:

Proposal for northwest corner of Queen and Lee calls for six-storey residential building and new, larger grocery store – Beach Metro Community News

By ALAN SHACKLETON A proposal to build a six-storey residential building at an iconic corner on Queen Street East in the Beach has captured the attention of the community. The plan will see the northwest corner of Lee Avenue and Queen Street East transformed from what is now the Beach Foodland...

beachmetro.com

Project Website:

2040 Queen East

Redevelopment of 2040 Queen East

2040queeneast.ca

Key points:

6 storeys, 60 units, and a supermarket will return as the ground floor tenant.

Render:

From the Planning and Urban Design Report:

Current site:

Site Plan:

From the Arch. Docs

Ground Floor Plan:

Elevator Ratio: ? (not clearly delineated, but if a minimum of 2 are provided, which would be normal, it would be one per 30 units).

Parking Ratio: 0.55

Comments: It's RAW. From an aesthetic perspective, a bit more nod to the past would be good here. A traditional signage band above the ground floor retail would make the proposal 'fit' better. The miniature inset balconies on the 2nd and 3 floors not only look foolish, but are entirely non-functional as spaces. Keeping the illusion of 3 floors facing Queen makes sense, but strict adherence to the Queen-facing angular plane does not. One set back above the 3rd floor would make more sense. You've actually got some unit where the terrace/balcony is comparable to, or maybe even larger than the unit itself. The angling makes some sense on the northern side as it reduces the impact on SFH to the north, on the Queen side, it serves no obvious benefit to me. The current mural is much beloved in the community, and replicating it in some fashion, perhaps at a smaller scale or on the laneway-facing side would make sense. The buildings here don't possess much, if any, remarkable heritage, but the current supermarket does have a tin ceiling that is interesting, and might be worth of replication.

The commitment to return a supermarket to the site was essential. Very curious however, is that they did not commit to returning a Foodland, but rather one of the Sobey;s banners. That suggests that either Farm Boy or a Longo's market is under consideration. I think that would be the wrong choice here, the current location carries a range of products not found in the above banners due to operator independence that would be lost with a banner switch.

Finally, the streetscape recieves some favourble attention with net new street trees, in pits, with grates, and adequate soil volumes, along with slightly wider Queen Street sidewalks. Silva Cells are in use for the Lee Avenue side; less clear in respect of the Queen frontage.

@Paclo is duly flagged