Toronto Bela Square | 112.47m | 35s | DBS | Arcadis

[Northern Light]

I think people would be more attracted to renting in this stretch if there was a little more retail. Although I love the area most probably want a little more right nearby. Does the city still have that weird zoning rule about apartment neighborhoods and retail? Im not sure if im remembering that right or if this is the place to ask but isnt it super difficult to get any sort of retail in this type of neighborhood because of zoning.

There is limited retail in the area now, one large convenience store at the top of Barrington, and a Pizza +++ (burgers, souvlaki etc.) place at Main.

There was a store at the top of Eastdale for decades, but that actually closed and became entirely SFH.

I don't really see zoning as the barrier to retail here. Though it would probably be seen as an odd fit up against most of the streets at the edge of the Apartment block.

The bigger issue is that the existing multi-res buildings, for the most part, are set up with ground-floor rental apartments that you can't remove without replacing them.

Even where this is not the case, laundry rooms and other amenities may be present.

Pretty much the entire multi-res building set is set well back from the street as well which further limits the potential for retail.

I could imagine some potential, but it likely arrives with a phased redevelopment along the Barrington frontage, replacing surface parking and town homes with 1 or more towers, then replacing one of the existing towers.

But as we can see, the market is limited for what that would deliver.