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Continuing west from instalment 2 of Growth To Watch For, we venture through South Etobicoke, cataloguing the developments set to make an impact on the area in 2018. While the lion's share of the dialogue around development in the city focuses on Downtown Toronto, South Etobicoke has also experienced explosive growth over the past few years, resulting in a flurry of high-rise towers built and planned in the area, especially at burgeoning Humber Bay Shores. Beginning just west of High Park in Swansea and heading westward, our list includes all developments set to be completed in the new year, all projects under construction, and a host of new proposals working their way through the planning process.
Beginning near the intersection of The Queensway and South Kingsway, a development application for 34-40 Southport Street—a former shopping plaza that has since been demolished—has been lying dormant for a few years despite having been approved at the OMB in late 2013. The proposal by State Building Group could be coming to market soon though as Southport Square. Plans include a grocery store, two towers approved at 25 and 30 storeys, and 14 townhomes.
A short ways south at the waterfront, the site of the former Four Points Sheraton at 1926 Lake Shore West, dormant since the hotel was demolished in early 2014, has been revived with a site plan approval application submitted in 2016, revised through a resubmission in 2017. Proposing twin 38-storey condo towers sharing a common podium, it is to be marketed as Mirabella Condominiums. The Diamante Corporation-led project is designed by Scott Shields Architects and would add 748 new residential units across from Sir Casimir Gzowski Pak. While an earlier plan by Graziani + Corazza Architects for Carttera was approved at the OMB for similarly tall 35-storey towers, the new proposal shortens the height of each floor to fit three more in. The podium of the new plan, up against the Gardiner Expressway, is larger than currently approved.
Just to the west of Mirabella across Windermere Drive, Build Toronto is selling land that has sat fallow since the Humber Bridges rebuild project twenty years ago. Now, Marlin Spring Developments is proposing a pair of towers, 21 and 26 storeys high, at 2002 Lake Shore Boulevard West. Wedge-shaped at the west end to suit the irregularly-shaped site, the Graziani + Corazza-designed buildings sport undulating waves to emphasize their location alongside the lake.
Crossing the river into Etobicoke, we arrive in the Humber Bay Shores area, where a flurry of activity along Lake Shore Boulevard continues unabated, in what has become Etobicoke's highest and densest residential cluster. At 2143 and 2147 Lake Shore Boulevard West, The Conservatory Group's Cove at Waterways and Water's Edge at the Cove towers made progress in 2017. The Cove topped off last year, and the 16-storey building is on its way to being sealed-in over the next months, and opened for occupancy later in the year. When the excavation was carried out for The Cove, some of the pit for Water's Edge was also carried out. The much taller of the two Richmond Architects-designed buildings, the 56-storey Water's Edge is in sales, and could see a construction launch later this year.
Moving west along Lake Shore Boulevard, Mattamy and Biddington's Lago At the Waterfront and shorter sister project Riva del Lago were completed last year. Just like Beaverhall and Graywood's completed Ocean Club condos next door, five-storey commercial and retail buildings are still to be built here fronting Lake Shore Boulevard, but there is no word yet as to if they will be started this year. Given the continuing influx of residents to Humber Bay Shores, it may soon be time to build more office and retail space here.
West of Ocean Club, the density continues with Vita on the Lake, a Graziani + Corazza Architects-designed 53-storey condominium by Mattamy Homes and Biddington Homes. Vita is the latest building in Humber Bay Shores to go under construction, with excavation underway. It will add 439 new units to the area.
Closer to the water, Vita Two On The Lake, a 14-storey condo, is in sales. Also shown in the rendering below is the four-storey Phase 3 building, another of the planned low-rise commercial buildings along Lake Shore.
Next door to Vita on the Lake, a last strip of land between Lake Shore and the lake itself is owned by The Conservatory Group. There's a plan for 2169-2173 Lake Shore West, but it has lain dormant since being approved back in 2014. A design by Richmond Architects would see a 41-storey condo tower close to the lake, a 6-storey residential building at the centre, and a 2-storey commercial building along Lake Shore. Pictured to its right in white is the recently completed Jade Waterfront Condos, a 41-storey tower from Phantom Development and designed by Quadrangle. Its site also has a planned two-storey commercial building, and a parkette on the lakeside waiting for construction.
Immediately to the southwest is Empire Communities' flagship development. Eau du Soleil condos will hold the title of the tallest project in Canada outside of a downtown when it is completed, two Richmond Architects and Zeidler Partnership Architects-designed towers of 66 and 49 storeys. The towers are both in the high 20s, floor-wise now, and both should top out this year, with construction continuing into 2019.
Following Park Lawn Road north of Lake Shore Boulevard, The Onni Group's 46-storey Westlake Encore is the last phase of their Westlake development, adding a final 523 residential units to the densifying neighbourhood. The IBI Group-designed development recently topped off, and the crane has come down in the days since the photo was taken. Work is underway on its two-storey commercial building facing Park Lawn, and it should complete this year as well.
To the north of Westlake Encore is Key West, see above right of centre, and then a last undeveloped property on the west side of Park Lawn. Empty for the last several years now, the development site at 42 Park Lawn Road was approved in 2014 for a 41-storey condo tower, and a two-storey commercial building fronting Park Lawn. Amexon, who built the two South Beach condo towers immediately to the north, now owns the site, with no word on a development date.
Last year we returned to Lake Shore to head into Mimico to consider a couple of projects—a 25-storey condo tower at 2313 Lake Shore Boulevard West, and a more modest plan is proposed at 2409 and 2411 Lake Shore, but both proposals have gone stale, with no movement as of late. Instead this year, we will continue north on Park Lawn, then follow the reverse ramp across the Mimico Creek into the Mystic Pointe area.
On the south side of Manitoba Street just west of Legion Road, a site previously owned by Etabbey Holdings at 251 Manitoba has been purchased by Empire Communities, and the developer is now preparing to bring a 29-storey condo complex to market under the name 'Phoenix'. We have no renderings yet, nor do we know which architect is designing Phoenix.
Directly to the west and south of Phoenix, the City has been working on a greatly expanded and improved public park on the east side of Grand Avenue, dubbed Grand Manitoba Park. Now in a final design phase, PMA Landscape Architects are proposing plenty of open green space complete with new sports and recreation facilities for the 5-hectare site at the corner of Grand Avenue and Manitoba Street. A connection is proposed to the Mimico Creek Parks to the east via the eventual Legion Road extension, while a 'greenway' extending southwest alongside the tracks and stretching to Mimico GO Station and Royal York Road is also planned. The park is expected to begin construction in the fall of 2018 and be completed a year later.
South and west of the park, a massive proposal by Freed Developments named Grand Park Village would add significant density to the area. Comprised of 5 residential buildings ranging from 6 to 32 storeys, the entire project totals 1,824 new residential units and is arranged in narrow strips oriented north-south. Designed by architectsAlliance, the proposal sought rezoning approval in 2016, but no recent movement is evident.
The next block to the west in this area has another piece of Freed's Grand Park Village on it, while the northeast quadrant and most of the west half of the block fall under another two development applications. All of the applications in this area follow the City creating the Mimico Judson Secondary Plan here, which deemed the mostly aging industrial area as a Regeneration Area, aiming to trigger redevelopment close to the underused Mimico GO station. Several developers are now in OMB-led mediation regarding the Secondary Plan and with their own Official Plan Amendment or Zoning Bylaw Amendment applications.
The northeast quadrant of the block is 25 Audley Street, owned by a numbered Ontario company. Its plan puts a tower rising to 26 storeys from a 9-storey podium. The tower, at the south end of the property, falls within a 45° angular plane from the north side of Portland Street where there are two-storey homes, but this proposal like others for the area is larger than what the City foresees for the area.
Of note: Audley, very oddly, has odd-numbered properties on its west side, and even-numbered properties on its east side, possibly the only street in Toronto which is reversed from the convention here.
Next door to 25 Audley, a proposal addressed to 23 Buckingham on the west side of the block has progressed in 2017. Bought by the Vandyk Group, the developer has assumed the OMB appeal already on the site and has resubmitted, the new application for 724 residential units in towers of 12, 24, and 39-storeys, rising from a 4-storey mixed-use podium. SvN Architects were retained by VANDYK to prepare the Urban Design report for development with Kohn Partnership Architects and rising star Omar Gandhi Architect designing the buildings. Street retail and employment space are proposed within the podium.
To the southwest of 23 Buckingham, a proposal by Dunpar Developments at 39 Newcastle has also morphed. Originally planned as 606 units in two residential towers of 28 and 30 storeys, the Turner Fleischer Architects design is now for 833 units spread across three towers of 22, 30, and 36 storeys. Submitted to the City in July 2017, it is heading to the OMB, with no hearing dates established yet.
Adjacent to 39 Newcastle and the Mimico GO station, On The GO Mimico, a 27-storey condo development designed by McCallum Sather Architects, was caught up in the 2017 bankruptcy of developer Stanton Renaissance. Word is that the Vandyk Group has bought the site, but we have no word on how or when the development will be completed yet.
West of Royal York Road opposite Mimico GO station, a proposal at 49-55 Judson Street has moved forward. Dunpar Developments' plan to build homes on part of the site is heading for an OMB hearing in April, 2018, thanks to an appeal by Metrolinx who are concerned that residential use at this site would impinge upon future operations at its adjacent Willowbrook yard. In the meantime, the developer has applied for building permits for commercial buildings on another part of the site.
Returning to Royal York Road and crossing under the rail bridge, a proposal to remake the Blue Goose Tavern advanced in 2017. Allegra Homes with 1 Blue Goose Developments Inc. are planning to transform the historic 1909-built tavern into The Mimico, a 30-unit 4-storey residential project that would restore the original building, putting 18 studio suites on the upper floors, while adding 12 townhomes along the south and east sides of the site. Designed by Thomas Payne Architect, grade-level retail would replace the tavern.
More low-rise development is what the New Toronto and Long Branch areas of South Etobicoke is seeing at the moment, with another Dunpar townhome development called Lakeside Village underway at Daisy Avenue and 29th Street, while the second and third phases of Minto, Kilmer, and Diamond Corp's Minto Long Branch townhome development are under construction on Lake Shore Boulevard across from 33rd Street. Designed by Giannone Petricone and Guthrie Muscovitch Architects, Phase 2 includes 379 new stacked townhouse units, replacing the car dealership adjacent to the already existing 501 townhomes, and adding a further 880 square metres of retail.
Moving north on Browns Line, a proposal for a new boutique building in Alderwood called B-Line Condos is progressing. Designed by Romanov Romanov Architects for Royalpark Homes, zoning bylaw amendments and a site plan application for the 81-unit, 6-storey building were re-submitted to the City in September, 2017. Located on the southwest corner at Horner Avenue, retail would face Browns Line at ground level. Suites are currently for sale.
Further north, just east of Brown's Line on Evans Avenue, a sprawling mixed-use development at 564-580 Evans Avenue is slowly making its way through the planning process. A Site Plan Approval application was originally submitted in 2014, with further documents added in June 2016. Located just to the southeast of the junction of the Gardiner, QEW, and Highway 427, the proposal by Antorisa Investments includes two residential towers of 24 and 30 storeys, 24 stacked townhouses, an 8-storey seniors' residence, a 5-storey office building, a one-storey commercial building, and a new public park. Designed by Giannone Petricone Architects, the mixed-use development would replace a series of one-storey commercial buildings and a hotel, and would add a total of 712 new residential units and 7,550 square metres of commercial and office space to the site.
To the west along Evans Avenue, the Nordstrom wing expansion of Cadillac Fairview's Sherway Gardens opened in the Fall of 2017. In 2018, a new Cactus Club Café will open, and a rebuild of the area where Holt Renfrew used to be will create space for a handful of new retailers.
The area around the mall has also been the subject of a planning study by the City that has been ongoing over the past few years: the Sherway Area Study covers the area bounded by Highway 427 to the east, the QEW to the south, Etobicoke Creek to the west, and the rail corridor to the north, encompassing the mall, Queensway Hospital, big box retail, and office and industrial uses. The plan recommends a residential densification of the area, with more of a community feel oriented around complete streets and grade-level retail. In December 2016, the Study was endorsed by Council, and a Secondary Plan for the area should be debated in 2018.
In line with the coming Sherway Secondary Plan, Fima Developments has proposed a large master-planned community at 1750 The Queensway, opposite the mall. The sprawling plan would replace much of the single-storey retail box stores and low-rise offices occupying the area with a denser mixed-use plan encompassing residential, retail, office, and hotel uses. Phase 1 includes a trio of 27-storey Quadrangle-designed towers in the southeastern corner of the site at the intersection of The Queensway and North Queen Street. The proposal has been appealed to the OMB. No hearings have been scheduled yet.
To the east of the Sherway area is a healthy industrial zone, with a variety of sectors represented. One of the most successful in the area is show business, with Cinespace's 40-acre Kipling Studios the busiest North American television and film production facility outside of Hollywood. It will be growing in 2018 with two new studios being added on Titan Road.
Around the corner at 66 Jutland, Dunpar is working on a new office campus on a 5-acre brownfield site which has been vacant since 2009. Submitted for Site Plan Approval in December 2017, 58 office units will be available.
Some blocks to the south again, the commercial/industrial stretch of The Queensway east of Kipling Avenue is seeing the beginnings of an explosion in residential density. With a few projects completed in the last few years, a few in sales, and several in the planning stages, there is talk of even more. Among potential future redevelopment sites is the Kipling Queensway Mall, slated for demolition sometime in the coming years to accommodate a redesigned Gardiner Expressway interchange at Kipling. Lots of land will remain, freeing up the site for a major redevelopment. Coming sooner though, are the following developments.
A property at 1197 The Queensway is the first, moving eastward, of several new mid-rise residential proposals on this strip over the last few months. Marlin Spring Developments applied for a zoning bylaw amendment in November 2017 for a 12-storey condominium designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects. It would have 159 suites, with retail at ground level.
To the south at 30 Zorra Street is a much taller proposal—36 storeys—as the higher towers further from The Queensway won't shadow the low-rise neighbourhoods to the north of The Queensway. With a massing model designed by Michael Spaziani Architect, a Zoning Bylaw Amendment application was updated in January 2017.
On the east side of Zorra Street, the second phase of The Remington Group's IQ Condos, a pair of 24-storey Richmond Architects-designed towers, is occupying now, joining its complete 12-storey Phase One neighbours. Phase 3 of IQ Condos has zoning approval but has not yet gone into sales, with three Giannone Petricone-designed towers of 19, 27, and 42 storeys proposed for the plot of land south of Phase 2. Between the phases, land has been set aside for a new public park to accommodate the influx of new residents. It is set to go under construction in 2018 and open in 2019.
East of IQ Condos, a proposal at 1061 The Queensway would see a single-storey building house the relocated Kipling Queensway Sobeys, with spots for three other retailers. Designed by Turner Fleischer Architects, it would be the first of two phases on the site, resubmitted to the City in June of 2017 for Site Plan Approval.
At the south end of the property, residential towers of 22 and 27 storeys are proposed. Phase two was not part of the recent SPA resubmission.
Directly to the south of 1061 The Queensway, a 2016 rezoning application by Kooby Investments for 2 St. Lawrence is looking to replace light industrial on the site with residential density. Three massing options by Kohn Partnership Architects have been presented to the City, all with the tallest tower at 29 storeys, each with two towers rising from a podium on the south half of the property and up against the Gardiner Expressway. The options for the north half of the property switch out stacked towns, townhouses (as per below), or a third tower. A park in the northwest corner varies in size depending upon the option chosen.
Across St. Lawrence Avenue and running the length of the short block to Dorchester Avenue, a proposal at 1045 The Queensway would replace two single-storey commercial buildings with a mid-rise condominium with retail at ground level. The Marlin Spring Developments project would add 310 residential suites in a 12-storey building designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects.
Across Dorchester Avenue and running the long block to Islington Avenue is the flagship Queensway Cineplex. Here, a rezoning application has been submitted to replace the stand-alone restaurant buildings which line the Queensway frontage of the site with residential towers that have commercial at ground level. The 1001 The Queensway plan comes from property owner RioCan with a design by Core Architects. Three towers rise 12 storeys each, with a 20-storey tower proposed at the corner at Islington Avenue. Two 4-storey podiums connect the pairs of towers. Roughly 1,300 square metres to the south has been set aside for a "programmable green space" between the residential towers and the Cineplex.
Three and a half short blocks to the east of Islington Avenue, 880 The Queensway is proposed to rise 8 storeys on the north side of the road, terracing down toward the low-rise neighbourhood to the north. Designed by RAW for Queenswell Limited, the building would replace the again 2-and-a-half storey Queensway Medical Centre currently on the site. A Zoning Bylaw Amendment application was submitted to the City in October 2017.
Across the street to the south, and just slightly to the east, a proposal from First Avenue Properties and Latch Developments would add a 14-storey, 288-suite condominium at 859 The Queensway. Designed by Teeple Architects, the building would include retail at the ground level of an 8-storey podium facing The Queensway. The rezoning application was submitted in September 2017.
A little further east at 784 The Queensway, Site Plan Approval and Zoning Bylaw Applications were resubmitted to the City in Fall 2017 by Urban Capital and Rosewater Capital. Redeveloping a Beer Store site with an 8-storey mid-rise condo, the building is being marketed as Queensway Park, named for the green space to the north. Designed by RAW, the project will add 172 residential suites and retail at ground level to the increasingly busy neighbourhood.
Filling the frontage of the third block east of Royal York Road, the south side of The Queensway is getting a major upgrade here. The single-storey House of Lancaster strip club onsite closed in 2017 and will be replaced with Royal Q Towns. The 4-storey, 55-unit development designed by IBI Group for Parallax Investment Corporation will have retail at the base facing The Queensway.
We head east about 1 and a ¼ km on The Queensway to the last stoplight before the Humber River, and turn north on Stephen Drive. Another kilometre north in the Stonegate neighbourhood is a former suburban plaza site—an L-shaped structure of shops with a vast parking lot out front of it—which is now being redeveloped. A model likely to be copied in multiple places across Toronto in the coming years, Stonegate Plaza made sense when everyone drove everywhere in the late 50s and early 60s when this area developed, but in recent years the parking lot was usually only a third full. Now, the Vandyk Group of Companies is building the first two of four phases at the site. The Shoppes at Stonegate will finish first in the southwest quadrant, while The Humberview—the first of three phases called Backyard Neighbourhood Condos—is up next. While the Shoppes building is being readied for occupancy this spring, the southeast quadrant pit for the seven-storey Humberview is now being excavated. The next condo phase, a 10-storey building in the northwest quadrant called The Queensview, is now registering, with sales starting in the spring. It's all designed by Kohn Partnership Architects, and it will feature a landscaped Privately Owned Publicly accessible Space (or POPS) in its centre.
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Our Growth to Watch For series will continue with more overviews of Toronto's development hotspots coming over the next couple months as we circle our way around the city. In the meantime, make sure to check out the database files and Forum threads for each of the projects mentioned for more information. You can tell us what you think of all the developments happening in the city by joining the discussions in the associated Forum threads, or by leaving a comment in the space provided on this page!
