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This edition of UrbanToronto's annual Growth to Watch For series heads east into Scarborough to take a look at development that is happening across the expansive borough. There is a lot more going on in Scarborough than just a long and bitter quarrel over public transit, and the populous eastern edge of Toronto is seeing its fair share of development. Density is focused, unsurprisingly, along major corridors and near transit hubs, while a pair of educational institutions are continuing their recent expansion.
We will take you through a list of development happening throughout Scarborough, beginning with projects currently under construction or nearing completion, and ending with a look at proposed and approved projects that are soon to come.
Under Construction
Beginning in the northwest of Scarborough, land clearance has begun for City Core Developments and Fortress Real Developments' Harmony Village Sheppard, located near Sheppard East and Warden Avenue. Designed by Page + Steele / IBI Architects, the project will see two towers of 30 storeys constructed in its first phase, totalling 291 residential units. The development is targeted for seniors and baby boomers looking to downsize, and comes with a host of amenities catered to an older crowd, with health and wellness as a central theme. Phase 2 would see a mid-rise building and townhouses added to the site. Look for the excavation for the towers to begin later this year.
Moving east to north of Sheppard at Kennedy Road, Gemterra's Joy Condos has nearly completed excavation and will soon begin to rise out of the ground. The 21-storey condo tower designed by Turner Fleischer Architects follows the recent completion of Phase 1 of the development, the highly successful Love Condos.
A few blocks south at the rapidly densifying neighbourhood around Kennedy Road and the 401, the 35-storey Avani condo tower by Tridel is nearing completion. Designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects, this condo tower joins the Metrogate community, a cluster of new high-rise towers and townhouses surrounding Metrogate Park.
Jumping to the east, Centennial College will unveil the newest addition to their Scarborough campus this year with the Centennial College Residence and Culinary Arts Centre. Built by Knightstone Capital and designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, the building will house a new 740-bed residence comprised mainly of two- and four-bedroom suites, while the ground floor will be dedicated to the college's Culinary Arts Centre, providing new classrooms, laboratories, and a new teaching restaurant. Currently, the building has topped off with the exterior cladding largely complete as it prepares for occupancy in the summer.
Heading south on Markham Road, Lash Group of Companies' ME Living Condos is wrapping up demolition and gearing up for excavation on Phase 1 of their master-planned community at the corner of Markham and Ellesmere Road. Designed by Turner Fleischer Architects, the 28-storey condo will be the first of four towers and a series of townhomes, adding nearly 900 residential units in total to the eastern Scarborough location.
Moving back west to the Kennedy corridor, construction is now moving above grade on Phase 2 of 2150 Condos, a project by VHL Developments at the corner of Birchmount and Lawrence East. Joining the recently completed Phase 1 of the project, the second Master Building Inc.-designed tower will rise 16 storeys and add 203 new units to the complex.
Heading south, Insoho Developments is preparing for completion this year of Imagine Condos, located at the corner of Kennedy Road and St. Clair Avenue East. The four-storey building, designed by KFA Architects + Planners, will add 92 new suites to the central Scarborough location. The building topped off last year, with the exterior cladding is now nearly complete.
Finally, excavation is well underway on a new mid-rise complex along Kingston Road with VHL Developments' third venture in Scarborough, Haven On The Bluffs Condos. Designed by Master Building Inc.and located within Cliffside Village, the building comprises two 11-storey towers with a common podium, and takes full advantage of its proximity to Lake Ontario with breathtaking views toward the lake and nearby Scarborough Bluffs.
Future Growth: Approved and Proposed Developments
Scarborough is seeing its fair share of Toronto's development boom, with a host of new buildings proposed for the borough. Beginning in the northwest, a cluster of towers are looking to add to the recent densification of Sheppard Avenue East between Victoria Park Avenue and Warden Avenue. Sail Condominiums, an 18-storey Keith Loffler McAlpine Architects-designed tower by Opearl Developments, has been approved by City Council near the intersection of Victoria Park and Sheppard East, and is currently in sales. A massive proposal for the corner of Victoria Park Avenue and Consumers Road (just across the boundary in North York, actually) that would see three towers of 30, 25 and 25 storeys added to the under-utilized site has been sitting in City Planning for a few years now, with no recent news on the development. Further east along Sheppard, two more towers are moving through planning, with a 30-storey building proposed at 3105 Sheppard East, and a 20-storey building planned for 3220 Sheppard East.
Further east, Avani 2, the 35-storey second phase to Tridel's development at Metrogate mentioned above, is currently approved and in sales. Tridel is interested in having a final residential tower added to the northeast corner of the site. Also looking to join the building frenzy along the Sheppard East-401 corridor in Scarborough is a redevelopment of the Delta Hotel site (seen at the bottom of the Metrogate aerial photo below), while a nearby four tower development of 13, 20, 20 and 21 storeys at 22 Metropolitan Road (at the southeast corner of Warden Avenue and Highway 401) has been gathering some dust lately.
Venturing south into central Scarborough, three more developments have been slowly inching their way through planning: a 35-storey tower at 2655 Lawrence East near Midland Avenue; a 40-storey tower proposed at 1891 Eglinton East near Pharmacy Avenue; and finally, a 10-storey mid-rise at 611-631 Kennedy Road just south of Eglinton.
Southern Scarborough has a few mid-rise developments on offer, beginning with two along Danforth Road. Spice Urban Towns by Hi-Rise Group, a 4-storey condo building near the corner of Danforth Road and Danforth Avenue, is currently approved and in sales, while just north of Warden, Time Development Group's Danforth Square, a 9-storey mid-rise condo building, is also approved and in sales. Just to the west, a pair of condo towers are proposed at 411 Victoria Park Avenue, while further to the east, a 9-storey mid-rise is proposed at 2799-2815 Kingston Road.
Moving to eastern Scarborough, the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus is proposing yet another building to add to its recent expansion. Following the completion of the Toronto Pan Am Sport Centre and the UTSC Environmental Science and Chemistry Building, the university is proposing to build Highland Hall, a five-storey academic building connected to the athletics centre that would provide additional classrooms, study spaces, and facilities for the students and faculty. Also in the neighbourhood, two residential proposals, with The Academy Condos, a 26-storey tower in sales at Ellesmere Road and Morningside Avenue, and a mid-rise development at 4111 Lawrence Avenue East near Kingston Road in planning.
Our Growth to Watch For series will continue soon with an overview of the development coming to Toronto East o the Don. To catch up with our series so far, check out our previous GtWF stories about North York, Midtown Toronto; St. Clair; Chinatown, U of T, and The Annex; Bloor West; the Entertainment District; Southwest Toronto; and Etobicoke South.
What do you think of the projects that are transforming this area? Leave a comment at the bottom of this page, or join in on the conversation on one of our associated Forum threads. For additional information, check out our dataBase files (linked below) and Forum threads.
