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Following our recent review of what's going on in Northern Scarborough, we continue our early-year development trip through the 416 with another instalment of our Growth To Watch For series. Now into Central Scarborough, we will follow a route that features thirty projects either in planning, sales, or construction stages, or which are on hold for the moment.
Beginning where we last left off where Sheppard Avenue meets Kingston Road, we head southwest along Kingston Road, briefly turn north on Meadowvale Road, before turning west onto Ellesmere Road, proceeding toward Markham Road. From there, we will jog up to Progress Avenue, following it through Scarborough Town Centre, eventually heading south on Birchmount Road to Lawrence Avenue. From there, it's east again to Morningside Avenue, then follow Kingston Road southwest again to Kennedy Road, following to to where it meets St Clair Avenue East and Danforth Road.
Our first project is at 6480 Kingston Road, where a proposal for a subdivision was submitted to the City in early 2016. Now somewhat atypical of the development we're usually seeing in Toronto these days, plans here are for 9 single-detached houses, along with 3 townhouse units. The project is designed by the Richmond Hill-based firm Uni-Vative Designs.
Following Ellesmere Road west, we head into the University of Toronto's Scarborough Campus (UTSC). Here, construction is in full swing on Highland Hall. Designed by Perkins + Will, the new 5 storey building will bring in much needed lecture halls, classrooms, offices, and student common space. The new build also includes a connection to and renovation of the existing single-storey campus athletics facility. Construction is set to wrap up in early 2018, with the new facility ready for Spring shortly thereafter.
In an effort to bring supply to the demand for UTSC and Centennial College student housing, the LeMine Investment Group reports that it broke ground on The Academy Condos in December. To rise 26 storeys, the Kirkor Architects-designed tower situated on Ellesmere Road west of Morningside Avenue will have 339 investor-owned units aimed at student renters. Amenities in the building are geared towards helping students study and relax.
Just south of the intersection of Markham and Ellesmere roads, excavation has begun for a new multi-tower development. ME Living Condos by Lash Group of Companies will include 7 new buildings, ranging in height from 4 townhomes to a recently announced 39-storey last phase. (The initial phases are pictured below.) Designed by Turner Fleischer Architects, 1,281 residential units will be added to the area, while new retail set to animate the ground realm along Markham Road.
North of Ellesmere on the west side of Markham Road is Trinity Ravine Towers. The two towers planned here are a residential component to the Global Kingdom Ministries church on the south half of the site.
Now along Progress Avenue, a development proposal at 675 Progress was approved by the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) in 2016 to rezone the former A.G. Simpson metal stamping plant lands for a dense mixed-use project. Designed by SvN Architects + Planners, this too is a 7 building development, ranging from 4 to 49 storeys tall. The tallest building is planned for the northwest corner of the site, with other towers gradually scaling down towards the south and east. The development, once it goes ahead, will add plenty of retail, office, and public outdoor space to the area near McCowan SRT station.
Directly north across the street, Fieldgate Homes assembled the properties of 670, 680, and 690 Progress Ave in 2015. While no news has circulated since, we will be sure to keep an eye out on this site.
Continuing west, semi-circumambulating Scarborough Town Centre, a relatively large proposal at the southwest corner of Brimley and Progress is under review at the City. With the working title Brimley & Progress Towers, the development here has a long planning history, which we go into at greater length in another story published today. The project was most recently resubmitted in December 2016 to the Planning Department by Atria Development. It now aims for towers of 36, 39, 44, and 47 storeys, containing a total of 1,591 residential units. The mixed-use development, designed by A & Associates Architects, will require an Official Plan Amendment as well as rezoning. It would feature about 44,000 square feet of retail space on the first three levels, a daycare facility, and many residential amenities in addition.
From here we head south to Ellesmere Road, heading west all the way to Warden Avenue, and then south all the way to 971 Warden Ave. In the days nearing the end of 2016, an application to rezone the site was submitted to allow the development of 27 single-detached houses. Designed by Turner Fleischer Architects, the development would be on a newly built residential "U" shaped road, with two access points on the east side of Warden.
We return north to Lawrence Avenue, then head east to Birchmount Road. Here on the northwest corner, phase one of VHL Developments' 2150 Condos is complete, and phase two is under construction. Designed by Master Building Inc, the project which replaces a car dealership, is currently placing the foundation levels for the second of what will eventually be three 19-storey condo towers.
Directly across Birchmount, evo Condos + Towns was submitted to the City in early 2016 by Lalu Canada. The development comprises of a 12 storey mixed-use building designed by Kohn Partnership Architects, in addition to four blocks of stacked townhouses. Ground level retail will be provided in the mid-rise portion of the development.
We continue east along Lawrence, crossing over the Scarborough RT and Stouffville GO Line on a bridge. On our right are the vast grounds of 1380 Midland Avenue, currently home to 3 slab apartment towers from the 1970s. Designed by Quadrangle Architects, the massive development by Arsandco is comprised of nine buildings—six towers and three mid-rise buildings—ranging in height from 8 to 27 storeys tall. Overall, about 1,750 residential units are proposed in addition to ground level retail. The nine buildings would too be split into development blocks, creating a friendlier urban and pedestrian environment. This past September, the Design Review Panel (DRP) voted on a redesign of the project, leaving us to wonder what revisions may entail.
Three properties east of Midland on the south side of Lawrence, an application is in to redevelop a single-storey commercial building owned by Property Force (Canada) on a deep, narrow lot. At 2655 Lawrence Ave East, the proposal calls for a pair of residential towers rising 20 and 25 storeys tall, along with 17 townhouses. Designed by Stevens Burgess Architects, the project will also include a private daycare facility along with ground level retail facing Lawrence Avenue.
A kilometre and a half to the east, we turn south onto McCowan Road. A block and a half to the south, it diverts onto Danforth Road. Another kilometre south, we come upon the site where Danforth Village Estates is under construction. Densifying a tower-in-the-park site where two apartment buildings currently sit at 1340 and 1360 Danforth Road, the new building is set to rise 18 storeys in between and behind the existing buildings. Photographed in January, below, at 10 storeys, the Icke Brochu Architects-designed mixed-use condo is over halfway to its structural height, and cladding is now being installed on the lowest levels. The development is by non-profit Options for Homes, and being constructed by Deltera.
Returning to Lawrence Avenue and turning east again, we head past Morningside Avenue and all the way to Collinsgrove Road, then turn north to where it meets Kingston Road. One property to the east at 4569 Kingston Road, a Onespace Unlimited-designed 12-storey mixed-use condo would feature 98 residential units, with street level retail. The proposal from June 2016 is currently being reviewed by the Planning Department.
Heading southwest on Kingston Road now, Sweetlife Condos + Towns is the next development site we come across, just past Morningside Avenue and before we cross Lawrence Avenue again. Currently being marketed by Your Home Development, the plan is at the City for Site Plan Approval (SPA). The Romanov Romanov Architects-designed proposal calls for a 6-storey mid-rise with 120 residential units, in addition to a 3-storey townhouse row with 14 units fronting Falaise Road.
We turn south on Galloway Road, arriving at a unique construction site when we get to Guildwood Parkway. Amidst all the activity, one could recognize the restoration work being done at the Guild Inn Estate. A $20 million venture designed by both Queen's Quay Architects International and Giancarlo Garofalo Architect Inc, the work encompasses the restoration of the existing 1914 building (which is being brought up to code), while new additions on the site will expand event hosting facilities. Overlooking Lake Ontario from the Scarborough Bluffs, the project is led by Dynamic Hospitality and Entertainment Group Inc. Anticipated to be fully complete by this Spring, the Guild Inn Estate will have a new banquet hall, be able to host different functions such as weddings andcorporate meetings, among other events.
Following Guildwood Parkway west, we climb a section of the Scarborough Bluffs as we arrive back at Kingston Road. Turning southwest again, we soon come upon another condominium development. Resubmitted in late 2016, The Guildwood is designed by Gabriel Bodor Architect. The 10 storey condo by Scollard Development Corporation is currently under review by the City. If built, it would add 112 residential units to the south side of Kingston Road, just west of Eglinton.
Right across Kingston Road is Markington Square, an expansive multi-building and multi-parking lot plaza, addressed to Eglinton Avenue East which runs along the north side of it. Council recently placed a Holding Provision on site as plans for the development of new roads and other services are worked out prior to a phased redevelopment of parts of the site. Community benefits here could include a new park. Phase one would feature a 433 unit apartment, phase two includes a 314 unit apartment, while phase three is planned as a 310 unit apartment. While no new renderings depict the development, we will follow this one closely.
On Markham Road not far north of Eglinton, Build Toronto has assembled land beside the Lakeshore East rail corridor for a development at 254 Markham proposing mid to low-rise residential buildings. RAW Design have created a plan for 13 buildings, mostly townhome rows, while the the taller apartments will be 9 and 11 storeys. This would bring a total of 431 residential units to the site, and would allow for the provision of affordable housing, as well as a range of different housing options to choose from. First announced this past summer, this project is working its way through the planning process.
Back onto Kingston Road, an SPA was submitted in early 2016 for a stacked townhouse development by Time Development Group at 3310 Kingston Road where it meets Mason Road. Designed by AJ Tregebov, the project, called Opal Urban Towns, would replace older small-scale commercial buildings with 104 residential units, plus some ground level retail facing Kingston Road.
A block past where St. Clair Avenue East ends, at 2815 Kingston Road is a boarded-up Kentucky Fried Chicken. This is where The Bluffs is proposed to rise, with an SPA submitted in January 2016 to allow a 9 storey, RAW-designed mixed-use condo of 182 units and ground level retail. Skale Developments is leading the project, targeting a spring 2020 completion date.
Further southwest, our last condo on Kingston Road for this instalment is one where its construction is beginning to make an impact of the immediate area. Haven on the Bluffs Condos by VHL Developments is now above grade, with workers pouring concrete on the lower half of the 10 storey condo. Designed by Master Building Inc, the mixed-use building will bring 250 residential units to Scaroborough's Cliffside Village retail strip, and is expected to be topped-off in a few months time.
A couple bocks to the southwest, Highview Avenue peels off of Kingston Road, and a couple of short blocks later we are at the quiet south end of Kennedy Road. Heading north on it for a kilometre past St. Clair Avenue, one of the first proposals to be received by the City this year was for 599 Kennedy Road. Designed by Architecture Unfolded, the project asks for an 8-storey residential building, containing 29 units. The mid-rise development would replace a single 1 storey commercial building (formerly "January's"), situated immediately north of the Pine Hills Cemetery.
Immediately north of it is the single-storey, Corvette Plaza at 611-631 Kennedy. A proposal for the site was initially submitted back in 2012 for a 10-storey, mixed-use residential building. The site, owned by Cando Properties, would contain 110 residential units, with ground level retail replacing the current building. Designed by Icon Architects, mostly everything have been given the green light by City Staff, however there are still a few issues the developers have yet to amend, as the City currently awaits the final submissions.
From here, we are going to turn around then proceed south to Danforth Road, turning to the southwest again, and positioning us for our next instalment, taking us into The Danforth, The Beaches, and Leslieville.
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That's a wrap on this edition of Growth To Watch For. Stay tuned as there are still plenty more areas yet to cover in the instalments yet to come throughout February and March. In the meantime, feel free to check out the dataBase files below where you can find additional information for the listed projects. Want to share your thoughts on some of these projects? You can join in the ongoing conversations in the associated Forum threads, or you can comment in the space provided on this page.
