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From 1948 to 2012, the smell of fresh cookies was a regularity in Etobicoke’s Park Lawn and Lake Shore area. The source of the aroma—Kraft’s Mr. Christie’s bakery—was shuttered five years ago when Kraft moved the production elsewhere. The factory sat dormant until 2017 when demolition began to clear much of the 27-acre site for future redevelopment. Transferred by Kraft to Mondelez, the land was sold in 2016 and is now in the hands of First Capital Realty. Yet to present plans, First Capital has stated they are looking for a mixed-use development here, which the site is not currently zoned for.
With the City's determination to preserve employment lands, Toronto has opposed land use re-designation. Nevertheless, Mondelez submitted an application for an Official Plan Amendment in 2013 to get the site rezoned, and subsequently appealed it to the Ontario Municipal Board. First Capital has assumed the appeal, and in the meantime began demolition of the factory in October last year.
We last checked in on the demolition activity back in late October, when large sections of the factory had already been torn down, with building materials being recovered and sorted into piles for recycling. In the months since, roughly 90% of the facility has been demolished, leaving just a few remaining sections on the site's west edge.
Despite the clearance of the factory, First Capital has pledged that the water tower—familiar to many motorists on the Gardiner Expressway—will be preserved and incorporated into the site's new use in the future.
Surrounded by the Humber Bay Shores development cluster, the area has witnessed a meteoric rise in population in the last decade. To address the area's transit concerns, First Capital has entered into talks with Metrolinx and the City, hoping add a new GO Station on the Lakeshore West line to serve the area and the redevelopment. It would connect with TTC streetcar and bus routes in the area.
What would you like to see included in redevelopment on this huge site? Let us know using the comments section below, or join in the discussion by visiting the associated Forum thread for the project.
