Construction is officially underway for a new mid-rise condominium development on Queen Street East, where Toronto's Leslieville and Beaches neighbourhoods meet. On Monday March 26, Marlin Spring Developments celebrated the start of construction for their WestBeach Condominiums project with a ceremonial ground breaking at the site, 1630 Queen Street East at Coxwell Avenue. 

Facing northwest to the WestBeach site, image by Jack Landau

Demolition recently wrapped up for the former KFC and Emerald Bar and Grill buildings—which recently served as a condominium presentation centre—allowing for the start of construction. With permits in place, the team behind the development donned hardhats and construction boots to officially kick off construction of the 6-storey, Graziani + Corazza Architects-designed building.

Facing northeast to the WestBeach site, image by Jack Landau

An excavator served as the backdrop for Marlin Spring COO Zev Mandelbaum as he remarked on the neighbourhood, the project, and all the work it took to get to this milestone. Mandelbaum noted the adjacent Burger's Priest restaurant—the first location of thriving local chain—for its contribution to local culture, stating that “neighbourhoods predicated on really good burgers are really good neighbourhoods”. 

Mandelbaum also touched on the complex process of creating a wide range of unit types in the building, saying that "in a typical high-rise building you have maybe 12-15 unit types. Here [at WestBeach], out of our 89 units we have 68 unit types". While there was some concern among the project's financial partners about the wide range of floorplans, Mandelbaum was insistent that they'd "make it work". This was accomplished through "hundreds and hundreds" of iterations to the plan, with the project team fine-tuning layouts to make the mix viable. Mandelbaum thanked the team for their realization of this plan, before handing off the mic to Linda Mitchell Young of Linda Mitchell Marketing.

Marlin Spring COO Zev Mandelbaum at the ground breaking, image by Jack Landau

Mitchell Young discussed the process of working with the architects to achieve the desired unit mix, with an aim to attract end users to the project. She continued, describing the day as “another exciting milestone event for Marlin Spring”, following just a few months after Marlin Spring broke ground on their Canvas project a couple kilometres to the northeast. 

Linda Mitchell Young at the WestBeach ground breaking, image by Jack Landau

The podium was then turned over to Beaches-East York MPP Arthur Potts, who thanked Marlin Spring for “bringing 150-200 new residents into Beaches-East York”. MPP Potts then presented Zev Mandelbaum with a scroll honouring the developer's contribution to the neighbourhood. 

Arthur Potts, MPP Beaches-East York, image by Jack Landau

After wrapping up remarks, the team behind the project gathered with shovels to ceremonially turn sod and start construction. From left to right, the image below shows (L-R) Marlin Spring Principals Benjamin Bakst and Elliot Kazarnovsky; Terra Firma’s Dov Meyer; Marlin Spring Principal Zev Mandelbaum; Beaches-East York MPP Arthur Potts; Terra Firma’s Carolyn Montgomery and Linda Mitchell Young of Linda Mitchell Marketing.

Sod turning at the WestBeach ground breaking, image by Jack Landau

WestBeach will bring 89 condominium units—sized from 316 ft² to 1,195 ft²—to the Queen and Coxwell neighbourhood. Upon completion, residents of the building will enjoy a selection of amenities including a party room and a rooftop outdoor terrace.

WestBeach Condominiums, image courtesy of Marlin Spring

Additional information and images can be found in our database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.

Related Companies:  Altree Developments, Graziani + Corazza Architects, Groundwater Environmental Management Services Inc. (GEMS), McIntosh Perry, Milborne Group, NAK Design Group, NAK Design Strategies, NEEZO Studios, U31