Graywood Developments and Alterra Group have submitted some final design tweaks for their Wonder Condos project in Toronto’s Leslieville neighbourhood. In an area that to be transformed by the upcoming Downtown Relief Line and East Harbour developments in the coming years, the former industrial corridor on Eastern Avenue is seeing an influx of condo redevelopments adding more residents to the neighbourhood. Built on the site of the former Weston Bakery, Wonder Condos is an 8 story U-shaped building with 286 units and 1062 square metres of retail at grade. 

The two most recent renderings from the west side, Image courtesy of Graywood Developments

Originally proposed in 2012 with a 7-storey design by Turner Fleischer Architects, the building has greatly evolved throughout the application process. Diamond Schmitt Architects were brought on board for a redesign in 2016. Although the former factory is not registered for heritage designation, it was always the plan of the developer to incorporate the factory into the project's design to keep with the character of the area. Since the new architect was hired, the building actually incorporates more of the old factory's facade and uses a brick finish rather than glass window wall at grade.

The original design from 2012 by Turner Fleischer Architects, image courtesy of Graywood Developments

The latest iteration simplifies some of the elements of previous designs. Along the Booth Avenue frontage, some of the private projecting balconies have been removed in favour of rows of continuous shared balconies, some of which are terraces. A balcony along the top floor of the building has been removed entirely in favour of a terrace atop the heritage building. On the east side of the building, the number of private balconies has been reduced, likely due to interior unit layout changes. 

The two most recent renderings from the east side, Image courtesy of Graywood Developments

The limestone-coloured framing along the top of the building is more pronounced in the latest renderings. The full material board has yet to be published so it is unclear whether stone, precast, or metal will be used for this element. 

The subject site currently, Image taken from Google Streetview

When complete, Wonder Condos will bring 173 two-bedroom units to the neighbourhood while 84 one-bedroom units and 29 three-bedroom units fill out the rest of the project. 3.5 storey town homes line Booth and Logan Avenues to fit with the low-rise residential context on those streets.

We will keep you updated as this project progresses through the construction phase and as other projects commence along Eastern Avenue, redeveloping this underused urban corridor. You can find more information about Wonder Condos in our database file, liked below, and you can join in on the conversation in our associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

Related Companies:  Alterra Group of Companies, Bousfields, Diamond Schmitt Architects, EQ Building Performance Inc., Live Patrol Inc., LiveRoof Ontario Inc, Modulex Group, Peter McCann Architectural Models Inc., UCEL Inc.