My question for you is what do you mean exactly by "industry" being interested in the vacant brownlands? Do you mean new industrial or just new businesses in general? I know at least one large tract of land on the north side of Lakeshore has an application for mixed use residential and retail, which bodes well for the stretch.
Almost all of the storefronts on Lake Shore are occupied, albeit there are many who complain that too many of these are dollar stores and nail salons. But at least they are occupied. Retail is still suffering on Lake Shore, which is why many in the community feel the need to shop on The Queensway. However, there are a few interesting, and new, restaurants in Long Branch that I hope you will enjoy. Lake Shore Blvd has not yet become a "destination" by any stretch. In part, this is because Lake Shore is seen by many as a 'Road,' and not a 'Street,' and it does not help that it also operates more as a 'Road' than as a 'Street'. For instance, through most of Mimico, one cannot walk beside (or pass) a stroller/wheelchair because the sidewalks are too narrow; next to you, however, you find there are six lanes of roadway.
The vacant brownfields I was referring to are the large empty lots off of Birmingham and New Toronto Streets. These once were host to manufacturing industries, and were the main employment for the area. What industry remains are primarily logistics (ie trucking) and food related. More food related industry is interested in occupying these lands, and relatively recently the Toronto Police opened up their new training facility on Birmingham.
The local community fought hard to keep the brownfields reserved for industry after they were vacated, despite strong pressures to convert these into residential developments. That is because the community wants to retain the mixed use of lands, and not be merely a bedroom community. I happen to agree with this wisdom.
North of the train tracks, besides the Mimico Correctional facility (now being upgraded) the industrial lands are primarily used by warehouses and wholesalers who supply, primarily, retail. And many of these are, again, food related. This was largely due to the close location of the Ontario Food Terminal at The Queensway and Park Lawn, and partly that clustering related industry makes synergy possible and practical.