Toronto 2280 Dundas West | 127.5m | 38s | Choice Properties | Hariri Pontarini

2280 Dundas St West (Loblaws site)

Several community meetings have been held for this 13 acre site, including a roundtable workshop. However, the project is currently on hold. When work resumes, more community feedback will be sought, with community meetings and roundtables to come.

Spring/Summer Newsletter: Developments | Gord Perks

gordperks.ca gordperks.ca
 
Merely a different angle from the previous rendering, from a slide in Choice Properties REIT's Q2 Investor Presentation:

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Towered said:
Really wish this would get underway already. So tired of the current anti-urban eyesore of an asphault desert. Are city planners stonewalling this or what?
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Apart from Covid preventing more community working group meetings from happening, I believe the main thing still stonewalling this is the situation surrounding the Bishop Marrocco high school.

TDSB owns the land at that corner of Bloor & Dundas West, and lease it out to the Catholic board. Based on what was mentioned most recently, in order for Choice to proceed they will have to negotiate a way to replace the Catholic high school and pay the TDSB for the land value of the property.
 
The school is indeed the primary impediment here.

Choice is also an interesting REIT in that the cashflow on their existing properties is so good that they really don't value redevelopment in the same way others might. They're really in no hurry on any of their sites.
 
steveintoronto said:
... There just isn't the road capacity for more cars in that area, not that there is in most areas of large cities, but especially not there. The only real demand will be for Loblaws, but even there, as a shopper just pointed out to me half an hour ago, that lot is mostly empty during the day. That's a massive waste of land.
... Millenials are already 'driving' in that direction. They don't want a car, don't need a car for most of the time, and when they do, they rent one. And we're all ahead.
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When I moved into this area in 1986 and saw the big empty parking lot, it seemed like an out-of-place anachronism and I assumed, quite incorrectly as it turned out, that it probably wouldn't be there much longer. (I think it was a Towers and a No Frills at the time?)
The parking lot has been ridiculously empty in recent years. Even when the Zellers was also there and reasonably well patronized, I'm not sure I ever remember seeing the parking lot more than half-full at best on unusually busy days.
And FWIW, I have never owned a vehicle and stopped renewing my licence (which I had only used for occasionally driving my parents' car and the first real job I had) at some point in the 1990s.

If the time capsule is still there, it might have to be removed long before they intended.
time capsule plaque.JPG
AlbertC said:
Fwiw, the Coffee Time on the plaza space beside Kal Tire has closed down.
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The former Coffee Time is now a Pet Valu that moved from their previous location that was a little to the west of there on the north side of Bloor (1660 Bloor W).
- Edit (Oct.22,2021): And now that PetValu has moved to its third location this year, having vacated the former Coffee Time for the Roncy building (422 Roncesvalles Ave.).
RoncyPetValu.JPG
 
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renx.ca

Allied buying 6 office buildings from Choice for $794M

Allied Properties REIT has an agreement to acquire six urban office properties comprising about 1.2 million square feet of space from Choice Properties REIT for $794 million. Three of the buildings are in Toronto, one in Montréal and two in
renx.ca renx.ca

Choice REIT just sold a number of their properties (not including this one) for $794 million. Hopefully this influx of cash will help them move faster on their proposed developments.
 
Mrgeosim said:
renx.ca

Allied buying 6 office buildings from Choice for $794M

Allied Properties REIT has an agreement to acquire six urban office properties comprising about 1.2 million square feet of space from Choice Properties REIT for $794 million. Three of the buildings are in Toronto, one in Montréal and two in
renx.ca renx.ca

Choice REIT just sold a number of their properties (not including this one) for $794 million. Hopefully this influx of cash will help them move faster on their proposed developments.
Click to expand...

I have highlighted the Toronto buildings in the transaction, in a post in the Commercial Real Estate thread, here:

Commercial Real Estate- all things related to commercial real estate in GTA

33 Yorkville for sale- 33 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto has just been offered for sale by CBRE and RBC. Arguably the best residential development land in Canada, site plan approved for ~912,700 sf of residential and retail density. For access to the online data room and Confidential Information...
urbantoronto.ca urbantoronto.ca
 
Mrgeosim said:
renx.ca

Allied buying 6 office buildings from Choice for $794M

Allied Properties REIT has an agreement to acquire six urban office properties comprising about 1.2 million square feet of space from Choice Properties REIT for $794 million. Three of the buildings are in Toronto, one in Montréal and two in
renx.ca renx.ca

Choice REIT just sold a number of their properties (not including this one) for $794 million. Hopefully this influx of cash will help them move faster on their proposed developments.
Click to expand...

Given this direct quote from the article referenced in this post:

Allied (AP-UN-T) says it will issue trust units to Choice Properties (CHP-UN-T) to finance 75 per cent of the purchase price (at $50.30 per unit) and provide a promissory note for the remaining 25 per cent.

There does not appear to be any 'influx of cash' going to Choice Properties. Was there ever any indication that the rate of progress on Choice Properties was being constrained by limits on their available cash? As opposed to the amount of work involved in the normal development process - preliminary design, preparation and submission of documents for planning approvals, the municipal planning review and approval process, preparation of detailed design and construction drawings and specifications, submission for building permits, permit review and issuance, tendering, bid preparation and submission to Choice by contractors, evaluation and awarding of the construction contracts, and mobilization logistics?

So unless the phantom cash in this sale to Allied is able to wave a magic wand and expedite one or more of these processes, the project is going to take the time it requires, irrespective of the sale of the six properties to Allied.
 
AHK said:
Given this direct quote from the article referenced in this post:

Allied (AP-UN-T) says it will issue trust units to Choice Properties (CHP-UN-T) to finance 75 per cent of the purchase price (at $50.30 per unit) and provide a promissory note for the remaining 25 per cent.

There does not appear to be any 'influx of cash' going to Choice Properties. Was there ever any indication that the rate of progress on Choice Properties was being constrained by limits on their available cash? As opposed to the amount of work involved in the normal development process - preliminary design, preparation and submission of documents for planning approvals, the municipal planning review and approval process, preparation of detailed design and construction drawings and specifications, submission for building permits, permit review and issuance, tendering, bid preparation and submission to Choice by contractors, evaluation and awarding of the construction contracts, and mobilization logistics?

So unless the phantom cash in this sale to Allied is able to wave a magic wand and expedite one or more of these processes, the project is going to take the time it requires, irrespective of the sale of the six properties to Allied.
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Well, one of the biggest obstacles for this site is the Catholic high school on the corner of Bloor and Dundas West. That school sits on land owned by the TDSB but is leased to the TCDSB. From what I last heard about this development, resolving that issue has proven difficult because the TDSB does not want to cede land without compensation. My thought was that Choice properties would have more money to grease the wheels of the negotiation process and overcome this obstacle. That's obviously speculation, but what do you expect, this is a public forum for transit and development enthusiasts. If you were hoping for insider knowledge, I'm sorry to disappoint you.
 
Mrgeosim said:
Well, one of the biggest obstacles for this site is the Catholic high school on the corner of Bloor and Dundas West. That school sits on land owned by the TDSB but is leased to the TCDSB. From what I last heard about this development, resolving that issue has proven difficult because the TDSB does not want to cede land without compensation. My thought was that Choice properties would have more money to grease the wheels of the negotiation process and overcome this obstacle. That's obviously speculation, but what do you expect, this is a public forum for transit and development enthusiasts. If you were hoping for insider knowledge, I'm sorry to disappoint you.
Click to expand...

Whatever the cost of compensation to the TDSB would be becomes one of the inputs into the business case, and the decision on whether or not, or even more basically, how to proceed with the redevelopment of this site. The decisions would be based on what makes the most business sense - a key one being the expected returns for the Choice Properties business and for its unit holders.

As one of the largest REIT businesses in Canada, Choice Properties has a market capitalization of around five billion dollars. Financing the cash requirements for this project, on the basis of a decision to proceed would be made, should not then be an issue for them.
 
A modest bit of news.......of no particular type as it were................just to say, there is fresh lobbying activity coming on this one; looking at the timing.......I'm thinking we may see some visible action by fall; but not sure.

Lobbying is by Choice directly.
 
I wonder whether this means they've made progress on that complicated land swap with the school. Or maybe maybe it means that negotiations have stalled? I guess we'll find out this year.
 
National Public Relations has just registered to lobby on this one.........

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They are dealing w./Perks office, not City staff.
 
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