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The City of Toronto’s Planning department has released a preliminary report on an application for a renovation and expansion Sheppard Centre. The redevelopment planned for the site would add a 39-storey, 343-unit residential tower, and a mid-rise rental replacement building for 25 units. Additionally, RioCan Real Estate Invest Trust plans to remove the current 'moat' that sinks the retail level below street level, and build additional retail units on the ground level, greatly improving the retail opportunities in the building and along the major roads of Yonge Street and Sheppard Avenue.
Designed by Quadrangle Architects, the new tower will be located mid-block along Greenfield Avenue, fronting the street, and will be developed on lands currently occupied by landscaped green space.
In conjunction with the proposed tower, RioCan plans to replace 25 residential rental units on the south side of the block that runs along Sheppard Avenue with an 8-story building. This building will house an additional 4-storeys of residential rental units above 4-storeys of retail space.
According the the preliminary report, the focus of redevelopment will fall on the 8-storey retail and residential first and then shift to the 39-storey residential tower.
The project currently appears from the air as below.
This redevelopment would add further to the urbanization of North York City Centre which is seeing significant intensification lately, including current work on the Hullmark Centre and the Emerald Park projects to the south. Current plans for the area, served by two-subway lines, include improving cycling infrastructure by adding dedicated bike lanes on area streets.
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