At the corner of Finch and Warden, Scarborough's Bridlewood Mall could be joined by a 12-storey residential building. Proposed at the southwest corner of the mall property at 3268 Finch Avenue East (west of Warden at Bridletowne Cir), the development would feature 242 residential units alongside 983 m² of retail space at ground level. There is currently a strip plaza on the site.

The proposed building, image retrieved via the submission to the City of Toronto

The building is designed by Vaughan-based SRN Architects Inc., though we do not yet know the developer(s) attached to the project. According to documents submitted to the City of Toronto, however, the building's 242 units would be configured as 7 bachelor, 125 one-bedroom, 103 two-bedroom, and 7 three-bedroom suites. Located at the southwest corner of the mall, the building would rise at at the intersection of Finch and Bridletowne. As proposed, the project would feature a total of 281 parking spaces, although only 195 bicycle spots—165 of which would be for the residents—are included in the plans. 

The northeast corner of Finch and Bridlewood as it appears now, image retrieved via Google Maps

Although located relatively far from Toronto's urban core, the surrounding neighbourhoods are characterized by clusters of mid-to-late 20th century high-rises along the main streets with low-rise, mostly single family homes beyond. Finch and Warden are both major arterial roads—and significant bus corridors—while Bridlewood Mall is an important shopping centre for the local community. Despite its somewhat outdated appearance and the loss of anchor tenants (Zellers and Target) in recent years, the mall still features two large grocery stores (a Metro and a Price Chopper), as well as over 60 other retailers, including restaurants, medical clinics, and a public library. As such, it remains a key amenity for the area.

Looking north on Warden from Finch, image retrieved via Google Maps

While the Finch and Warden intersection along with much of suburban Toronto hasn't exactly been the focus of redevelopment investment in the last several years, the Bridlewood Mall area did attract some attention when some land at the north end of the mall property was proposed as the site of Malibu Investments and the Fishman Group's Celebration Condominiums. The 11-storey project has since been shelved for the moment, however, though a successful new proposal may help kick-start suburban renewal in this node. 

The shelved Celebration Condos featured a Page + Steele / IBI Group design, image courtesy of Malibu/Fishman

With the previously proposed Celebration Condos in mind, it is hard to asses demand for density in the area. Nonetheless, the location would likely provide an affordable entry point into the property market, and the neighbourhood could potentially benefit from an influx of new-build residential density and street-fronting retail.

The back view of 3268 Finch East, image retrieved via the submission to the City of Toronto

We will keep you updated as more information about the project becomes available over the coming weeks. In the meantime, make sure to check out our associated dataBase file for more information. Feel free to share your thoughts about the project by leaving a comment in the space below this page, or by joining in the ongoing discussion on our associated Forum thread.