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Toronto's High Park Subway Station could be the site of a bold experiment in micro-retail. As part of a proposal to build a new daycare at 12 High Park Avenue, an existing parking garage bordering TTC property could be replaced with a strip of micro retail units fronting the bus platform. Ranging in size from 188 ft² to 307 ft², the 15 new storefronts would add new retail and vibrancy to the High Park community, which is currently underserved by retail.
Designed by TACT Architecture, the project is led by longtime local property-owner Orest Kelebay. According to TACT Principal Prishram Jain, the idea for the project was in part motivated by a desire to replace what has become an underutilized 13-spot parking garage for rental apartments Kelebay owns to the south. A microcosm of larger urban trends, the project is a reflection of increasingly transit-oriented lifestyles, which are seeing once indispensable parking facilities fade into obsolescence.
"Over the years, there have been more and more empty spaces," Jain tells us, describing the parking garage—serving residential properties at 1920, 1914, 1908, and 1910 High Park Avenue—as an increasingly inefficient use of space. While overall parking on the site will be significantly reduced, 5 replacement spaces are planned.
The retail programming is designed to allow established local businesses to set up small secondary outposts, Jain tells us. For businesses that have an established presence, the micro-retail setup facilitates a convenient pick-up service model. "A local dry cleaner or pastry shop can use the space for convenient pick-up," Jain explains, describing the spaces as a good fit for businesses that would benefit from an additional street presence while maintaining a central operation.
Since micro retail of this kind is largely unprecedented in Toronto, Jain explains that the storefronts have to meet existing retail regulations—which were designed for larger spaces—in terms of works and technical services (including loading, access, etc.). However, Jain also described the project as having nearly "unanimous support" from the surrounding community, including local ratepayers associations and residents groups, reflecting local enthusiasm for the creation of a more animated and amenity-rich space.
Just east of the bus bay, the current house-form apartment buildings at 12 and 14 High Park Avenue would be replaced by a new three-storey day nursery, which is also set to be fronted by an 822 ft² retail space, featuring a patio facing onto High Park Avenue.
The 9,483 ft² nursery would be built in place of the site's 10 existing rental units, with a plan to replace the residential space with comparable units in a new development at Bloor and Durie. The proposal includes a landscaping plan by Corban and Goode, with new plantings seen along the High Park Avenue frontage.
We are not certain of how many other TTC subway station bus bays could be made over in a similar fashion in Toronto—likely few—but the possibility of such improvements at other sites on the system is intriguing, should this development be successful.
We will keep you updated as the project—which is in its early stages—continues to move through the planning process. In the meantime, make sure to check out our associated dataBase file, linked below, for more information. Want to share your thoughts on the proposal? Feel free to leave a comment in the space below this page, or join in on the ongoing conversation in our associated Forum thread.
