A formerly industrial area of Toronto is about to see an explosion of new residential density. A new proposal for two or three condo towers has been submitted for 2 St. Lawrence Avenue, located on a 3.22-acre site just north of the Gardiner between Kipling and Islington Avenues in Etobicoke. Overseen by Kooby Investments and designed by Kohn Partnership Architects, the application seeks to rezone the subject lands to allow for residential construction, a process that has been permitted on adjacent sites.

The proposal is still in its early stages, and mainly represents a massing study, but some preliminary numbers give an idea of the extent of the development. Three options were submitted to City Planning, each proposing to develop the south and west edges of the site, with the northeastern corner designated for a "landscaped amenity", which would likely be a privately-owned public space (POPS).

Site plan of Option A, image courtesy of Kooby Investments.

Bird's eye view of Option A, image courtesy of Kooby Investments.

Option A would see three towers constructed of 12, 18, and 24 storeys comprising a total of 558 units and a gross floor area (GFA) of roughly 49,000 square metres (527,500 square feet). The 12 and 24-storey towers would be located along the southern edge of the site and would share a common 4-storey podium, while the 18-storey tower would be located at the northwest corner of the site and sit atop its own 4-storey podium.

Site plan of Option B, image courtesy of Kooby Investments.

Bird's eye view of Option B, image courtesy of Kooby Investments.

Option B proposes to build two residential towers of 20 and 28 storeys with a series of 4-storey stacked townhouses, once again comprising a total of 558 units and a GFA of 49,000 square metres. The two towers would be located along the southern edge of the site atop a shared 4-storey podium, while 12 blocks of stacked townhouses comprising 96 units would be arranged into four buildings at the northwest corner of the site.

Site plan of Option C, image courtesy of Kooby Investments.

Bird's eye view of Option C, image courtesy of Kooby Investments.

Finally, Option C is a slight variation of Option B, with two residential tower of 23 and 29 storeys and a series of 4-storey stacked townhouses, arranged in the same manner as the previous option. This proposal would incorporate 552 units (90 of which are townhouses) with a GFA slightly less than 49,000 square metres.

Bird's eye view of IQ Condos with Phase 3 highlighted, image courtesy of The Remington Group.

The proposal for 2 St. Lawrence Avenue is one of several major developments in the area. To the north and west, The Remington Group's IQ Condos is furthest along. Phase one, a pair of 12-storey towers growing from a five-storey podium is complete along the Queensway. To the south, the two towers of phase two are currently under construction, while Phase 3, located directly to the west of 2 St. Lawrence and sporting a markedly more adventurous design, are approved but not yet on the market. The IQ development also includes a new city-owned public park.

Further west, on the opposite side of Zorra Street, another rezoning application has been submitted for 30 Zorra by an Ontario numbered company, proposing to construct a 36-storey residential tower on a 6-storey podium. 

Context plan taken from the rezoning application for 30 Zorra, image courtesy of 1127792 Ontario Limited.

Directly to the north of 2 St. Lawrence, a rezoning application was submitted in 2014 for the construction of a two-storey commercial building along the Queensway—to include a replacement Sobey's for the Kipling Queensway Mall location which will be lost to a Gardiner interchange expansion—with two residential towers of 22 and 27 storeys just to the south. Jumping to the east, the lands of the Cineplex Cinemas east of Dorchester Avenue have been granted permission to be severed, with a rezoning application submitted proposing four residential towers of 12, 12, 12, and 20 storeys along the Queensway frontage.

Stay tuned for more updates as the application makes its way through the planning process. In the meantime, you can tell us what you think about the proposal by checking out the associated Forum thread or by leaving a comment in the space provided on this page.

Related Companies:  Baker Real Estate Incorporated, Giannone Petricone Associates, Jablonsky, Ast and Partners, Janet Rosenberg & Studio, Tarra Engineering & Structural Consultants Inc, The Remington Group, U31