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To kick off March, we bring to you the next instalment of our Growth To Watch For Series 2017, which steers north from the end of our Beaches-Leslieville-Danforth instalment. After its finish at Danforth and Greenwood avenues, we pick up again gong northbound on Coxwell, turn northeastwards on O'Connor, then run a great distance north along Victoria Park. Once we arrive at Parkwoods Village, we follow it onto York Mills, heading west until Bayview, where we turn south. From there we head through Toronto's affluent Bridle Path area and into Don Mills, then move through Thorncliffe Park before ending this part of the tour in Leaside.
The first project on our radar is the Michael Garron Hospital, on the main campus of the Toronto East Health Network. With architectural work done by Cannon Design, a $50 million donation (the largest donation to a community health hospital in Canadian history) comes from Myron and Berna Garron, parents of the late Michael Garron, who passed away at the age of 13 to soft tissue cancer. The development will add 500,000 square feet of new space, in addition to renovating 100,000 square feet, with 218 medical/surgical beds, modern infrastructure to allow for new technologies, improved infection control, iand other components including outdoor green spaces. Construction kicked off in 2016.
At the north end of Coxwell, we turn right onto O'Connor Drive, cross the Taylor Creek ravine, and continue for about two kilometres to where the site has been cleared at 1401 O'Connor to make way for Edzar Group of Companies' 7-storey condominium. Named The Lanes Condos, it will rise on the site of the O'Connor Bowl, a bowling alley which had been here since 1951. Designed by Turner Fleischer Architects, the mixed-use project will see 142 residential units added to the neighbourhood, in addition to ground level retail.
At the northeast end of the street, O'Connor Drive meets Victoria Park and Eglinton avenues at the western gateway to Scarborough's Golden Mile area. The Crosstown LRT will stop here by 2021, and a number of significant redevelopments are planned here as a result.
On the south side of the triangle of roads here is Eglinton Square Shopping Centre. First opened in 1954, the KingSett Capital-owned mall is proposed to be redeveloped into 1 Eglinton Square. The plans, submitted to the City in the latter half of 2016, consists of a five block mixed-use development surrounding the existing shopping centre, with five towers ranging in height from 25 to 40 storeys. 3-storey townhouses would be situated along the southern end of the site, transitioning in height to the adjacent low-rise neighbourhood. Designed by Quadrangle Architects, the project would include more retail components, along with a total of 1,640 residential units. We will follow this closely as it circulates through planning.
Just to the east across Pharmacy Avenue, plans were in the works as long as five years ago to transform commercial lands at 1891 Eglinton Avenue East in a mixed use community including 5 condo towers, but a final proposal for that site was not submitted to the City. With the Crosstown line opening in 4 years or so, we may see renewed planning activity for this site soon again.
Shifting to the north side of Eglinton, the big-box Golden Mile Shopping Centre between Pharmacy and Victoria Park is where a massive redevelopment has been proposed by Choice Properties REIT. Submitted to the City a week before New Years, it joins the growing list of mall redevelopment proposals across town, this would see the mall become a master planned, mixed-use community. With architectural work done by Giannone Petricone Associates, the development would include 11 buildings, ranging in height from 2 to 39 storeys tall, and adding 2,500 residential units in the process. Additional uses include ground level retail, commercial office space, public open space, and a new network of roads and development blocks, emphasizing walkability. As this proposal is still very early in the planning process, the final product will surely evolve. With its sheer size, redevelopment here has the potential to turn the automobile-centric area into a people-centric one.
We turn north on Victoria Park Avenue, and proceed for about 2 and a half kilometres until we find Winfield Residential's Towns of Don Mills on the west side, just north of Curlew Drive. The project replaces a strip plaza with 67 freehold townhomes built in 5 rows.
Continuing north another kilometre, we turn west at Parkwoods Village Drive, which eventually slips in York Mills Road. Soon coming up on the south side at 1215 York Mills, sales are underway for phase one at The Ravine. A joint partnership by Urban Capital Properties and ALIT Developments, the 29-storey condo designed by Rafeal Bigauskas Architects will bring 336 residential units to the site. Phase two, now being reviewed for Site Plan Approval by the City, consists of a 12 and 27-storey condo; containing 140 rental apartments, and 306 condominium units. There will be more phases to come!
From here, we turn north, weaving our way through Don Mills' winding roads, following Sandover to Roywood and then Fenelon, which takes us under the Don Valley Parkway. On our right is a tower in the park infill development at 135 Fenelon Drive. The Beaux Properties International project consists of two new mid-rise buildings, 6 storeys and 8 on either side of the existing tower. The new buildings, replacing a surface parking lot and some of the expansive lawns, that would have 123 and 126 rental units each. Retail at ground level has been proposed for the south building in the Kirkor-designed project, adding walkable shops to a neighbourhood spot that's currently far from main streets and their car-oriented commercial plazas.
Fenelon and Valentine will get us back to York Mills Road, where we turn west again.
Just past Leslie Street on the north side, a Site Plan Application (SPA) has been submitted by the Minto Group for another tower-in-the-park infill development at 740 York Mills. This would allow for the development of 3-storey, 192 townhouse units divided into four blocks. A one storey community centre has also been proposed on site, while the existing 18-storey apartment building is retained. The architect of record for this project is Rafael Bigauskas.
Another kilometre-and-a-half west at the northwest corner of Harrison and York Mills, a proposal was submitted in 2016 for 6 townhouse units, rising 3 storeys, to replace a single family home. The project is designed by the Thornhill-Based firm, Mel Melinda + Sang-Man Youn.
Turning north on Bayview Avenue, we find similar proposals for a few more multi-family buildings to replace single family homes: the lots in this area are large, and developers are finding ways of adding "gentle density" increases along the main roads here.
On the west side just shy of Fifeshire Road and the 401, Bazis has submitted plans to replace four houses with 20 townhomes in three blocks. Designed by r. Varacalli Architect Inc, the proposal, working its way through planning for resign and site plan, is called the Estates on Bayview, and would also bring one new detached house to Caldy Court, the next street to the west.
Just to the south, a proposal at 2706 Bayview, submitted in late 2016, is proposing to build three 3-storey townhouses on the front of the lot. The existing house would be moved to the back end of the lot for the Richard Wengle-designed project.
Across the street at the southeast corner with Old Colony Road, 2659 Bayview, another Richard Wengle-designed proposal for additional townhouses, is working its way through planning. The proposal by Seeb Developments asks for 11 townhouses that would front Bayview, while two single-detached houses would front Old Colony.
Further south, Bara Custom Homes are the owners of 2619 Bayview, where another townhouse proposal is circulating through City Planning. Designed by Lorne Rose Architect, the proposal would have six townhouse units facing Bayview, and one single detached home facing Heathcote Ave.
A kilometre to the south of this sea of townhouse developments, council approved a 2-storey place of worship in early 2016 at 2437 Bayview just north of The Bridle Path. Another Richard Wengle project, the project named Chabad Lubavitch of York Mills, will also include a daycare facility.
One block south, Urbancorp was planning to build a luxury townhome project called Homes of the Bridle Path at 2425 Bayview. While deposits were taken on many of the 37 3-storey units, the development was caught up in Urbancorp's failure. The purchaser of this Urbancorp site has not restarted development here yet.
Turning east on Post Road, we make our way through the Bridle Path neighbourhood past Drake's new digs at 21 Park Lane Circle to Lawrence Avenue, and over to The Donway. Just on the edge of Cadillac Fairview's Shops at Don Mills, we turn south, and into the land of mid-rises and high-rises again.
First off is a Hariri Pontarini-designed condo development for Cadillac Fairview and a residential partner developer. Dubbed 169 The Donway, the project replaces the old Don Mills Post Office, and consists of 34 and 39-storey condo towers, with some ground level retail in the shared podium. Situated just to the west of the Shops, these two towers would be significantly taller than any existing or approved buildings surrounding the core of this revitalizing suburban neighbourhood, adding 736 residential units.
Just around the bend on The Donway, Flaire Condos is having its final touches applied both inside and out. A joint venture by Cadillac Fairview and the Fram Building Group, the two 11-storey mixed-use condos designed by Giannone Petricone Associates is starting occupancy, adding 285 units to the area.
To the south of Flaire are Reflections and Liv Lofts, the first two condos which were built as part of the Shops at Don Mills regeneration plan. Just to the east of Liv Lofts is the next development to go up here, Rodeo Drive Condominiums. A joint venture of Cadillac Fairview and Lanterra Developments, this two-tower Hariri Pontarini-designed project includes a 32-storey first phase building, and a 16-storey second phase tower, each with associated podiums. A walkway running between the phases, both now in sales, will bring people up to the new local park which recently opened south of Liv Lofts, as seen in the image below.
In May 2016, it was announced that Cadillac Fairview, the owners of the Shops at Don Mills, announced a $21 million dollar investment in renovating the outdoor "lifestyle" shopping centre. This largely includes enhancements to the public realm in the form of pedestrian and parking improvements, along with an elevated entertainment zone. The changes further the ongoing transformations of the suburban strip plaza which first opened in 1955 before expanding significantly in the 1960s, and then becoming an enclosed mall in the late 1970s. A tear-down of the mall begun in 2006 resulted in the Shops at Don Mills opening in 2009.
Moving south now to 905 Don Mills, a proposal was recently submitted for a 10-storey seniors residence containing 164 units. The project is designed by Kirkor, and led by DCMS Realty Development, a team specializing in retirement complexes. The development would replace an automotive facility a its surface parking lot.
The next project to the south is one of the largest redevelopments currently planned in Toronto. At the northwest corner of Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue, Wynford Green would see the Celestica office and industrial lands redeveloped into a master planned, mixed-use urban centric development, one which will benefit from its connection to the Science Centre Crosstown LRT station, targeted to open in 2021. Leading the project are Diamondcorp, Lifetime Developments, and Context Development, with Sweeny &Co acting as lead architects. Other design firms involved include TACT Architecture, Giannone Petricone Associates, GBCA, and MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects.
Plans call for the 60-acre site to be comprised of nine towers ranging from 15 to 44 storeys, two 8-storey office buildings, one 9-storey building, a community centre to be situated at the north end of the site, and low-rise townhouses taking up the the majority of the western side of the site. Overall, a planned 3,887 residential units are projected.
Just west of the rail tracks from Wynford Green, Tridel is proposing a Graziani + Corazza-designed development dubbed On The Park at Leslie Street and Eglinton Avenue. The mixed-use development is comprised of four residential towers that will range from 28 to 39 storeys tall, comprised of 1,240 units. The summer of 2016 saw a redesign and resubmission of the proposal, bringing a significantly different look to the original angular proposal.
From this spot a kilometre west of Don Mills Road, we take Eglinton east past the Don Valley Parkway to where Wynford Drive and St. Dennis Drive meet it at a small interchange. On the northwest corner is a senior's residence, a Tridel condominium, and a low-rise hotel. In December 2015, Toronto Council gave the green light to allow for the Don Valley Hotel redevelopment, an undertaking by Tridel and Allied Hotel Properties. Designed by HCA Architecture, the project would see portions of the existing hotel and parking lot replaced with the addition of two residential towers at heights of 36 and 30 storeys, bringing in 700 residential units. As well, the remaining hotel would be renovated and reduced in size from 383 hotel rooms to a mix of 141 hotel rooms, and 142 residential units.
Shifting back to the southeast of Don Mills and Eglinton, Lindvest Properties is selling suites in their project, Sonic and SuperSonic Condos at Ferrand and Rochefort Drives. The Page + Steele / IBI Group-designed project includes two residential towers of 28 and 30 storeys, situated on the west side of the site, while a park and new east-west street will fit between two rows of townhomes on the east side of the property. The 28-storey tower is to be built as phase one, while the 30-storey phase two "Supersonic" will follow, set to be home to 299 residential units.
Jumping a block south, a tower-in-the-park infill development in Flemingdon Park was proposed in the later half of 2016 at 25 St. Dennis Drive by the Preston Group. The SvN Architects-designed mixed-use project features a 44-storey rental tower built along with an 8-storey base building at the south end of the site on Grenoble Drive. The existing 17-storey apartment building would be maintained on the east side of the site, while a 10-storey mid-rise would be built on the north end of the site on St. Dennis.
Returning to Don Mills Road, we head south, then turn west at Overlea Boulevard, crossing the West Don into Thorncliffe Park. At 42 Overlea Boulevard, rezoning has been approved by Council to allow for the development of a Costco store. The retail outlet is being built where Coca-Cola Canada's previous head office and manufacturing facility used to be, though a portion of the Space Age Modern office building will be preserved. Grading of the site began in 2016.
Where Overlea ends, we turn west on Millwood Road, crossing under the rail corridor and emerging in Leaside. At the first set of lights, across the intersection on the west side of Malcolm Road, construction is progressing at Knightstone Capital's The Upper House Condos. As of late 2016, the construction crew have been placing the foundation levels of what will become a 7-storey, 74 unit condo designed by Kearns Mancini Architects.
On the east side of the same intersection is 33 Laird Drive where an Organic Garage grocery store will be built. The 2-storey building designed by SVM Architects will see the retention of the existing listed heritage building on the property.
A few blocks north on Laird and a couple blocks west at 220 McRae Drive, is the future site of The Brownstones of Leaside, by Impressions Group. The Peter Higgins Architect-designed residential building will rise 4 storeys, containing 8 units.
Returning to Laird, we continue north to Eglinton then turn to the east, where a couple of substantial redevelopments are planned for retail and office commercial sites on the south side of the avenue. These developments have been triggered by the coming Crosstown LRT line, with a station at Laird Drive targeted to open in 2021.
At the southwest corner of Eglinton and Brentcliffe Road, a proposal by Diamondcorp seeks to redevelop the site. 939 Eglinton East is currently a 2-storey commercial plaza, but the application would create three parcels of land to rezone and develop three mixed-use residential buildings situated near the northern end of the site. While the existing building will remain, the three proposed buildings by Page + Steele / IBI Group come in with Building A at 20 storeys, Building B at 16 storeys, and Building C at 28 storeys. Just shy of 1,000 residential units, the unit breakdown is slightly over half 1 bedroom units, with the smaller half being 2 bedroom units. With red brick precast evident through the design, Building C represents a traditional tower shape, while Buildings A and B step back gradually as they rise from larger podium levels. With the surroundings currently exuding a suburban feel, this proposal puts an emphasis in creating a strong public realm and urban feel.
Two properties to the west, we are at Eglinton and Laird, where the site of RioCan's Leaside Centre at 815 Eglinton is slated for redevelopment. This past summer, an application was made to rezone the site for mixed use. Designed by both Turner Fleischer and Quadrangle Architects, two 34 and one 26-storey condo would be near the south east end of the site, while four mid-rise buildings ranging from 6 to 12 storeys tall would front Eglinton and Laird. The project would see over 1,400 residential units, ample retail (Canadian Tire would be rebuilt in the northwest corner of the site), open space, and a new park.
Continuing west on Eglinton, we arrive at Bayview Avenue and the Sunnybrook Plaza, which RioCan has hired Turner Fleischer to design a redevelopment. (A Crosstown LRT station will open here in 2021 as well.) After failing to reach an agreement with the City, the OMB has approved a reduced version of the project at 16 and 11 storeys tall, a decrease from the initial 19 and 13-storey proposal. The mixed-use development would replace the suburban strip plaza, considered to be Toronto's first.
Now heading north on Bayview several blocks, Concert Properties and Tridel are joint-venturing on Sherwood at Huntington. Structurally topped off at its final height of 8 storeys, this Kirkor design is the second condo development on the site, following the recently completed Blythwood at Huntington. Cladding has begun to cover the first two levels of the building, with occupancy targeted to begin in the Fall.
Turning around, we head south on Bayview and pass Eglinton Avenue, arriving at Hillsdale a couple more blocks south. Here where the Leaside shopping strip starts up we arrive at the site of The Brown Group of Companies' Bayview & Hillsdale condo proposal. The 9-storey mid-rise designed by Kohn Partnership Architects would feature 172 residential units, including 38 rental replacement units, while at ground level, active retail would animate Bayview. Following a lack of a decision on the development by City Council within the required timeframe, the developer appealed to the OMB, where—as of January—City Council has voted to oppose it.
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That brings us to the end of our East York and Don Mills instalment. Coming up next in Growth To Watch For 2017, our journey through the City's development activity brings us into Toronto's hotbed Midtown district around Yonge and Eglinton. The forthcoming instalments will cover much smaller areas than recent instalments, but with no fewer buildings, reflecting the density of new proposals in the central part of town.
Do you have any questions about the developments in this article? Check out the projects' database files, linked below, where more information is provided. Care to share your thoughts on this list? Feel free to leave a comment in the space provided on this page, or join in the ongoing conversations in our associated Forum threads.
