With Sears Canada undergoing liquidation, a redevelopment has been proposed for one of the retailer’s several Toronto facilities. Redevelopment of Sears’ warehouse at 2200 Islington Avenue—immediately north of Highway 401 at Islington Avenue—has been in the works since late 2013, when Elgner Group Investments Ltd submitted plans for a roughly 50,000 m² retail centre spread across multiple buildings to replace a large portion of the hulking warehouse and surface parking lot.

2200 Islington subject site, image retrieved from Apple Maps

In the years since, plans have evolved for the site, with the project now in the hands of developer Rice Group, the company having bought the site from Elgner for $91,500,000—or $1,761,512 per acre—in the third quarter of 2016. Building on the 2013-released rezoning documents, the current resubmission from late October—seeking Subdivision Approval—reveals that the proposed 50,018 m² development would be built in two phases, with 32,334 m² of commercial space on the west half of the site to be built as a first phase, and the remaining 17,684 m² to be constructed as phase 2 to the east. The plans include a realignment of the sweeping, high-speed intersection of Rexdale Boulevard and Islington Avenue into a more traditional T-intersecton.

2200 Islington site plan, image via submission to City of Toronto

This new Turner Fleischer Architects-designed complex would be served by a new U-shaped public road providing access to the 17 new buildings with heights up to two storeys, as well as a proposed conversion of some of the Sears warehouse building to retail. These buildings—coming in a mix of restaurant, retail, and entertainment uses—would only occupy a portion of the 51.96-acre (21.03 hectare) site, with a series of privately-owned public spaces (POPS) and 1,608 surface parking spots spread across the site accounting for much of the remaining footprint. 

Retail building "I" at 2200 Islington, image via submission to City of Toronto

Most of the existing Sears facility would be demolished to make way for the new construction, including a water tower at the site's interior, familiar to motorists passing by the site along Islington Avenue or Highway 401. One element that will be retained is the 7,800 ft² Maintenance Building to the immediate west of the water tower, which will be brought up to modern standards and surrounded by a 10,000 ft² POPS.

Existing water tower and Maintenance Building, image retrieved from Apple Maps

An existing Quebecor/Postmedia facility, east of the Sears building and sharing the same industrial site, has been acquired by Rice Group, ensuring a smooth redevelopment process while opening up the table for future phases.

We will return as new information about the project emerges. In the meantime, you can review existing information and images by visiting our database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Visit the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.