Marlin Spring Developments has proposed a residential and retail development on Lake Shore Boulevard West across from Toronto's Humber Bay Parks and Waterfront Trail. A narrow, irregularly shaped property with Windermere Avenue on its east side and the Gardiner Expressway and its South Kingsway on-ramp along the north side, the site is wedge-shaped at its west end.

Looking northwest to 2002 Lake Shore West, designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects for Marlin Spring Developments

The .45 hectare lot, in a Mixed-Use Area in Toronto's Official Plan, was purchased from Build Toronto in 2017. Graziani + Corazza Architects have designed a pair of towers rising to 21 and 26 storeys from a shared podium of between 3 and 7 storeys. The towers and podium would bring 607 new residential suites to the area, along with retail spaces facing Lake Shore and the parks to the south. The garage is proposed to hold 526 parking spaces and 608 bicycle storage spaces.

Looking northeast to 2002 Lake Shore West, designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects for Marlin Spring Developments

Cut off to some degree from the adjacent Swansea neighbourhood by the Gardiner Expressway, the three development sites along Lake Shore (one of them complete), do not currently boast many other local amenities beyond their access to the extensive and well-loved lakeside parks in the area. Just to the east of Windermere Avenue, Diamante Development is moving forward on a 38-storey 740-unit twin-tower project called Mirabella Condominiums, while to the east of it are two 18-storey Park Lake Residences towers completed in 2010. Park Lake includes no retail space, but Mirabella is planned with a single 315 m² retail space while 2002 Lake Shore is proposed to include 988 m² of retail space across 4 units. If all three developments are completed as proposed, locals will benefit greatly from the shops and restaurants that could open.

The 2002 Lake Shore site (an assembly of three properties along wth 1978 and 2000 Lake Shore) is currently vacant, but used to be the home of the Seaway Towers motel hotel. The hotel was torn down more than a decade ago when the Gardiner Expressway bridges over the Humber and the South Kingsway ramp were rebuilt as more land was needed. The City of Toronto recently declared the remaining land surplus to needs, and transferred it to Build Toronto for sale and redevelopment.

Seaway Towers hotel in a postcard image circa 1963

Plans for 2002 Lake Shore are just at an early stage. We will be following the proposal as it evolves. For now, you can find more images and information in our database file, linked below. If you want to talk about it, you can get in on the conversation in our associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.