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A long-rumoured redevelopment on the northeast corner of Avenue Road and Lawrence in Toronto's Bedford Park area is moving forward with a planning submission from developer First Capital that would either relocate or be the end of a Pusateri's grocery store that has been a part of the community since 1986. The proposal seeks rezoning and an Official Plan Amendment at 284 Lawrence Avenue West is for a land assembly that extends north and east from the corner—properties with low-rise buildings of a range of uses—which is proposed to be redeveloped with mixed-use towers of 10 and 13 storeys.
Plans call for the phased demolition of existing buildings. The new buildings, designed by Turner Fleischer Architects, would contain a combined 41,972 m² of gross floor area (GFA), including 4,680 m² of commercial and retail space within the building bases, and 455 residential units above. The 13-storey first phase building at the corner of Avenue and Lawrence is proposed to rise 50.4 metres , while the second phase 10-storey building to the north on Avenue Road at Glengarry Avenue, proposed to rise 38.8 metres high, would follow later. Between the two buildings, a publicly accessible private road would pass beneath the cantilevered upper storeys of the first phase building before curving south to meet Lawrence Avenue.
A total of 455 units are proposed across the two buildings, with 280 in the first phase and 175 in the second. 440 of the units are proposed as condominiums, while the remaining 15 would be rental units. located on the second floor of the first phase building, to replace existing rentals in the current low-rise rental apartment building at 284 Lawrence West. The condominium units are proposed in a mix of 298 one-bedrooms (66% of total), 107 two-bedrooms (23%), and 47 three-bedroom units (11%).
The retail component is being planned to front both Avenue Road and Lawrence Avenue, with two levels in the first phase south building and a single level in the second phase north building. The combined area of the south building's two levels of retail contains more than enough floor space to support a grocery tenant. While there is no confirmation that Pusateri's intends to maintain a presence at the intersection, a website for the project states that "First Capital will be working with the existing retail tenants on the future of this site," indicating that the grocery store may indeed return. Pusateri's made their commitment to operating in this location clear after a 2015 fire gutted the store, with the location being rebuilt and reopened in just 15 months.
An underground garage would extend across the site, with the first phase's garage to stretch three levels deep and the second phase's to go two levels deep. The garage will house a combined 605 parking spaces, with 387 for residents, and 218 to be shared between commercial and residential visitors to the site, large enough to serve grocery shoppers. A total of 481 bicycle parking spaces are planned, with 456 residential spaces in a mix of short- and long-term, along with 15 short-term and 10 long-term visitor spaces.
Tucked away at the east end of the site, a 903 m² privately owned public space (POPS) would be built alongside the existing Douglas Greenbelt Ravine. Along with the interior park space, the proposal also calls for public realm benefits like widened sidewalks and a prominent plaza at fronting the Avenue and Lawrence intersection. Landscaping for these new public spaces is being designed by DTAH.
You can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like to, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | Bousfields, First Capital, RWDI Climate and Performance Engineering, Turner Fleischer Architects |
