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In 2020, QuadReal Property Group submitted concept plans to the City of Toronto to redevelop Cloverdale Mall in Etobicoke. The mall, one of Toronto's earliest having originally opened in 1956, has morphed and grown over the years from an outdoor plaza with an open central pedestrian promenade to an enclosed mall. Following the opening of the larger, fashion-focused upscale Sherway Gardens nearby in 1971, Cloverdale has primarily focused on being a value-oriented service centre meeting everyday retail needs such as grocery, pharmacy, and bank uses. Cloverdale was home to a Target store during that chain's brief stay in Canada, its former space having been reworked during the pandemic for a 40,000ft² mass vaccination clinic by the City of Toronto in partnership with QuadReal.
With the dramatic increase in the demand for housing in the Toronto area over the last decade and limited supply of available development land, QuadReal began to formulate plans for an intensification of the 30-acre mall site. To receive community feedback, QuadReal opened a 4,000ft² space in the mall called the 'Cloverdale Common' where the community could engage with the developer over their vision for the site. Over a year-and-a-half, more than 15,500 people visited, asked questions, and left ideas, while three community open houses were also held to facilitate communication. Vintage photos were found of early Cloverdale events, where the Modernist architecture stood out, and community life was important.
QuadReal's Director of Development Ben Gilbank told us that the company heard the message that Cloverdale is a community hub, so the redevelopment proposal had to go beyond the ordinary by bringing an architecturally significant, human-centred vision to the site. Giannone Petricone Associates, Urban Strategies Inc., and Janet Rosenberg & Studio were engaged to create the master plan, and initial Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-Law Amendment submissions were made to the City to transform the site with ten residential towers, 4,047 residential units, 25,337m² of retail, 8 acres of public and private green space, and a new streets and blocks network. The design of the public realm was prioritized, focused on an urbanized and vibrant experience, robust transit integration, and moving parking underground to prioritize space at grade for pedestrians and cyclists. Designing space to improve health and wellness has been a particular goal, with the development targeted to meet Fitwel community standards. QuadReal is evaluating low-carbon energy systems, such as geothermal, to meet stringent sustainability objectives for the project.
Since then, QuadReal has continued conversations with City Staff and with the community, and have now advanced updated plans on a separate 2.3 acre property across the East Mall for what will effectively be Phase One of the redevelopment. QuadReal recently submitted a Site Plan Approval application for this site in September 2021, including 511 residential units and 214m² of retail space
Located on a site that until recently was home to a gas station and a beer store bisected by a private road, Phase One consists of buildings rising to 8 and 32 storeys from a shared podium. Giannone Petricone's design extends a canopy along the length of the East Mall Crescent frontage that offers shelter and a sense of a place apart for both pedestrians and drivers arriving at the residential entrance. While providing such tangible benefits as wind and rain mitigation, the canopy nods to the original Modernist design of the Cloverdale Mall canopies of the 1950s while giving the partially enclosed/partially permeable space a resort-like feel with welcoming places to sit and stroll.
Facing the corner of Dundas Street and East Mall Crescent a plaza is planned, marked by its sheltering, skylighted canopy and a 214m² retail space with generous patio space where QuadReal is looking to attract a welcoming eating establishment.
Towering above, the residential levels are clad in Terra Cotta-coloured panels between windows that accent the organic feel of the stepped massing, while white slab covers bring a clean-modern aesthetic to the complex. Terracing is especially prominent on the north elevation of the tower, and faces towards the new park to come on the Cloverdale Mall site. Amenities here will take best advantage of the broad reach of the canopy, placing most indoor amenities on the second level of the tower, with extensive landscaped terrace spaces adjacent atop the canopy.
While woodgrain accented walls and soffits will dominate the canopy, vegetation will temper not just the ground level below, but above as well: in places where the outdoor amenities end, green roofs take over, while residents in the stepped sections of the tower will enjoy generous private terraces of their own. All of it contributes to the building achieving Toronto Green Standards Tier 2 requirements, aiming to create a sustainable, environmentally-friendly community. That philosophy will extend to the private road bridge over the East Mall becoming a pedestrian and cyclist connection from the Dundas Street frontage of this phase, leading into the pedestrian zones of the subsequent phases on the mall site.
While the residential tenure here is anticipated to be condominium, QuadReal plans to be here at Cloverdale for the long haul, where they intend to own all but the condo suites indefinitely, with an aim is to produce a development of lasting quality that will serve the company, the residents, and the community long into the future.
Additional information and images can be found in our Database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment below.
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