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The Canadian Tire store by the TTC’s Main Street subway station has a unique ownership situation, with only a portion owned by Canadian Tire Real Estate Ltd. Now, WND Associates Ltd has submitted Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments to the City of Toronto on behalf of that land owner. The proposal would transform 2681 Danforth Avenue. The resulting two mixed-use buildings east of Main Street on the south side of Danforth Avenue would lead to mixed-use intensification of the site.
As of this writing, the site is home to a portion of the two-storey Canadian Tire building, a garden centre, and surface parking. The owner’s portion is a northwest section of the area, with frontage along Danforth Avenue. It is about 11,619m² in area and is just east of the four apartments that make up the Main Square complex.
The proposed design by Turner Fleischer Architects for developer CT REIT entails two buildings standing at 115.35m with 33 storeys (Tower A) and 148.25m with 44 storeys (Tower B) containing 905 residential units. They would share a podium of eight to nine storeys. With the existing structures being demolished, the design would result in a new Canadian Tire store, automobile service centre, public park, and new public street running north-south.
The podium would step down to a 3-storey element that would contain the Canadian Tire store and act as the Danforth Avenue frontage. The element’s step-backs from Danforth Avenue on floors three to nine lead to Tower A in the centre of the site, with Tower B to the south. Residential units would be found on all levels except the ground floor, with the entrance to Canadian Tire in the northwest corner at Danforth Avenue.
Part of the design entails a new public street running south from Danforth Avenue to a private laneway. Leading to two levels of underground parking garage, there would be 162 parking spaces for residents, 38 for visitors, and 140 for Canadian Tire customers. For cyclists, the proposal would provide 815 long-term and 92 short-term bike spaces for residents, along with 24 long-term and 92 short-term spots for the retail component.
The plans look to the future with 50 of the parking spots proposed to accommodate electric charging car stations. In addition, 14 of the spaces would be barrier-free. The second level of the garage would feature a 1,245m² auto service centre as part of Canadian Tire.
Main Street subway station is located within a short 500m walk northwest of the site. Commuters also have the options of bus routes and the 506 Carlton streetcar line, in addition to the Danforth GO station. The redevelopment would significantly improve the area for pedestrians, with the proposal using the unique land ownership situation to add significant density and many residents to the area.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, 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: | Arcadis, EQ Building Performance Inc., HGC Engineering Inc, Turner Fleischer Architects, WND Associates Ltd |
