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Plazas across the city are prime development opportunities for increased density and building upwards. First Capital has submitted a Zoning By-law Amendment application to capitalize on one such example on Toronto’s east side. The proposal calls for Midland Lawrence Plaza at 2650 Lawrence Avenue East to be partially demolished to pave way for a pair of towers at the northeast corner of the intersection at Lawrence East and Midland Avenue.
The plaza services the Midland Park neighbourhood, a culturally diverse area in midtown Scarborough. The one-storey, U-shaped building includes retail stores, offices, and a FreshCo. The site also includes a TD Bank and surface parking, with a total area of approximately 9,514m².
Diamond Schmitt Architects utilize that space in their design while growing skyward, with 25-storey and 35-storey buildings standing 89.1m and 120.4m respectively. The taller North Tower would be entirely residential, featuring an eight-storey base with eight townhouse-style units at-grade on the north end. The ground floor is also designed to include 548m² of indoor amenity space. There would be additional amenity space on the ninth floor, with 140m² indoors and 520m² outdoors.
The South Tower’s design also calls for an eight-storey base building, but would be mixed-use and include commercial space. There would be 769m² of retail at the south end of the ground floor, along with 163m² of indoor and 262m² of outdoor amenities. The design includes residential units on the other floors of the base building, and a ninth-floor amenity area larger than the North Tower, with 721m² of indoor and 600m² of outdoor space.
Midland Lawrence Plaza is set to remain at the northeast section of the site and retain the FreshCo grocery store for residents. To the west of the plaza in the northwest corner would be a public park about 951m² in size. The design intends the park to act as a separation of space between the proposed towers and low-rise townhouses to the north.
In total the two towers would house 773 new residential units. The design places the vehicle access at Lawrence Avenue East through a north-south driveway on the east side of the site. The South Tower would feature the entrance to the two levels of underground garage. Of the 350 parking spaces, 72 would be for visitors and commercial use. In addition, the proposal calls for 604 bicycle parking spots, including 62 for short-term usage.
The site benefits from its major intersection featuring two major arterial roads. Commuters have the option of three bus routes that lead to subway stations. The Scarborough RT which currently runs nearby to the west of the site will be closed before this development could be built, but the Scarborough Subway Extension, currently under construction, will run northeast from Kennedy station to stations at Lawrence and Scarborough Town Centre, and terminate at Sheppard Avenue East and McCowan Road, and be quickly reached from buses past this site once it opens.
If approved, the 2650 Lawrence Avenue East redevelopment would bring increased density to Midland Park while retaining much of the neighbourhood's popular plaza.
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: | Bousfields, Diamond Schmitt Architects, First Capital, Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, STUDIO tla |
