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The McCleary District is the name for a new redevelopment area in Toronto’s Port Lands. On the south side of Lake Shore Boulevard, east of the Don Roadway, over recent years the area has become a hub for film and media production, and is soon to add residential to this mix as the Port Lands transform. Now, Tepfam Holdings has proposed a mixed-use redevelopment of a block with a pair of 40- and 45-storey towers rising from a shared podium, all designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects. The submission includes residential, retail, and creative production spaces.
The site at 280 Commissioners Street spans 9,584m² at the northeast corner of Commissioners Street and Saulter Street South. Currently, it hosts a single-storey self-storage facility with an office component at the southwest corner of the property. The surrounding area includes industrial, employment, and regeneration uses. McCleary Park and other open spaces lie to the east, while industrial facilities and film production studios dominate the south. Vacant lands to the west are poised for redevelopment through the East Harbour Master Plan. East Harbour station, which will be served by Ontario Line 3 and the Lakeshore East and Stouffville GO lines, is now under construction to the north.
MHBC Planning has submitted an Official Plan Amendment application to the City of Toronto on behalf of the developer. The proposal includes an eastern tower rising to 126.05m and a western tower at 141.05m, connected by an eight-storey podium. The design consists of a total Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 81,220m², achieving a Floor Space Index (FSI) of 11.87. It calls for 937 residential units, including 42 affordable rentals on the east tower's first eight floors.
Residential space would total 64,883m², while the remaining 16,337m² is allocated to retail, self-storage, and Production, Interactive, and Creative (PIC) spaces, such as a film studio or data centre. Retail uses spanning 937m² are concentrated at ground level along Commissioners Street, with a retail plaza at the southeast corner. Townhouse-style units would line the north side of the podium. PIC uses would be situated at grade and extend to levels 2 and 3, while self-storage or data centre functions could occupy parts of levels 5 to 8.
Amenities for both towers would include 1,914m² of indoor space located on podium levels 5, 6, and 9, complemented by 874m² of outdoor space on accessible podium terraces. Each tower would include four residential elevators, or approximately one for every 117 units across both towers, indicating longer than preferable wait times. Four elevators would serve non-residential uses.
Parking would be accommodated in a two-level underground garage with 226 spaces for residents, 45 for PIC uses, 12 for visitors, and 4 for car-share. Bicycle parking provisions include 844 long-term and 188 short-term spaces for residents, along with 5 long-term and 13 short-term spaces for non-residential uses. Vehicular access is facilitated via a woonerf — a pedestrian-prioritized street — running north-south along the eastern edge of the site.
The site is currently served by TTC bus routes with stops at Commissioners Street and Saulter Street South. Cyclists benefit from dedicated bike lanes along Commissioners Street and access to the Martin Goodman Trail, which connects to the Lower Don River Trail. East Harbour station, 440m from the site, will be accessible via an extension of Broadview Avenue towards the McClary District. A Broadview streetcar extension is foreseen to provide a direct link from this area to the Ontario Line and TTC subway.
Other development work is active in the area. Pinewood Toronto Studios is expanding nearby, while the Basin Media Hub is planned southeast, further cementing the area’s role in Toronto’s film industry. To the north, proposals include 115 Saulter Street North with towers of 40 and 45 storeys, 120 Bouchette Street with three towers ranging from 43 to 49 storeys, and 685 Lake Shore East with towers of 54 and 59 storeys. To the north across Lake Shore Boulevard, the 60-acre East Harbour site will add 4,300 residential units and 18 mixed-use towers, rising between 23 and 65 storeys.
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: | Crozier Consulting Engineers, Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, Grounded Engineering Inc., Hariri Pontarini Architects, MHBC Planning |
