A major redevelopment has been proposed for the northeast corner of Lawrence Avenue East and Howden Road in Scarborough's Wexford–Maryvale area, bringing what would be the tallest buildings in this part of Toronto to date. Designed by Turner Fleischer Architects for 2031740 Ontario Inc., the plan calls for three mixed-use buildings rising 15, 36, and 40 storeys.

Looking northeast to 2130 Lawrence Avenue East, designed by Turner Fleischer Architects for 2031740 Ontario Inc

The 1.11ha property at 2130 Lawrence Avenue East lies about 150m west of Birchmount Road. Currently home to a four-storey medical office building and surface parking, surrounding uses range from employment and light industrial buildings to the north, high-rise residential to the east, low-rise commercial and retail plazas to the south, and automotive and insurance uses across Howden to the west.

Looking northeast to the current site, image retrieved from Google Maps

While the avenue’s built form along this stretch has remained low-rise, recent approvals and proposals in the Wexford–Maryvale area signal a shift toward greater density. MHBC Planning has now submitted a Zoning By-law Amendment application to the City of Toronto on behalf of the developer. The plan arranges two high-rise towers of 36 and 40 storeys and a 15-storey mid-rise around an internal driveway loop, with podiums framing Lawrence Avenue East and Howden Road. The buildings would range in height from 60.5m to 144.35m, each with a defined podium base to animate the street and provide amenity space above. The slab-style 15-storey building is clad in two distinct architectural expressions, one for its west half and another for its east half, articulating the building in such a way that it reads as two buildings from the exterior, in an attempt to lessen its visual bulk.

Looking northwest to 2130 Lawrence Avenue East, designed by Turner Fleischer Architects for 2031740 Ontario Inc

The proposal totals 88,265m² of Gross Floor Area (GFA), producing a Floor Space Index of 7.96 times coverage of the 1.11ha lot. Of the GFA, 86,387m² would be devoted to residential use and 1,878m² to street-level retail. Across the three buildings, 1,303 condominium units are planned, with a mix of 95 studios, 764 one-bedrooms, 305 two-bedrooms, and 139 three-bedrooms. 

Site plan, designed by Turner Fleischer Architects for 2031740 Ontario Inc

The development would incorporate 3,470m² of indoor and 1,749m² of outdoor amenities. These spaces are distributed between ground floors, podium rooftops, and select upper levels. Each building would be served by four elevators, with ratios of roughly one elevator per 104 units in the 15-storey building, one per 108 units in the 36-storey tower, and one per 115 units in the 40-storey tower, indicating progressively faster motors in the taller buildings to provide prompt enough response times.

Ground floor plan, designed by Turner Fleischer Architects for 2031740 Ontario Inc

Parking would be contained within a shared four-level underground garage, providing 1,001 spaces for residents, 71 for visitors, and 6 passenger pick-up and drop-off spaces. Bicycle storage would entail 888 long-term and 93 short-term spaces for residents, plus 3 long-term and 8 short-term spaces for retail users. 

The site is directly served by TTC bus stops on Lawrence Avenue East, offering westbound service steps from the frontage and eastbound service across the street. Routes lie within a one- to four-minute walk, linking to Yonge Line 1 at Eglinton station and Danforth Line 2 at Warden station. The site lies over 4km away from the future Lawrence East station on the Danforth Line 2 Scarborough Subway Extension. Cycling access includes nearby connections to the Gatineau Hydro Corridor Trail, approximately 1.7km away, forming part of the city-wide network.

An aerial view of the site and surrounding area, image from submission to City of Toronto with street name corrected

The proposal comes amid a budding intensification along this stretch of Lawrence Avenue East. To the west, Wexford Heights is planned at 12 storeys, while to the east, at Lawrence and Birchmount, The Borough is proposed at 21 storeys and 2157 Lawrence East at 34 storeys.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been republished with a correction made to an image from the submitted documents.

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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:  Counterpoint Engineering, EQ Building Performance Inc., Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, LEA Consulting, MHBC Planning, Turner Fleischer