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In Toronto’s Riverdale area, Choice Properties REIT has submitted a revised plan for the No Frills site on Broadview Avenue just south of Danforth Avenue. Located within the Broadview Station Protected Major Transit Station Area (PMTSA), the site is positioned for high-density growth steps from the subway. Designed by Superkül, it would bring two towers of 39 and 43 storeys rising above a new grocery store.
Occupying 720 through 742 Broadview Avenue on its west side north of Montcrest Boulevard, besides the grocery store the site contains surface parking and two house-form structures to the north. A three-storey building at 740 Broadview is slated for demolition, while the semi-detached 742 Broadview would remain in commercial use. To the east across Broadview are a combination of mid-rise and low-rise residential with some ground level retail, while residential blocks and ravine slopes define the area to the west.
Choice Properties first proposed redevelopment of the site in 2021, with a single 35-storey tower and snaking podium which incorporated a new grocery store, 503 residential units, and a publicly accessible “Valley Portal” linking Broadview Avenue to the Don Valley ravine. That plan spanned 682–742 Broadview and included the partial retention of several heritage-listed homes to the south.
Following community consultation and feedback from City Planning and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, the development team refined the scope and design, removing the southern properties and abandoning the ravine connection. Now, Urban Strategies Inc. has resubmitted Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications to the City of Toronto on behalf of the developer.
"This updated vision for 720 Broadview Avenue includes a second tower and proceeds with a phased approach to development,” Fernando Valenzuela, Vice-President of Development at Choice, told UrbanToronto. “By preserving essential services like the grocery store, we can provide new rental housing that meets the city's growing needs. This approach supports a vibrant, inclusive neighbourhood, balancing growth with continuity and care.”
The revised plan introduces two mixed-use rental towers rising 39 (132.9m) and 43 storeys (139.4m), with 857 residential units total, an increase of 354 homes over the earlier plan. The new layout focuses development on the existing grocery store parcel and adjacent properties at 740 and 742 Broadview, creating a compact massing along the west side of the street. The north tower would have a one-storey base containing a 2,289m² replacement grocery store.
Altogether, the design now totals 58,273m² of Gross Floor Area, up from 40,126m² in the 2021 proposal, resulting in a Floor Space Index of 6.11 times coverage of the the 9,524m² lot, double the original density of 3.06 on the larger 13,118m² site. Residential space would account for 55,970m² of the total, complemented by 2,289m² of retail.
Residents would share 2,042m² of indoor and 1,388m² of outdoor amenities. Each tower would contain four residential elevators, with roughly one elevator per 96 units in the south tower and one per 118 units in the north, with the latter requiring high-speed motors for adequate response times. At the ground level, a 333m² POPS (Privately-Owned Publicly-accessible Space) would front the south tower, replacing the earlier 1,364m² plaza and 460m² public park that were once proposed.
Construction is planned in two phases: Phase 1 would deliver the 39-storey south tower and maintain grocery operations on the remainder of the site, while Phase 2 would see demolition of the existing store for the 43-storey north tower and new food store at grade. A single level of underground parking would provide 51 vehicle spaces, down significantly from 220 in the original design, including 11 residential, 9 visitor, and 31 retail stalls. Bicycle parking has nearly doubled to 959 spaces, up from 524 previously.
Located roughly 270m, or a four-minute walk, south of Broadview station on Line 2, the site falls within the station’s PMTSA. The area is also served by the 504 King streetcar, multiple bus routes, and direct access to the Danforth bike lanes.
The proposal would stand as the tallest development in the area by a considerable margin. Nearby projects along Broadview Avenue include a 6-storey building proposed at 741 Broadview and the 8-storey Danforth Baptist Church Redevelopment under construction to the east. The 6-storey Nahid on Broadview is rising to the north, with The John Lea on Broadview proposed at 9 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: | Counterpoint Engineering, EQ Building Performance Inc., Jablonsky, Ast and Partners, Urban Strategies Inc. |
