One of Toronto’s last prime pieces of waterfront real estate is about to get the condo treatment.
The old Marine Terminal 27 site at the foot of Yonge St. is about to see construction. The developers are hoping for 5 towers with 1500 to 2000 units.
City councillors claim there is nothing that they can do to stop this construction.
So much for Toronto’s supposed jewel like waterfront. It’s just going to be a story of one more parking lot gone along with the lake view. Pretty soon you will actually have to be on the lake to know there is one.
A sales centre should go up soon with marketing starting in early summer. Construction of the first phase will take place over the next 2.5 years. The first phase of two 12 storey buildings connected by a two -storey bridge on top on the Yonge St. side of the property beside Captain John’s restaurant will consist of 477 units.
There will be a 14 storey building running alongside the Redpath sugar refinery on the east side of the site from the water to Queens Quay. The building units would overlook downtown.
They are hoping for a low rise builiding depending on the outcome of working with the Ministry of the Environment and their regulations. The plan is to extend Freeland St. which runs parallele to Yonge ending at Queens Quay ending in a cul de sac and providing public access from the street to the water’s edge. They plan to landscape this for an urban square type of effect.
The city in their great wisdom ( yes that is tongue in cheeck) sold this land in the 1980’s to a compnay called Avro Quay Ltd. which succeeded in getting it rezoned in 1996 for approximately 1400 condos.
In 2002 the Ontario Municipal Board incurred a height limitation to 14 storeys while permitting 1500-2000 units.
Since rezoning permissions have been granted the current developers Cityzen and Fernbrook Homes only need a site plan approval. These issues go to a committe of adjustment hearing on July 4th /07.
The Waterfront Corporation did manage to buy a half a hectare from Torstar a few years back for $12.5 million. They are hoping to combine this public land with the builder’s public land to create a public green space, park, or plaza.
Well hopefully we will still end up with a water view from somewhere down there.
Given that these units will probably sell extremely well especially to investors we can probably expect to see these buildings rise fairly quickly.