A huge 22,700m2 area will be reinvigorated as a mixed-use transit-oriented community. The developer, Choice Properties REIT has laid out concept plans on the project's website for a multi-use community in Toronto's Leslieville neighborhood.
The Riverdale Shopping Centre with its No Frills grocery store is currently at that location. The Metrolinx Lakeshore East rail corridor runs along the south side of the site, with Pape Avenue in the northeast corner. Carlaw Avenue borders the west side of the property and a line of low-rise residential homes run along the north edge.
The Gerrard-Carlaw North project would be a transit-oriented community built at Gerrard station on Ontario Line 3. The new subway line, for which the first construction and equipment contracts were recently awarded, will run from Exhibition GO station in the southwest to Science Centre station on Eglinton Line 5 in the northeast, with 13 stops between them.
The Gerrard-Carlaw North plan takes advantage of its location along the line by increasing the site's density while bringing new green space and a new street between Carlaw and Pape in order to make room for the new retail and residential units planned. While much of the site is currently a surface parking lot, all parking will go underground in the renderings.
Urban Toronto reports that the proposal will include the following:
- 1,080 residential units
- Three towers rising from a shared podium
- Retail and office in the base building
- Will include a new grocery store to replace the existing No Frills
- 7,810m2 of public space on its northern half
- Will provide about 225 jobs on the property
The project would also support the Toronto Green Standards set out by the City as part of the Net Zero by 2040 Climate Strategy. This will be accomplished by:
- Reduced window-to-wall ratio
- Green roofs
- Exploration of geothermal systems for reusable energy
The future Gerrard Station on the Ontario Line would be the neighborhood's hub and connect to surface transit routes including streetcar and bus options. The site would be transformed as to feature wide sidewalks, plenty of landscaping and greenery. More than 1,000 parking spots for bicycles are proposed, with some of the spaces exclusively for transit users.
Ontario Choice Properties states that the Transit-oriented Community (TOC) was created by the Province of Ontario to improve transit access and bring more housing, jobs, retail and public amenities near and around transit stations. In addition, the program encourages collaboration with all parties involved: province, builders, municipality, and the local community to deliver new, modern subways and TOC's at a lower cost to the taxpayer.
