Proponents of a new structure in the West Queen West neighbourhood are appealing to the city for a zoning change to allow the construction of a new 27-storey mixed-use tower with retail space at street level.
In correspondence to the city's planning department, consultants from Goldberg Group said the proposed building at 1149 and 1153 Queen St. W. would contain 367 dwelling units, including 10 rental replacement units. The development would be situated right across the street from the Drake Hotel and the Death and Taxes pub.
The property is currently occupied by a two-storey structure that was once home to Woolfit's Art Supplies, a one-time magnet for the area's artists of days gone by. More recently, it housed Curry's Artists Materials, but that has also shuttered.
Along with an adjacent three-storey building, the property now houses a number of small businesses in rental units, including a medi spa, tattoo studio, cannabis shop and dental practice.
The buildings were recently purchased by the Vancouver-based real estate development firm QuadReal for $24.25 million, according to the Real Estate News Exchange.
QuadReal's proposal before the city contains architectural drawings and artist renderings by Turner Fleischer Architects.
In the firm's letter to the city, Goldberg Group said the site is in a designated “regeneration area” that permits a broad mix of developments including residential and commercial properties. The group said the area is "targeted to accommodate significant growth."
The proposal seeks to demolish the existing buildings and erect a new, 27-storey structure that would have two levels of underground parking.
The site is currently zoned as a mixed-use residential building under a former City of Toronto zoning bylaw. The new request seeks to rezone the property for commercial-residential use to permit the proposed development.
The project’s proponents have paid a $273,000 planning application fee in their quest for the zoning change, according to documents included in the application.
There are already several 18- to 21-storey buildings in the immediate area around Abell and Lisgar streets, just south of Queen Street.
The site for the proposed building, which is on the streetcar line at the southwest corner of Queen Street West and Abell Street, is just steps away from the recently redesigned Lisgar Park.
It is also just west of another property proposed for a 29-storey building development at a former Canada Post location. That project, which is under appeal with the city, would see a 300-unit residential building erected with the current two-storey post office below revamped as a community space for the arts.
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