Decals on the windows have revealed the names of two new retail tenants that will be moving into the Brown Group’s new rental project coined The Stack at Bayview & Hillsdale. Maker Pizza and The Sweet Potato (natural foods grocery store) plan to open their doors sometime this year. Welcome to the neighbourhood!
The construction hoarding surrounding The Brown Group’s new mid-rise development has been removed, revealing the commercial space on the main floor of the luxury, residential rental building. Looks like the wall of windows will create a bright, open space for future shops or restaurants. Known previously as simply 730 Hillsdale, the building has been renamed “The Stack”. More
The Brown Group residential and commercial mid-rise on Bayview Ave has been branded as The Stack. The news comes in an article in Urban Toronto without an explanation of just what the name might mean. The development took on the name 730 Hillsdale last summer but that may have been too much like a street address. Anyway, good luck to The Stack. Is that like in “Stack ’em up boys” and other stack sayings? You know, blowing one’s stack, does that stack up and so on.
Many people aren’t getting out as much as they used to but construction goes on across midtown with schools, businesses and condos rising to completion. Above, we see the new Davisville Public School. It seems well on schedule to open for classes this coming fall. Below, at the left and upper right are shots of the new Gyro Mazda showroom, service bays and office on the east side of Laird Drive. Lower right is the condominium and retail complex on Bayview Ave to be known as 730 Hillsdale.
Access to Leaside Centre from Industrial?
Also near completion it appears, is the building which will house Shoppers Drug Mart and PetSmart in the expanded Leaside Village (Longo’s) shopping centre. The new structure was built officially at 25 Industrial St. It raises the prospect that the whole of Leaside Centre will soon be accessible from that street as well as Laird and Esandar Drive
A colourful series of drawings depicting domestic life has been placed around the site of the Brown Group condominium and retail building on Bayview Ave. between Hillsdale and Soudan Aves. In fact, a relatively new name for the development — 730 Hillsdale — marks the new signage. Hillsdale Manor, bungalows make way for Brown project
Hillsdale Manor, the dowdy old rental apartment at Bayview and Hillsdale Aves, and the bungalows and townhouses on Bayview and Soudan are making way for the nine-storey residential and commercial project owned by the Brown Group. These scenes were shot Friday. The last home on the south side of Soudan Ave before Bayview is #701, which is being used as a project office. The last home occupied is #699. Bulldog photos.
Fencing has gone up on the west side of the 1600 Bayview Ave. block between Hillsdale and Soudan Aves. in preparation for the demolition of buildings there. The site will see construction of a seven-storey commercial, rental and condominium-mix structure. Storefronts at ground level will extend retail business on both sides of Bayview and quite likely improve activity in the north block. The developer is the Brown Group. SERRA posts compromise on deal for 1600 block of Bayview
South Eglinton Ratepayers and Residents Association has posted details of the compromise in the design of the commercial and residential building on the 1600 block of Bayview Ave between Hillsdale and Soudan Aves. The City’s resistance to the nine-storey plan offered by the owner, the Brown Group, led to negotiations which have yielded a seven-story plan which has been accepted by Council. Two residential properties at 701 Soudan and 720 Hillsdale East owned by Brown and intended for inclusion in the construction are now removed from the application for Official Plan Amendment. The height of the proposed development is limited to a maximum of seven storeys and 25.1 metres plus a maximum 4.0 metre mechanical penthouse. On floors three to six of the proposed development, on the Bayview frontage, the balconies will be recessed and not extend beyond the required setbacks.
STREETWALL EFFECT AND AGM PLANNED
One or more landscaped planters will be added and maintained on the terraces and balconies on the portions of the west facade of the building that extend beyond the 45-degree angular plane. Additional architectural treatment of the Bayview frontage of the proposed building is to emphasize the existing “streetwall character” of the Midtown Village character area of Bayview Avenue. These latter terms may befuddle laymen but it seems the idea is to make the building seem lower to those walking the street. SERRA thanks Councillor Josh Matlow (Ward 22) and the City’s planning staff, especially Giulio Cescato and David Driedger, for their work. The SERRA Annual General Meeting is Monday May 8, 2017, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Greenwood College School, 443 Mount Pleasant Rd., Toronto, ON, M4S 2L8. Doors open at 6 p.m. for attendees to register, renew memberships, enjoy refreshments and browse a number of information booths. The AGM will start at 7 p.m. and end at 9 p.m.
Meeting in gymnasium of Hodgson school
The lawyer for the Brown Group, developers pursuing the mixed-use commercial and residential proposal for Bayview between Hillsdale and Soudan, says the company will go to the Ontario Municipal Board if the plan presented to residents Monday night is not approved by Fall. Adam Brown spoke for the Brown Group at an ad hoc residents meeting at Hodgson Senior Public School about the company’s compromises over the nine storey concept it first proposed last year for the 1700 block of Bayview Ave. He outlined how in negotiating meetings with Josh Matlow (Ward 22) and City planners the plan has been scaled down to seven storeys from nine. There was a mood of gratitude toward the Brown Group for apparent concessions. Mr. Matlow outlined concerns about the creeping height of future buildings justified by precedents set now.
MIDTOWN IN FOCUS
The issue remains the City’s desire to finish the Midtown in Focus (MIF) plan which attempts to assess the state of services and the encroachment on residential properties from the Yonge and Eglinton across to Bayview and south to the cemetery. Stampeding development inspired by the LRT seems to be beyond the control of planners at the moment. The target for finishing MIF is January of 2017 but even City representatives present admitted that this window might easily be missed. That was on Mr. Brown’s mind too. The height of the building was always an issue and some residents at the lightly-attended meeting grumped that five or six storeys should have been enough. The office and medical building across Hillsdale at 1740 Bayview is five storeys and stands as the highest structure south of Eglinton with the exception of the 1960s Cardiff apartments at 1460 Bayview and Davisville which extends to seven storeys.
Concept as envisioned at seven storeys
Image of “revised” project at Bayview and Hillsdale
A meeting is set for Monday, May 16 at 7p.m. at Hodgson Senior P.S. gymnasium at 282 Davisville Ave to hear from the representatives of the Brown Group about a proposal to build on Bayview Ave. between Soudan and Hillsdale Aves. This project has been around for more than a year. Earlier meetings were met with opposition to the nine-storey height of the mixed-use concept. Josh Matlow (Ward 22) reports that the developer has made revisions to the original proposal and is prepared to discuss them. This revised proposal has yet to be submitted to City of Toronto staff for review. City Planning staff however will be present to answer technical questions pertaining to the revised plan.
Clicking on a symbol provides a brief explanation of the development and its status. This map does not appear to cover all proposals. Some, like 33 Laird are very new and others like the Brown Group proposal on Bayview Ave. between Soudan and Hillsdale Aves are just outside Leaside (across the street) but relevant.
The development on Bayview Ave between Soudan and Hillsdale Aves is much on the minds of residents in both Wards 22 and 26. An online petition has been started to demand that the so-called Bayview/Soudan development be required to conform to City bylaws, particularly that regarding height. It will be an instructive process as the owners of the property, the Brown Group, calculate the just what they will get from the City’s bottom line on that point. The unknown factor as always is the Ontario Municipal Board. It’s not likely that the rather forlorn properties in question will be left as they are if Brown can make money at five or six storeys. The more likely saw-off might be seven storeys. Meantime, tomorrow night (Tuesday April 28. 2015) a meeting is scheduled for discussion of the redevelopment of the Sunnybrook Plaza. That’s at the William Lea room at 7 p.m. Look for a discussion of the wet building grounds, evidence of the creek that still runs under the property.
