For months, Streetcar Developments (the group behind Leslieville's Taylor and Carlaw projects, among others) has been quietly buying up chunks of Riverside property, including the Toyota dealership at 677 Queen St. East and the adjacent Tippet-Richardson lot, as well as the neighbourhood's landmark New Broadview Hotel. The busy developer's plan for the area? An ambitious new project called Riverside Square, consisting of three 24-storey towers with both condo and rental units and thousands of square feet of commercial and office space (one of the neighbourhood's juiciest rumours sees US-based upscale health food retailer Whole Foods Market moving into the project as the site's anchor grocery tenant). Streetcar are also promising pedestrian and cycling connections to Corktown Common just across the Don River (could the old Eastern Avenue bridge be restored?), and they also plan to increase the area's green space.
Riverdale Square's site will be bounded by Queen Street East to the north, the East Don Roadway to the west and Eastern Avenue to the south (got that?). Streetcar has already begun engaging locals in the project, from asking their opinions on the New Broadview Hotel's future to delivering letters to residents with detailed information on the current plan.
· Streetcar plans largest development in Riverside history [Spring Realty]
· Riverside Square discussion thread [Urban Toronto]
· A sneak peek at the auction that stripped Jilly's bare [Curbed Toronto]
· Riverside posts archive [Curbed Toronto]