Toronto condo proposed to replace strip mall has more than doubled in height

A tired-looking suburban strip mall in Scarborough is proposed to be torn down and replaced with a new condo development — one that just took a huge vertical leap from a vision proposed almost two years earlier.

The existing plaza at 1260 Kennedy Road is in the crosshairs of developer Dolrob Properties, seeking to upsize its land with a tower far taller than anything in the neighbourhood today.

Currently home to several businesses that include an Asian grocery store, a Jamaican restaurant, and a shawarma restaurant, the strip mall is proposed to be levelled to make way for new condos and retail space.

The current retail plaza at 1260 Kennedy Road. Google Street View.

Dolrob has retained Icon Architects to design a new condo tower for the site, an ambitious increase from an earlier mid-rise vision designed by the firm.

First proposed in 2022, the project was initially tabled as a 12-storey building before the team went back to the drawing board, resulting in a much larger plan resubmitted with the City in late June.

The 2022 plan for the site featured a similar footprint, but was roughly half the height.

What was previously proposed as a mid-rise is now back before planning staff as a 26-storey structure, more than doubling in height through the addition of 14 more storeys in a totally reconfigured package. Getting a bit more specific, the 2022 plan asked for a height of just over 43 metres, while the current proposal seeks a height of almost 88 metres.

The plan calls for 325 condominium units atop a base containing approximately 722 square metres of new retail space. While the plan indeed maintains a foothold for retail on this site, there is no current indication that any of the current businesses will be moving back in post-redevelopment.

Locals are set to lose the plaza if the development goes through, though the project does promise a future community space measuring 93 square metres. However, this space's use is not specified in current blueprints.

The community may be less pleased to learn that the project would add parking for 134 cars, which could factor into local traffic. The project also proposes 272 bicycle parking spaces, though cycling infrastructure in the area isn't exactly abundant in this semi-suburban area — so we'll see how that goes.