Toronto Beer Store location would be ripped down for huge condo tower

Toronto locations of the Beer Store are dropping like flies following Doug Ford's expansion of alcohol sales to grocery and convenience stores, and another brick-and-mortar outpost of the once-ubiquitous brew shop is preparing to bite the dust.

A development application has been filed to redevelop the existing Beer Store at 3130 Danforth Ave, along with its associated surface parking lot at 3150 Danforth.

While no closing date has been announced, it would mark just the latest in a growing list of Beer Store closures.

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Developer Crombie REIT hopes to tear down the current retail space and replace it with a 36-storey condo tower designed by architects Arcadis.

With a proposed height of 116.7 metres, excluding mechanical penthouse space, the tower is planned to rise far taller than anything else that exists in the neighbourhood today.

While the proposed height may end up ruffling some feathers among locals, the plan is located just a few hundred metres from Victoria Park subway station, an area ripe for redevelopment.

The plan aims to add new housing options in this pocket of the city with the addition of 483 homes. Most of the planning documents filed are nonspecific about the tenure of the units, though one file buried deep in the submission does indeed identify this project as a condominium development versus rental housing.

However, with current average GTA condo prices hovering at $678,048, it remains to be seen how affordability — or a lack thereof — will factor into this development.

Of more interest to non-residents, plans also call for 678 square meters of ground-floor retail space in an area currently dominated by auto-centric businesses and lacking much in the way of pedestrian-friendly street-fronting retail.

Subway access is cited as a contributor to the density the developer is asking for at this site, though, despite proximity to transit, the project team still expects a large share of residents to rely on cars to get around town.

Plans call for a two-level underground parking garage that contains 146 vehicle parking spaces, including 23 visitor spaces and 13 accessible parking spaces. A sizeable bike parking component is also planned, with 364 bicycle parking spaces contemplated.

The proposal was filed in late April, and will soon be circulated among City staff as it embarks on its path through Toronto's planning and approvals process.