Plans are in place to transform one of the last movie theatres in the community into a field of high-rise condos, what else.
One of the last movie theatres in South Etobicoke may soon become a field of high-rise condos.
An application has been made to redevelop the sprawling Cineplex Cinemas Queensway site, at 1025 The Queensway, into 10 condo towers ranging up to 46 storeys in height.
The Queensway and Islington Avenue gathering spot for many for decades has been a mainstay in the community since 2001.
The 20-screen theatre, like many, has been struggling to re-attract new audiences since being pummeled by the pandemic.
Plans call for the Cineplex Cinemas Queensway to be demolished to construct 10 condo towers with a park in the centre.
It will join others like The Westwood Theatre, which is being demolished to build thousands of units of affordable housing, near the new Etobicoke Civic Centre, in the Six Points area.
The redeveloped Cineplex is slated to become a master plan community with a mix of residential, commercial, institutional, and public spaces across a series of buildings ranging from 7 to 46 storeys.
It is now in the hearing stages as necessary permits have to be obtained, if approved by Etobicoke York Community Council, before construction can begin.
Plans were filed with the City of Toronto in late May to begin the project, which will feature a north-south and east-west roads connecting the buildings.
The cinema’s vast surface parking lot containing 1,277 parking spaces, is set to be redeveloped into the new complex that will include a new park.
The proposal calls for a master planned community with two roads, shops and more than 4,000 residential units.
A plan feature towers with heights of 46, 43, 43, 39, 37, 33, 31, 25, 25 and 18 storeys, plus a pair of mid-rise commercial buildings rising seven floors.
The developer proposes to construct a whopping 4,328 residential units to occupy a majority of the site’s combined total of over 346,000 square metres of floor space.
Almost 22,000 square metres of space would be dedicated to employment uses within the mid-rise buildings, along with over 2,500 square metres of retail and daycare space.
The towers will be anchored by a central 4,347 square metre public park and two blocks of privately-owned-publicly accessible spaces.
The north end of the complex fronting The Queensway is already in the process of being constructed as Verge Condominiums by RioCan Living that will be about 17 storeys tall.
The site is situated near significant transportation arteries including the Gardiner
Area residents argue the Cineplex redevelopment area is already congested and lacks the infrastructure to accommodate the thousands of new residents who will be moving in.
Expressway directly south and Highway 427 to the west.
That area of The Queensway is deemed a development zone and tall condos are planned to the east and west of the cinema.
Residents of the area are not impressed with the project and have taken to social media to voice their concerns.
Area dwellers say the area is already congested and lacks the infrastructure for the thousands of new residents who will be moving in.
More than 4,300 residential units will be built in the new condos which is now in the planning stages.
“Talk about jamming as much as you can within a space that is surrounded by two roads and a highway,” ilovetrees wrote. “The infrastructure is not set up and never will be to support this massive amounts of people.”
Another writer said traffic will become an even worst nightmare considering parts of the Gardiner Expressway is already under construction for three years.
Bettercities point out that Islington Avenue is already congested and it will get worst with cars doing a shortcut through the development.
“This is how condos have been killing the scene because they don’t bring back the businesses they killed in the first place,” wrote Nana AkaJerz Okyere. “At least bring the cinema back in the podium geez.”