Office buildings at Evans Avenue and The West Mall could soon become 30 storey condos if approved.
Plans are underway to redevelop two landmark office buildings near Sherway Gardens into highrise condos.
A bid is taking place by owners Amexon Reality Inc., to re-designate the nine-storey buildings at 701 and 703 Evans Avenue from commercial to mixed use to build condos and office units.
The move will allow “currently permitted office uses as part of a comprehensive mixed use development featuring a combination of new and existing tall buildings.”
The office buildings are comprised of multiple levels of above grade parking. Surface parking areas surround both buildings including along the The West Mall and Evans Avenue street frontages.
The highly-visible office buildings with lots of parking has been a fixture near Sherway Gardens for decades.
“The re-designation of the property to mixed use would facilitate the opportunity to introduce residential uses as part of a development featuring new and existing tall buildings,” according to a planning document filed to the City.
The process to have the sited deemed mixed use is in the hearing stage. An open house was held in 2019.
A hearing was told the property should be deemed mixed use given its gateway location, frontage to existing major streets, proximity to an upcoming transit station and increasing residential development in the Sherway area.
The 701-703 Evans Avenue office buildings may soon become condos like these near Sherway.
The plan includes greenery like trees and landscaping planted along Evans Avenue, along with public art and a new park at the southwest corner of The West Mall and Evans Avenue.
It said the site is appropriate for tall buildings and further intensification of the area.
The site plan said that highrises up to 30 storeys can be built on the site.
No drawings or further details of the development has been released.
The site, which is a hectare large, now contains the two buildings, with a commercial gross floor area of 19,611 square metres. In addition to the offices, this portion of the land includes five levels of above-grade parking and one-storey of underground parking that is integrated with the office building.
Further details are pending.