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The city has approved a proposed official plan settlement for the Celestica site at 844 Don Mills Road and project partner Stephen Diamond calls it a “significant step forward” in the 60-acre property’s redevelopment.
Previous city policies didn’t allow residential on these designated employment lands; the settlement allows for the site’s easterly portion to remain for employment use, while the western side is mixed-use. Stephen tells us the city's OK'ing the proposal sets the stage for the firm to finalize its design and proceed with a more fulsome zoning application, noting Celestica just signed a deal to anchor a new office tower on the site.
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Celestica staying put (it’s taking 100k SF) is good news for everybody, says Stephen, whose firm, Diamond Corp, acquired the property last year with Lifetime Developments and Context Development, for $137M.
The JV envisions a community with office, retail and high-rise and low-rise residential buildings. (Celestica will be leasing its existing HQ and manufacturing operations from the consortium for a two-year term, rent-free.) Diamond will finance its 25% portion of the redevelopment via its New Urban Fund 3, which is also behind The Well.
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Speaking of The Well (above), the 3M SF mixed-use project that Diamond is JV'ing on with RioCan REIT and Allied Properties REIT also took a big step forward this week with the announcement of plans for a new GO Transit station at Front and Spadina.
This comes on the heels of the city’s approval of The Well's official plan, notes Stephen. While he won’t dish on rumours the JV is getting close to a deal with an anchor for the project’s 36-storey office tower, 410 Front, Stephen says they expect to have zoning completed this fall, clearing the way for construction. “It’s just around the corner.”
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