Skale Developments has high hopes for The Bluffs, a 182-unit condo on a full-block site in Scarborough that principal Armaan Salek said represents an opportunity to make a big statement on an overlooked stretch of Kingston Road.

Salek assembled the land for The Bluffs — a nine-storey building at 2815 Kingston Road with 3K SF of retail — five years ago.

The property comprised two parcels: one side vacant, the other occupied by an auto body shop and rundown fast-food restaurant.

The plan had been to develop just the vacant site on its own. But the opportunity arose for Salek's group to acquire the second property and make it a full city-block project, better suited to trigger the transformation of an underutilized section of Kingston Road.

“It’s a blank slate on the brink of revitalization.” (Skale is also developing a 16-storey, 146-unit condo at 1181 Queen St. W.)

To ensure the The Bluffs had full impact, Skale tapped architects RAW and interior designers figure3, instructing them to push the design envelope.

“We’re taking an edgier approach, not unlike a New York-SoHo vibe,” said figure3 residential vice president Dominic De Freitas, and the project blends industrial (exposed brick and concrete) with luxe (gold, bronze and glass finishes).

Salek said the design of The Bluffs is key because he wants the building, slated for 2021 completion, to showcase the area’s potential for new residential development.

“We’re looking at other sites in the area that we hope to bring online eventually, and we see this one as the trailblazer.”