District Profile – The Rise of Mid-Toronto (Yorkdale, Castlefield & Caledonia)

For a number of years now we have seen many changes in the Mid-Toronto Industrial Area (bordered with Hwy 401, Dufferin St, Castlefield Ave, and Caledonia Rd) with older, obsolete buildings becoming warehouse retail or flex office/studio space and abundant with high-end retailers, thus demanding increase in net rental rates and higher valuations.

It all started about 30 years ago when Elte moved into the area and took over a 100,000 sq. ft., old warehouse. This made it one of the first luxury warehouse showrooms in the District.

Elte Store on Ronald Ave. – Credit to blogTO’s article on Elte

Today and looking forward, the most notable changes that we are seeing come from the following three areas – which we will expand on in following articles – but let’s do a quick overview :

  • Mixed Use Residential – Redevelopment of the Yorkdale Mall site and mixed-use projects along Dufferin Street from Hwy 401 to Lawrence Avenue.

Artistic Representation – Yorkdale Mall – Dufferin Street Frontage

  • Retail Warehouse Projects – Conversions of a number of industrial sites to new showrooms for Muti Kitchen and Bath, Import Temptations, Elte, Gingers, Shelter Furniture, Imperial Carpet and Home, Barrymore Furniture, and The Art Shoppe as well as the highly anticipated, brand-new addition of the Maison Corbeil showroom in Spring 2019.

885 Caledonia Road – Shelter Furniture Showroom

  • Self Storage Facilities – Development of new sites for Apple Self Storage on Bridgeland Avenue, Dymon Storage on Dufferin Street, and Peerage Storage on Fairbanks Avenue, just off of Castlefield Avenue.

3621 Dufferin Street, proposed mixed use with self storage component

As a result, very few industrial buildings continue to be occupied by industrial users in the area from Hwy 401 to Castlefield Ave, and from Dufferin Street to Keele Street.

In the short to mid-term, we expect to see further changes including a rise in building heights and density, an increase in population, and a rise in both net rental rates and property valuations.

Look out for more in-depth neighbourhood analysis in our upcoming posts/articles.

To be continued…

 

Goran Brelih and his team have been servicing Investors and Occupiers of Industrial properties in Toronto Central and Toronto North markets for the past 25 years.

For more information on GTA Industrial Real Estate Market or to discuss how they can assist you with your real estate needs please contact Goran at 416-756-5456, email at goran.brelih@cushwake.com, or visit www.goranbrelih.com.