G3
GERRARD SQUARE REDEVELOPMENT
A THREE-PHASE PROPOSAL TO TRANSFORM AN OUTDATED MALL INTO A COMPLETE COMMUNITY.
GROUP SUBMISSION
A 3-phase redevelopment project of Gerrard Square, an underutilized mall with excess parking space in Toronto’s East End. The site was selected as it offers: flexibility in design; frontage on two streets; limited physical constraints; opportunity for greater density as it's in an MTSA zone (within 500m of the proposed Ontario Line Gerrard Station); and an opportunity to help reposition an outdated shopping centre.
The main focus of the project was Phase 1, which envisioned a mixed-use 21-storey build with direct connection to the existing mall and live/work townhomes accessible at grade. Emphasis was on creating an animated street front off Gerrard St. E., providing a lively public commons and highly visible market space. The reinvigoration of the existing retail space (currently a "dead" mall) would be accomplished by shaking up the retail strategy; securing coveted anchor tenants (ex. IKEA) and adding supportive services (ex. medical offices) would not only support locals, but attract visitors from across the GTA.
Objective: Work on a group-based development case aimed at (re)developing a site to maximize value creation for all stakeholders. The ultimate development concept (the “Proposal”) was refined through a series of four submissions.
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Submission A: Preliminary design brief, site ID, market analysis, and development plans
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Submission B: Refined site & legal constraints, development plans, and project economics
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Submission C/D: Further refinement of based on feedback from industry mentors (Ms. Naama Blonder and Mr. Marcus Bertagnolli) and the professor (Prof. Avis Devigne).
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Final Submission: Last iteration of the design based on professor, mentor and presentation feedback. The output was [Part 1] a presentation pitch and [Part 2] the research report.
Personal Contribution: being active in ideation and collective brainstorming; responsible for all 3D visuals and plans; responsible for site context and planning research, writing up corresponding sections in the report; responsible for new leasing strategy proposal; responsible for presentation design/creation; overall report editing.
Note: Project financials (the pro forma, assumptions and scenario analysis) were overseen by team members. Project inputs and scheduling considerations were discussed as a group.
Technology Used:
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Ratio.City for preliminary research and property data;
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Sketchup and Photoshop for the massing model, renders, phasing plan, site programming plan, retail leasing plan;
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PowerPoint to create the presentation.
1010-1080 Gerrard St. East, Toronto, ON
The following images are a selection of slides from the group's final presentation. Click on the large image to view in expand mode.