Loblaws About to Return to West Block Retail, Office, and Residential Complex – Urban Toronto

Built in 1928, abandoned in 2000, and meticulously disassembled in 2016, the Loblaws Groceterias warehouse at Bathurst Street and Lake Shore Boulevard West in Downtown Toronto is soon to be reborn in both the figurative and literal sense as part of Choice Properties'West Block Est. 1928retail and office complex. Four years after the building's brick-by-brick disassembly and cataloguing, a process overseen by heritage expertsERA Architects,the rebuilt and expanded buildingincluding anarchitectsAlliance-designed office structure atop the reconstructed heritage facadesis now preparing to welcome its first tenants.

Looking northeast to West Block, image by Forum contributor Red Mars

Among the businesses set to populate the retail space is namesake grocery store Loblaws, who are just days away from opening their new flagship at this location. Signage for Shoppers Drug Mart has also appeared in recent weeks, while clothing retailer Joe Fresh is also gearing upto open its doors in the building.

Looking northwest to West Block, image by Forum contributor Red Mars

The completed reconstitution of the exterior walls includes restored brick and limestone finishes(which we covered in greater detail in anearlier article covering the project).Another more recent detail that has added to the overall aesthetic is the addition of medallion motif window blinds on the second and third floors of the reconstituted warehouse, prominent along the main Lake Shore Boulevard elevation.

Looking north to West Block, image by Forum contributor Red Mars

Loblaws will occupy 4,000 ft of the ground floor, while Shoppers will occupy 12,000 ft, and Joe Fresh6,400 ft. Loblaws is taking the entire 45,000 ft footprint of the second floor, along with a 1,650 ft mezzanine above. In total, there is 101,378 ftof retail and 160,989 ft of office space at the site. Along the ground floor's Lake Shore Boulevard frontage,smaller spaces are set to include a 1,400 ft cafe and an 1,800 ft office lobby.

Meanwhile,thetwoIBI Group-designed condo towers developed byConcord Adexto the north are also wrapping up construction. Known asThe LakeFront and The LakeShore, the 37 and 41-storey towers are now welcoming their first residents, evidenced by a sign along Bathurst directing residents to a pickup location for their suite keys.While the towers are practically complete, work continues on various elements at the base of the towers, including a two-storey restaurant space set to front Bathurst Street in the base of the west condo tower.

Looking east across Bathurst Street to condo towers, image by Forum contributor Red Mars

Other finishesare beling applied to other retail spacesalong Bathurst andbelow the Gardiner Expressway in a couple of standalone buildings, with a group of four commercial retail units sized at 913 ft, 1,653 ft, 7,599 ft, and 8,858 ft.

Panorama looking northeast from condo drive aisle, image by Forum contributor Red Mars

The Loblaws and Shoppers Drug Martare currently aiming for an August 28 opening.

Additional information about this development can be found in our Database file for the project, linked below. Want to join the conversation? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

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Loblaws About to Return to West Block Retail, Office, and Residential Complex - Urban Toronto