Mehan Group Ltd. and its affiliated companies have assembled a portfolio of properties valued at more than $200 million across Ontario, and it’s preparing to launch its biggest development at 2655 Lawrence Ave. E. in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough.

President Sunil Mehan was born in India in 1963, moved to the United Kingdom in 1985, and started a real estate business there in 1998 that involved building houses and buying and renovating pubs.

His Canadian real estate activity began in 2005. At the time he was still based in the U.K. and started buying and selling Canadian properties -- without first seeing them in person.

“If something is of interest to me, I’ll buy it,” Mehan told RENX. “I’m still looking for opportunities.”

That included the 2.88-acre 2655 Lawrence Ave. E. site east of Midland Avenue that was acquired for $3.15 million in 2007. It's the site of a 28,000-square-foot building that's currently occupied by a commercial strip plaza with close to 60 tenants, including restaurants, a used car dealership, automotive repair shops, offices and a grocery store.

Plans for 2655 Lawrence Ave. E.

An application to the City of Toronto to replace the Lawrence Avenue plaza with a mixed-use development with 425 residential units and approximately 21,800 square feet of commercial space was originally submitted in 2008. 

More applications have since followed and rezoning approval for the site was recently granted to accommodate: 

• a 32-storey purpose-built rental apartment with 356 units;
• a 20-storey building with 230 residential units and 11,480 square feet of commercial space;
• a combined 514 vehicle and 643 bicycle parking spaces; and
• 12,637 square feet of indoor amenity space, plus 12,615 square feet of outdoor amenity space.  

Mehan Group’s previous studies must be updated and site-plan approval is still needed.

The 32-storey apartment is to be constructed first and Mehan said the market will dictate whether the second building will be rental or a condominium. He’s aiming to have the first building completed within five years.

While Mehan Group utilizes bank financing, it doesn’t have any outside investors. 

“I really don’t like to borrow too much,” Mehan said. “I have good equity and good cash flow.”

Other Mehan Group properties

Mehan Group owns other Ontario properties in the Greater Toronto Area as well as in Welland, St. Catharines, Kincardine, London, Sault Ste. Marie and Prince Edward County. Among them are: 

• the recently opened 58,000-square-foot K1 Speed indoor go-kart facility at an 11-acre plaza it owns at 333 Ontario St. in St. Catharines, with other tenants including Tim Hortons, Boston Pizza, AeroSports St. Catharines, Gymnastics Energy and Booster Juice;
• a 4.79-acre site at 792 Broadway St. in Kincardine occupied by McDonald's, Kelly Jennings and a Canadian Tire gas station;
• a 10-acre site with a 100,000-square-foot, 11-unit commercial building at 784-820 Wharncliffe Rd. in London where tenants include Canadian Blood Services, Herm's Sports Exchange, Mission Thrift Store and AeroSports;
• a GoodLife Fitness centre in a 28,500-square-foot building on a 3.85-acre lot at 589 Second Line E. in Sault Ste. Marie;
• and Isaiah Tubbs Resort and Conference Centre, a 22-acre property with 2,000 feet fronting West Lake near Sandbanks Provincial Park in Prince Edward County.

Mehan Group purchased Isaiah Tubbs in 2022. Thirty guest rooms are being renovated, the reception area is being moved from one building to another, more guest rooms will be added, and a new structure with an indoor pool and small water park will be built to make it more of a year-round resort than a seasonal one.

A new lending subsidiary, Mehan Capital Inc., has also been created to finance new deals.

“I like to be busy,” Mehan said. “If there’s nothing much to do, I get bored.”