Marlin Spring Developments and Greybrook Realty Partners have acquired a development property at 40-60 St. Lawrence Ave. in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, where the partners have submitted updated rezoning plans for a three-tower multires development.

The property is just south of The Queensway between Islington and Kipling Avenues. It's an area Marlin Spring knows well from several other acquisitions and projects.

“Given our earlier bet on The Queensway, this is just a natural continuation of the opportunity that we see for these projects," Marlin Spring CEO Pedro Lopes told RENX, "and for investors and purchasers alike to continue to invest in an area that has been very successfully growing and gentrifying over the last few years."

The unused site was acquired from Sobeys Capital Inc. for an undisclosed price on May 1.

Lopes said the previous owner planned to develop the property and had submitted an initial rezoning application to the City of Toronto, but eventually decided to sell the property.

The new owners have just submitted their own rezoning application to construct three condominium towers on the site, which is zoned industrial.

The towers would range in storeys from the mid-20s to the low-40s, emerging from a podium with commercial and retail space at grade.

Marlin Spring and Greybrook have yet to decide the number of units, but Lopes believes there will be approximately 1,000 to 1,200.

The proposed development will also include underground parking and a package of interior and exterior amenities. 

The site is located across from Senator Marian Maloney Park, within a short walk of restaurants, grocery stores, Costco, a Liquor Control Board of Ontario outlet and a Cineplex movie theatre.

It offers immediate access to the Gardiner Expressway and is a 15-minute drive to downtown Toronto and Mississauga. It's also a 10- to 15-minute bus ride to the Islington subway station. 

Lopes expects the approvals process to take 16 to 24 months. He would like to put units on sale as soon as possible after that if market conditions are favourable and interest rates are stable.

The Marlin Spring-Greybrook partnership

Toronto-based Greybrook invests equity on behalf of individual and institutional investors in large-scale developments.

Its North American real estate portfolio includes more than 60 million square feet of projected density with an estimated completion value of $30 billion.

Lopes said Marlin Spring and Greybrook share the same objectives in creating development and investment opportunities, which is why they’ve also partnered on other developments, including: 

• the 10-storey, 242-unit Stockyards District Residences at 2306 St. Clair Ave. W., which was completed last year; 
• a condo at 2231 St. Clair Ave. W. that's in the planning and approvals stage and is proposed to have 276 units;
• a condo at 2255-2283 St. Clair Ave. W. that’s in the planning and approvals stage and is proposed to have 511 units;
• the 16-storey, 256-unit House of Assembly, which is under construction at 158 Sterling Rd.;
• 36- and 20-storey condos at 1978-2002 Lake Shore Blvd. W. that will go to market this year and include 61 affordable units;
• a 284-unit mid-rise condo at 1045-1049 The Queensway that could go on sale this fall depending on market conditions; 
• a 316-unit high-rise condo at 5-19 Cosburn Ave. that's at the pre-construction stage;
• a 422-unit townhome community that's under construction at 1521 19th Ave. in Richmond Hill;
• and a 91-unit townhome community that's under construction at Pine Valley Drive and Major Mackenzie Drive West in Vaughan.

Lopes praised Greybrook for providing a fresh take on what’s happening in the market due to its executives’ extensive market knowledge and relationships with those working in the development industry and for the City of Toronto.

“This (St. Lawrence Avenue) project is a natural extension of what we've done with them (Greybrook) in the past and what we continue to do now,” Lopes said.

“I think it's a relationship that we'll continue to strengthen in the years to come.”

More Marlin Spring projects in south Etobicoke

Marlin Spring acquired its first Queensway property in early 2017 and has since purchased more along the street and in southern Etobicoke in general. Among the properties are:

• The Tailor, a 10-storey, 140-unit condo at 1197 The Queensway. Its units are all sold and occupancy should begin very soon;
• Curio, an 11-storey, 146-unit condo at 801 The Queensway that will be developed with DAMAC Properties. Construction is about to begin;
• a proposed 12-storey condo near Dundas Street West and Royal York Road;
• a proposed 59-storey condo with approximately 650 units and three levels of underground parking at 2189 Lake Shore Blvd. W., near Park Lawn Road, which is currently the site of a gas station.

Marlin Spring previously owned a property on Zorra Street, just south of The Queensway between Islington and Kipling, which it entitled before selling to Altree Developments.

Altree’s 36-storey, 459-unit Thirty Six Zorra condo is nearing completion.

The Marlin Spring Group

Toronto-based The Marlin Spring Group is one of Canada’s largest privately owned real estate firms, with a portfolio of more than 18,000 units in various stages of development, construction, repositioning and completion.

That represents more than 16.5 million square feet of gross floor area in seven North American markets with a completion value of more than $9.5 billion.

Marlin Spring Developments is Marlin Spring’s dedicated operating company for the development and construction of residential real estate in the Greater Toronto Area.

Its portfolio consists of approximately 10,000 units at different stages of development.

“We're just going to keep our heads down and continue to do what we do best, which is to deliver projects on time and on schedule and to deliver units to a market that needs them desperately,” Lopes said.