A welcome splash of colour for the Beach
Seven-storey condo project hopes to give neighbours a sense of community
Not only is the Beach getting a new condo development, but it will also be home to new local businesses.
Beach Hill Residences is slated to open a seven-storey, 64-unit mid-rise on the southeast corner of Woodbine Ave. and Gerard St. in 2015, with retail space on the lower level.
But as a reflection of community values, don’t expect big-box stores in this locale.
Naram Mansour, president of Carlyle Communities, who’s spearheading the development, says Beach Hill will have 3,300 square feet of retail space to offer local business, and stresses his aversion to big-box retail. He says they have already been approached by many local retailers, and that local denizens have a predilection for supporting small business.
“We could easily rent it out to one individual, but it isn’t really what we’re looking to do here,” Mansour says.
“Mid-rise development, in my opinion, is very community-based and I don’t think communities are generated by having access to one large tenant,” he explains.
“It would be preferable if they had three to five different options; potentially one local restaurant, potentially some type of neighbourhood grocery store, things of that nature.”
With more than half of the units already sold, the building includes studios, one- and two-bedroom condos, in addition to penthouses. All are wide, shallow units designed to maximize light. They’re between 483 and 1,009 square feet and range in price from $240,900 to $514,900.
The site is close to the Gerrard streetcar, Woodbine subway station, an express bus downtown and the Danforth GO station.
Beach Hill hopes to invoke a sense of community among the 64 condo owners, with a lounge area, a party room, a large communal terrace on the third floor and a gym. Even the exterior will make use of warm colours.
“We were looking for the building to have a sense of colour and fun to it,” says Roland Rom Colthoff, director of Raw Design. “We wanted it to be light and bright and to pop in relation to the neighbourhood, by using medium tone white, grey and black, and accent it with green to make it friendly.”
The local neighbourhood association has embraced Beach Hill Residences.
“The neighbourhood really believes that this stretch has been underserved,” says Mansour. “We tried to make it a community development in every essence. They are happy with this development because they believe this will kick-start some positive attention for the intersection.”
For info, go to beachhillresidences.com.