Seven-block set of apartment towers proposed for Pickering

Pickering may be getting a few new blocks of apartment buildings with some reaching 43 storeys tall.

Turner Fleischer Architects and Bayfield Realty Advisors have pitched the Pickering Design Centre, a seven-block complex of a master-planned, mixed-use community to go into 1755 Pickering Parkway.

Currently, the address is home to a large plaza of numerous shops near Highway 401 and Brock Road. These include Staples, Goodlife Fitness, the Amish Furniture store and numerous others. The shops are but a single storey and take up nearly 95,000 square feet. The plan is to persevere these stores in the redevelopment.

According to Urban Toronto, the project involves multiple phases which will take several years to complete. The first such phase involves two 31-storey towers. The towers will be linked at the bottom and contain 678 apartments. The 31-storey towers will be joined at the base with a seven-storey podium

Turner Fleischer first applied to build in 2022. However, the city allowed a review in 2023 to Turner Fleischer to fill the entire site with the tower complex. According to the plans, the site will feature more than 341,000 square metres for residential use and nearly 27,000 square metres of commercial space.

In total, this will include nearly 5,250 apartments and a public park. The site is a long way to completion though. Turner Fleischer estimates the first phase will be finished by 2026. However, the full project will take at least another ten years.