Bayview Avenue has long been an important hub of the neighbourhood.
Need a quick coffee? Head to Bayview. How about a mani-pedi, delicious meal or snack, a grocery shop, perhaps that gift you can’t find anywhere else, a chic haircut, or the latest style fitness class? Sporting equipment, real estate enquiries, drool-worthy clothes, big banks, or a new pair of shoes (I’m a size 6, if you’re asking)? Bayview has got it all.
But more than providing a diverse range of retail options, Bayview is a spot where neighbours come together. Whether it’s an intended or a chance encounter, Leaside’s “main street” has an undeniable vibe.
Within the next few months, the “strip” will be expanding, moving north, and putting down roots in a new development opening its doors to residents and businesses.
The Stack is a mixed-use development by The Brown Group at 1674-1684 Bayview (aka Bayview from Hillsdale to Soudan (the extension of Parkhurst)). At seven storeys high, the property offers 146 rental units along with street level retail.
The entire retail space on the ground floor has been leased to two retailers, The Sweet Potato, a natural foods grocery store, and Maker Pizza, a pizzeria with multiple locations across the city.
But this isn’t just a story about two new stores coming to Bayview. It’s about the march of retail north to a new area of the street, and setting precedent for development north of Soudan to Eglinton, where an even larger development promises more retail opportunities.
Amanda Chih with The Brown Group of Companies notes that “we believe that both The Sweet Potato and Maker Pizza will be great additions to the building and neighbourhood.”
This is a sentiment echoed by the Bayview-Leaside BIA. The association of commercial property owners and tenants in the area is excited by the arrival of new retailers for a myriad of reasons.
BIA coordinator Henry Byres notes that the addition of retail at The Stack will result in the “BIA being ‘evened-off’ at the north end. For so many decades, Bayview between Fleming and Parkhurst has been, at least in part, a single-sided main street. The addition of the retail means we will now have a double-sided main street for the full length of the block, which will encourage customers and clients to walk the entire length on both sides of the street.”
In addition to the strip being extended, Byres adds that “the design of the building’s commercial platform is attractive, and the window placement and rhythm lends itself to a traditional main street environment.”
With new retail and more choice for consumers, it is expected that more shoppers will choose Bayview – a win for all current (and future) retailers.
Watch for the new retailers to open in the near future and in the meantime, visit Bayview to shop local and to soak up all the neighbourly vibes Leaside’s main street has to offer.
