New retail centre coming to south Etobicoke

Six gold ceremonial shovels dug into the soil at 150 Berry Rd. recently, marking the start of construction of The Shoppes at Stonegate, a new 32,000-sq.-ft., two-storey retail building being developed and constructed by Vandyk group of companies. Located at the corner of Berry Road and Stephen Drive in the Sunnylea-Stonegate community of south Etobicoke, The Shoppes at Stonegate will be the retail anchor of Vandyk’s master-planned redevelopment, Backyard Neighbourhood Condos, which launched earlier this year.

In attendance were Vandyk staff members, tenants and trade partners as well as purchasers of The Humberside, the first residential building in the Backyard Condos community, which is now over 80 per cent sold.

The community has been anticipating the start of construction at this historic site, which in its heyday was a neighbourhood plaza and community hub. Vandyk purchased the property in 2013 and after much consultation with the City and community, created a vision to reintegrate a new and improved anchor to the community that would include local shopping, medical services and housing.

The first group of key stakeholders to hold the gold shovels were John C. Vandyk, president and CEO of Vandyk; Justin Di Ciano, Ward 5 City Councillor; Peter Milczyn, MPP Etobicoke-Lakeshore; Domenic Zita, executive vice-president at Vandyk; Richard Ma, chief financial officer at Vandyk; and Sherman Chan, vice-president of Acquisitions and Development at Vandyk.

Mr. Vandyk shared some words about the significance of this milestone celebration. “This is a momentous occasion, not only for Vandyk group of companies but for the long-standing Sunnylea-Stonegate neighbourhood. It’s the start of something really special for this community.”

The Shoppes at Stonegate offers ground-level retail units starting from 1,200 sq. ft. Already leased on the ground floor is IDA Pharmacy & Clinic as well as the Berry Road Food Co-op, an initiative highly endorsed by Councillor Di Ciano and MPP Milczyn. The Berry Road Food Co-op, led by a volunteer Board of Directors, is a not-for-profit food grocer that will focus on providing local and affordable food options to the surrounding community.

Also at The Shoppes at Stonegate is the Stonegate Community Health Centre (SCHC), which has leased the entire second floor of the building.

“The Stonegate Community Health Centre has been in the community for 26 years providing a full range of health care to the community,” says Beverly Leaver, executive director of SCHC. “We’re really excited about moving into our new home at The Shoppes at Stonegate because it will give us a chance to have a health centre that is the size that we need it to be. We will be able to offer medical care to far more people.”

Vandyk has received great interest and The Shoppes at Stonegate is over 90 per cent leased. Tenant occupancy is expected for summer 2017.

For more information on this development, visit online at vandyk.com and vandykretail.com.