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A new condo and retail development in Toronto’s southern core aims to render the Gardiner Expressway irrelevant by breathing new life into unused, forgotten space below.

The project, on a plot of land owned by Loblaw Properties Ltd. at Lakeshore and Bathurst, centres around an art deco building that served as the grocery giant’s main operation centre until the 1970s.

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The proposal is to dismantle the existing heritage building and reconstruct it using salvaged components of the same site, in order to house a new Loblaws. Another four storeys will be added to the structure for commercial uses.

Two condo towers, 40 and 44 storeys, would be built next door, with retail on the ground floor, while a courtyard and retail entrance would spring up under the Gardiner, said Peter Clewes, the architect behind the design.

“I think [it] is kind of cool, to be building under the Gardiner,” said Mr. Clewes on Wednesday, after the Toronto East York Community Council gave the project a preliminary green light.