A beloved dim sum restaurant in the heart of Toronto’s Chinatown may have to close down in the near future after its landlord submitted an application late last month to municipal officials to redevelop the property into a 13-storey mixed-use building.

If the application is approved by the City of Toronto, the new building at 315-325 Spadina Ave. will be home to 239 apartments, including 54 studios, 118 double studios, 11 one-bedrooms, 31 two-bedrooms and 25 three-bedrooms, alongside 987 square metres of commercial space.

Rol San Restaurant, located next to Ding Dong Pastries & Cafe between Baldwin and D’Arcy Sts., has been a staple of Chinese food in the downtown core since 1994, attracting customers from across the city with its big neon displays and bright red sign advertising all-day dim sum.

In June, a company named 315 Spadina Facility Inc. bought the building for $27 million.

The proposed mixed-use development was designed by Montgomery Sisam, known as the team behind the University of Toronto’s Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Southdown Institute in Holland Landing, Ont.

Bernard Luttmer, a developer who is leading the project in partnership with fellow developer Barry Hauer, told the Star on Tuesday their main goal is to provide more housing in the area with retail space at the base of the building, adding their teams believe there is a “high demand” from area professionals for studio-type units in the neighbourhood.

“Obviously Rol San is a very popular spot,” he noted. “We’ve already had discussions with them and hope that they will take a space in the new building when it’s built and remain in the community. We’re working hard to make that a reality.” He said that the developers are also “not looking to increase the rent significantly” for commercial tenants.

Luttmer added that although they have spoken with the current tenants to discuss future options, he said not all the tenants may return because of plans to keep some retail spaces small.

Rol San did not have anyone immediately available to comment.

Tema Smith, a longtime Toronto resident who grew up in Chinatown and has frequented Rol San for more than two decades, said she was disappointed when she heard about the restaurant’s potential closure and possible redevelopment.

“It feels like such an institution,” she said. “I was really shocked and disappointed at how it would change the character of Chinatown.”

According to a Heritage Impact Assessment from ERA Architects, the site does not have a special nor unique architectural style, and is not considered a landmark in the area. Their report also notes that “although occupants are associated with Toronto’s Chinatown community, preliminary research into the property has not revealed any links of particular importance.”

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But for Smith, the restaurant remains personally significant. After getting violently sick during the late 2013 ice storm, Smith’s mother decided to bring her to her favourite restaurant in Chinatown, her first big outing once she’d started to recover. “She and I went to Rol San and she takes this ridiculous picture of me holding a sesame ball,” she said. “It was like I was finally feeling better.”

Councillor Mike Layton, who represents part of the Chinatown area and lived a couple blocks away from the restaurant, said it is tough to potentially see Rol San close down.

“It’s really, it’s unfortunate that (we may be) losing what is an institution along Spadina,” he said.

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Layton added that he hopes the developer will include affordable housing within the new building, and noted the proposed units in the building — the studios and the double studios — “are too small.”

Luttmer said their team is in discussions with the city, but do not know yet exactly what their plans are for affordable units.

Rol San’s famous patrons include Canadian animator Domee Shi, who won an Academy Award for her Pixar short Bao earlier this year and stopped at Rol San for a press tour, and Toronto Raptors player Serge Ibaka, who was spotted at the restaurant in May after the team’s big win against the Milwaukee Bucks to advance to the NBA Finals.