![\"157-bathurst-street](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/157-bathurst-street-2-compressed.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: Google<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nToronto-based builders Carlyle Communities<\/a> and CentreStone Urban Developments<\/a> have purchased several Bathurst Street properties totalling approximately 8,000 square feet on the western edge of the city\u2019s Fashion District with plans for an 18-storey residential tower on the site.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything south of Adelaide is already developed, so we saw this as kind of a strategic opportunity to grab the last remaining parcel on Bathurst between King and Queen,\u201d says Carlyle Communities President Naram Mansour of the acquisition.<\/p>\n The land deal, which closed about a month ago, includes five row houses from 149 to 157 Bathurst Street.<\/p>\n RAW Design<\/a>, which was behind Carlyle Communities’ Beach Hill Residences, currently under construction in the Upper Beaches, will also take on this project\u2019s design, confirms Mansour. He says the high-rise development will be a \u201cunique boutique-style development\u201d that\u2019s \u201cmore forward-design-esque.\u201d<\/p>\n Mansour also revealed it will include \u201cgive or take 150 units,\u201d though the type of dwelling the structure will include is not yet clear. \u201cThe one thing that we haven\u2019t fully decided is whether we\u2019re going to go rental or condo on this project,\u201d explains Mansour.<\/p>\n The builders are mulling purpose-built rental units in part because of the strong demand for rental in Toronto \u2014 the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation pegged the vacancy rate at 1.6 per cent in October, well below the 3.3 per cent national average \u2014 as well as the appeal the neighbourhood has for renters.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe this neighbourhood commands a real premium for rental,\u201d says Mansour.<\/p>\n Compounding this is the fact that the Upper Beaches project gave Carlyle Communities a taste for rentals. \u201cWe now have familiarity with that process. Between my partners and I, there\u2019s a history in owning rental buildings and managing them,\u201d notes Mansour.<\/p>\n \u201cWe like that business, and we\u2019d like to do more of it if we could, but obviously we\u2019re particular to the location and the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n The Fashion District, sometimes labelled the Garment District, is part of a former industrial pocket of Toronto that also spans the Entertainment District.<\/p>\n With much of the manufacturing industry \u2014 including the textiles businesses from which the Fashion District earns its name \u2014 gone, warehouses in the area today host office space, including a growing number of tech firms<\/a>.<\/p>\n If Carlyle and CentreStone\u2019s project moves forward, it will join a number of large residential developments in preconstruction or under construction in the area, including the oneeleven Condos, steps away at Bathurst and Adelaide, The Harlowe just to the north, and Fabrik Condos at the corner Richmond and Spadina Avenue.<\/p>\n<\/a>A rendering by RAW Design showcasing their design of Beach Hill Residences by Carlyle Communities.<\/em><\/p>\n