Update 8/14/20 – Dymon Storage has submitted a revised plan to city officials for its proposed nine-story, mixed-use project in Toronto. The modifications would reduce the building height from 50.8 to 46.4 meters, decreasing gross floor area by 3,003 square meters to 53,427. The self-storage and office space will drop by 1,385 and 1,641 square meters respectively, with the retail component increased by 23 square meters. The property will contain 674 parking spaces within a two-level, underground garage. It’ll also offer 134 bicycle-parking spaces.
The revised plans also provide details on the building materials proposed by TACT Architecture, which is designing the project. Windows and doors will be added to the north façade to fulfill a request from city staff. The central tower will feature piers of aluminum-composite panels to frame a patterned column of curtain-wall glazing. In addition, a mix of glazing and metal panels will be used on the majority of the building, with limestone at the base, the source reported.
Dymon also opened its new flagship facility in Etobicoke, Ontario. Comprising 500,000 square feet, it’s the company’s 11th operating location.
1/14/19 – Dymon Storage has proposed a mixed-use development featuring self-storage, office and retail space for 850 York Mills in Toronto. The nine-story structure would comprise 32,899 square meters of self-storage largely surrounded by 18,458 square meters of office space and 5,073 square meters of retail, according to the source. The project is similar to the Dufferin Street proposal the company submitted last year.
The design features a glass-fronted central staircase extending the full height of the building. Storage areas within the structure not obscured by other uses would be finished with an opaque, insulated metal-panel system with horizontal ribs and vertical pewter-colored fins. In addition, the commercial and self-storage areas would be accessed from different lobbies, the source reported.
6/21/18 – Dymon Storage continues its aggressive expansion into the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Three self-storage projects are expected to be complete by year end, while another six facilities are planned for 2019. Mixed-use continues to drive the company’s market strategy, according to the source.
In addition to the 500,000-square-foot complex underway on The Queensway, Dymon is seeking approval for a 600,000-square-foot mixed-use project near Dufferin Street and Wilson Avenue. The multi-story complex would feature retail on the ground floor, office space on the second floor, and a mixture of condominium suites and self-storage space on floors three through nine. The self-storage portion would be built in the core of the structure, with condos wrapped around the outside, the source reported. If approved, the project would likely begin construction this fall and take about two years to complete.
Initial reports for the Dufferin Street project indicated the structure would comprise about 475,000 square feet, with 226,494 square feet dedicated to self-storage. It’s not clear what is being incorporated with the larger footprint or how the size of the storage segment may be affected.
Creighton categorizes Dymon’s willingness to expand beyond self-storage as a strategic advantage in gaining municipal approval. “Part of our success in getting into some of the areas that we want to get to is being able to do mixed-use development and be more than storage,” he told the source. “We can mix up the uses and make it more community-oriented, and create more jobs and things that zoning requires.”
Current GTA projects underway include the conversion of a former Target in Oshawa, a 140,000-square-foot location in the Lincoln Fields area, and a mixed-use development at Baseline Road and Clyde Avenue that will feature self-storage, retail and a restaurant. Dymon is also building a storage facility on Industrial Avenue in the Ottawa Train Yards area and another on Strandherd Road in the suburb of Barrhaven.
Planned projects include a storage facility in Burlington and a location in Oakville, where Dymon recently closed on a property at 845 Burloak Drive. The company is performing due diligence on a potential site in Hamilton, Ontario, Creighton said.
Some locations will offer a retail area selling about 1,500 storage-related and home-décor products including baskets, containers and closet-organizing systems. Short-term office rentals and wine storage connected to upscale lounges are also being planned, the source reported.
8/15/17 – Canadian self-storage operator Dymon Storage Corp. is in the process of fulfilling its Greater Toronto expansion plan, with six facilities expected to be complete by the end of 2018. The first will be a massive structure comprising up to 500,000 square feet. The property at 1460 The Queensway in Etobicoke, Ontario, is expected to offer 3,000 storage units, wine storage, office and third-party retail space, delivery service, mailbox rentals, and security vaults, according to the source.
In conjunction with its wine-storage offering, Dymon will also host wine tastings and employ a sommelier. Additional services include document shredding, moving assistance, records storage, and the sale of moving and packing supplies. “We have created the Ritz-Carlton of self-storage, but at an economic price,” Stephen Creighton, senior vice-president, told the source.
The company indicated last April that it had entered an agreement to acquire the Etobicoke site. The property is across the street from an IKEA store and adjacent to the Gardiner Expressway. “We put our Dymon facilities in high-traffic and highly visible modes, usually adjacent to big-box retail,” Creighton said.
Dymon is also expected to use the Etobicoke property to house its Toronto corporate offices, according to a company press release.
Dymon first announced its expansion plan in July 2015, in which it intended to develop about 80 self-storage facilities in the Toronto market by the end of 2025. Officials expect the company’s storage portfolio to amass more than 10 million square feet once the expansion is complete, the release stated.
Founded in 2006, Dymon Storage operates eight self-storage facilities in Ottawa, Ontario. It’s an affiliate of the Dymon Group of Cos.
Sources:
Urban Toronto, Office and Retail Space to Mask Storage Facility at 850 York Mills
Real Estate News Exchange, Dymon Takes Innovative Storage Concepts Into GTA
Dymon Storage, Dymon Announces Second Development Site in the Greater Toronto Area
Dymon Storage, Dymon Announces 10 Year Expansion Plan for Toronto
National Post, Beyond the Storage Locker: Self-Storage Facilities Expand, Bring in New Perks
Urban Toronto, 850 York Mills Mixed-Use Self-Storage Project Resubmitted with Revised Design
