A barren patch of dirt and overgrowth has sat abandoned in an industrial pocket of Scarborough for years, but a new plan filed with the City of Toronto in November could see this long-vacant lot transformed into a futuristic bingo and gaming venue.
Dolphin Gaming, which currently operates a bingo hall at Warden and Eglinton, has proposed new digs a few blocks to the south of its current location.
An application now being circulated among City planners would bring an impressive new home for Dolphin Gaming to a seemingly abandoned lot at 756 Warden Avenue, located at the southwest corner of Warden and Comstock Road.
Google Maps
As far as bingo halls go, architects Gensler have pitched an uncharacteristically bold design for a type of business typically relegated to the bottom of the architectural barrel in nondescript warehouse-style buildings.
No boring boxes are on the menu for this vacant 24,254 square-metre lot, with the two-storey building’s flashy exterior to wow passersby amid the more or less nondescript surroundings of warehouses and light industry.
And while the typical bingo hall might not please every demographic, Dolphin Gaming is planning to attract a wider range of clientele with a mix of electronic gaming and bowling alleys, as well as a restaurant and bar that would keep patrons well-fed and stocked up on drinks.
A stop on the upcoming Eglinton Crosstown LRT will be just a short walk away at Warden and Eglinton, while the site plans to also accommodate drivers and cyclists with spaces for 382 cars and 30 bicycles.
Plans have long been in the works to redevelop this vacant lot, and the current proposal is just the latest in a series of ideas to introduce new uses to the site.
These include an aborted plan from 2018 that would have brought a two-storey retail and skating facility. That short-lived plan was replaced by a proposed cannabis production facility the following year, only for this plan to also be replaced by a proposed industrial condo complex in 2021.
The bingo hall proposal was initially tabled to the City’s Committee of Adjustment under a minor variance application, though this was refused, leading to a subsequent appeal with the Toronto Local Appeal Body.
City comments received during what was ultimately a successful appeals process led to revisions introduced in the current plan filed in November.
