A sprawling Cineplex theatre complex in Etobicoke could soon be torn down to make way for a huge new development that would boast towers as tall as 46 storeys.

Developer Talisker Corporation filed plans with the City of Toronto in late May, setting the wheels in motion for a major redevelopment of the Cineplex Cinemas Queensway.

The enormous theatre complex at The Queensway and Islington, including its vast surface parking lot containing 1,277 parking spaces, is set to be redeveloped and replaced by a high-density complex of ten towers, along with a pair of mid-rise buildings and a new park.

A plan features designs by WZMH Architects for the collection of towers with heights of 46, 43, 43, 39, 37, 33, 31, 25, 25 and 18 storeys, plus a pair of mid-rise commercial buildings rising seven floors.

A staggering 4,328 residential units are proposed to occupy the vast majority of the site's combined total of over 346,000 square metres of floor space, accounting for more than 291,000 square metres. The tenure of the residential units has not been specified at this stage of the application.

Almost 22,000 square metres of space would be dedicated to employment uses within the mid-rise buildings, along with over 2,500 square metres of retail and daycare space.

All of this new density would be anchored by a central 4,347 square metre public park and two blocks of privately-owned-publicly accessible spaces — albeit surrounded by a ring of roads.

The north end of the complex, previously home to low rise businesses fronting The Queensway, is already in the process of being developed with new mid-rise residential buildings, while the parking and Cineplex lands to the south are being developed as a separate parcel.

While density is needed across Toronto amid a housing crisis, there are arguments that this site may struggle to handle such an influx of residents with current infrastructure limitations and no increased transit capacity on the horizon.

Toronto can't stop Toronto-ing.

1025 The Queensway: Cineplex theatre & pad retail to 3.2M res GFA (4,222 units), 150K employment / office, & 27K retail.

2 local busses & no plans for new transit in sight. Ho boy. pic.twitter.com/p6J0rWA0oI

— Urban Cayman (@ProjectEND) June 7, 2024

The application is still in its early stages, and patrons of the current Cineplex can rest easy for now, knowing that any redevelopment is probably a few years away at the earliest.