Developers are getting ever more creative in their quest to pack more condos into a housing-starved Toronto, and in the latest case, the city could soon get an island of condos floating in a sea of traffic.

A site at 2-10 The East Mall Crescent in Etobicoke proves that even the most awkward land parcels can be turned into money-printing condo developments.

Developer Mattamy Homes plans to transform the triangular pocket of land near Cloverdale Mall into a new condominium complex that would be surrounded on all sides by sprawling roads measuring between five and nine lanes wide.

The site in question — hemmed in by The East Mall to the east and west and Dundas St. W. to the south — was formerly home to a Petro-Canada gas station, which closed and was subsequently demolished in 2021. Remediation of the site's contaminated soil wrapped up this spring, opening up the door for redevelopment.

A 33-storey tower and attached mid-rise, designed by Giannone Petricone Associates, is the latest vision in a plan that has evolved since initially proposed in 2020.

Since its previous September 2021 submission, the proposal height has increased and a more varied mix of unit typologies has been introduced, among other revisions made at the behest of city planners.

A total of 605 condominium units are now proposed in a breakdown of 29 studios, 382 one-bedrooms, 133 two-bedrooms, and 61 three-bedroom units.

Other changes include improvements to the public realm plan, including what the project team describes as "lush landscaped zones" that provide a "buffer to the well-travelled streets."

However, these tree canopies, enhanced sidewalk widths and the introduction of a privately-owned public space at the intersection of Dundas Street West and The East Mall Crescent might not be enough to offset the dismal pedestrian experience created by the surrounding arterial roads.

The already-busy road network in the area can expect 375 new cars to be added to the mix, with the proposal including 315 residential parking spaces and another 60 for visitors.