5 h. ago Hundreds of bikers dressed in formal attire will soon descend on Toronto streets

Throngs of dapper-dressed individuals on motorcycles will soon descend on Toronto streets as the annual Distinguished Gentleman's Ride thunders into town.Marking their tenth year of destroying the old leather-clad biker stereotype, one bowtie at a time in support of Movember, the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride is hitting full throttle, not only in Toronto, but cities across the world this coming weekend.Each year, anywhere from dozens to hundreds of motorcycle riders dressed in their Sunday best take to the streets to raise some springtime cheer, while a number of participating cities also use the occasion to fundraise for Movember, the world's leading men's health charity.Over the past decade, Canadian rides have raised $3.3 million, which has gone towards supporting local men's health projects researching issues of major importance like prostate cancer and mental health, all on top of leading to some really great photos over the years.In Toronto, it's all g...

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41 h. ago Toronto home in same family for decades just hit market for over $6 million

If you hadn't noticed, land is hard to come by in a city like Toronto. In a city where 11-foot-wide homes or houses smaller than your average condo routinely sell for over a million dollars, it's no wonder laneway homes and garden suites are becoming all the rage.So when a full one-acre property hits the market, we're all expecting a hefty price tag.The foyer. 27 Old Yonge St. is a rare find in the heart of Toronto's Hoggs Hollow, listed for $6,250,000.The dining room. Yes, that's a hefty chunk of change. And yes, the house itself needs a serious amount of TLC before it's move-in ready.The kitchen. But the real value here is in the land. "Today, one-acre parcels are virtually unheard of in the city of Toronto," said realtors Paul Maranger and Christian Vermast. "And getting a parcel of land larger than an acre generally means going to the Bridle Path, at more than double the price."Plus, this is...

Economics

41 h. ago Dormant plans to bring boutique hotel to Toronto back after 6 years on ice

A long-dormant proposal to construct a boutique hotel in Toronto is back from the dead, but the planned hospitality property won't be quite as flashy as first promised years earlier.In late 2019, plans were filed with the City seeking approval to construct a 14-storey hotel at 445 Adelaide Street West in Toronto's Fashion District, with renderings boasting the Hudson Hotel branding Originally planned to open in 2024 as the first Canadian outpost of a Manhattan-based boutique hotel brand, the project was to be developed by hotel operator sbe in partnership with Lamb Development Corp and IE Hospitality. However, just months after it was announced, the entire travel sector shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, unravelling plans for many hotels across the city.The 2019 proposal was itself a reimagining of an earlier 2017 plan from Niche Developments that sought to build a mid-rise commercial development on the site at Adelaide and Morrison Street — a location t...

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3 d. ago Huge street party taking over a Toronto neighbourhood next month

June couldn't come any sooner! Toronto's Liberty Village community is getting ready to party next month with the return of its annual street festival, Give Me Liberty. We have the rundown. Here's what to expect.Though it's a few weeks away, it doesn't hurt to start planning around this one-day event.The 19th annual Give Me Liberty street party kicks off on June 19, 2025.What to expectThe festival is inspired by classic neighbourhood block parties and transforms Liberty Village into an outdoor patio. Expect live entertainment, vendor booths, and delicious eats.There will also be a pop-up market, a beer garden, and even lawn games.    View this post on Instagram           A post shared by Liberty Village BIA (@libertyvillagebia)What can I eat and drink?All your favourites and more are expected to be in attendance for the one-day festival. Food vendors include:Aloette GoBurger DropsFox and Jo...

Culture

3 d. ago Two huge towers with sloping facades would transform Toronto skyline

A pair of impressive residential towers planned for a new Toronto neighbourhood could prove a landmark for the entire city.Two towers with sloping facades could soon dominate the new McCleary District, one of several new neighbourhoods planned within the once-barren Port Lands.The proposal at 115 Saulter Street South is shaping up to be just one out of a handful of flagship developments that would help transform the underutilized Port Lands area into the city's next architectural wonderland.New renderings now wowing viewers are just the culmination of a process that has been ongoing for over a year.Castlepoint Numa first submitted preliminary plans for a two-tower development, designed by Denmark-based COBE Architects, in spring 2024. Those plans were released in a relatively raw state, though they offered hints of the distinctive angled facades now on full display in the 2025 submission.The May 2024 application was seeking an Official Plan Amendment and set out an initial devel...

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9 d. ago Toronto's artificial peninsula set to keep growing for decades

Toronto's man-made peninsula, the Leslie Street Spit, is still growing, and will be for the next few decades to come as dredged material from the city's harbour continues to be deposited along its shoreline.Created in 1959 by the Toronto Harbour Commissioners (THC), now PortsToronto, for "port-related facilities," the Leslie Street Spit's expected use as an outer harbour port never panned out, yet the landform has expanded significantly through millions of cubic metres of concrete, earth fill, and dredged sand, and today supports Tommy Thompson Park.The artificial peninsula extends five kilometres into Lake Ontario and is over 500 hectares in size. The park is home to some of the largest existing natural habitats on the Toronto waterfront, and includes wildflower meadows, cottonwood forests, cobble beaches, and coastal marshes.Aerial view of the Leslie Street Spit in 1975. Photo: Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).It's also become on...

Culture

1 week ago Toronto cafe that abruptly closed down is reopening under new ownership

An indie coffee shop on one of Toronto's busiest streets for foot traffic has triumphantly reopened after a sudden closure that many feared would be its ultimate end after close to a decade serving the community.HotBlack Coffee has been serving up third-wave espresso drinks alongside a curated selection of local wines, merchandise, baked goods and other snacks near Queen Street and University Avenue since 2016, when it debuted with a fancy under-counter espresso machine, reverse-osmosis water filter and more in a polished space.But at the end of March, the Entertainment District staple abruptly locked its doors, posting a notice of an indefinite closure in its windows and on social media."Ever since the owner, Jimson, passed away, the company has sort of been sailing blindfolded in the middle of the ocean, mainly because [of] legal issues. This has to be sorted in the right way, and we figured the only choice is to end this chapter," staff wrote sho...

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1 week ago Chaos erupts in Toronto streets after Leafs win series with Senators

The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't given their fans a ton of playoff performances to celebrate in recent history, so when they got the chance on Thursday, fans took full advantage.The Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators 4-2 to wrap up their first-round Battle of Ontario. While the game took place in Ottawa, there were plenty of fans going wild in Toronto after the big win.After so many heartbreaks over the years, Maple Leafs fans waited until the very end to start their celebration. William Nylander scored an empty-net goal with less than a minute remaining to finish the Senators off, which sent fans in Toronto into bedlam.The fans watching on the big screen at Maple Leaf Square were jubilant as the clock hit zero.    View this post on Instagram           A post shared by Scotiabank Arena (@scotiabankarena)The Leafs were ahead 3-0 in this series, but the Senators came back to make it interesting. It was reminisce...

Events

1 week ago Toronto considering priority bus lanes on street notorious for traffic

The City of Toronto is considering the introduction of priority bus lanes along a corridor synonymous with frustrating delays and unreliable service.Although many TTC bus routes suffer from delays caused by rush hour gridlock, construction and inclement weather, the TTC's 29 and 929 bus routes on Dufferin Street stand out as especially problematic. The 29 route has even earned the nickname "29 Sufferin" among riders thanks to its chronic unreliability and slow service.The proposed changes that the City is considering could dramatically improve travel for the tens of thousands of daily commuters who use the bus routes on a daily basis, though."Dufferin Street is one of the busiest transit corridors in the city, with over 40,000 people riding the 29 and 929 Toronto Transit Commission buses every weekday — even more during major events," the City says.In response, Toronto and the TTC are considering the implementation of dedic...

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1 week ago These Toronto superfans made their home into the ultimate Maple Leafs shrine

If you find yourself wandering around the streets of North Toronto, it shouldn't take long to find the biggest Maple Leafs fans around.Come playoff time, Michael and Sara Adamson deck out their front lawn entirely in Leafs gear, complete with jerseys, equipment and even a bubble hockey set that they encourage passersby to play a quick game on.This property is the second that the couple has adorned with Leaf gear.Complete with a sign telling visitors to take a selfie with a plush of the team’s mascot, Carlton, it's become an annual tradition for each playoff run. With the Leafs now making the postseason nine years in a row, thousands of folks have come through to check out the digs each year.The basis behind the house was pretty simple: the Adamsons had a whole lot of Leafs merchandise and weren't sure what to do with it. Starting with "about five items out front," the Adamsons figured it would be a pretty simple way to support their favourite ho...

Sport

1 week ago Driverless delivery vehicles set to hit Toronto streets this spring

In a report to Toronto's infrastructure and environment committee, the general manager of transportation services said the program will begin in the coming months.

Transport

1 week ago CRIMESCENE: Tree branch falls, critically injures woman on Toronto street

Police say a woman in her 30s was in critical condition on Tuesday afternoon after a large tree branch struck her and a 10-year-old girl as they walked in the St. Clair Ave.-Avenue Rds. area. The woman was taken to hospital with critical injures shortly after 3 p.m. and the child didn’t sustain any physical […]

Events

2 w. ago One of the 'coolest streets in the world' hosting huge party in Toronto this summer

Prepare to party on one of the world's coolest streets, Toronto, because you're getting the chance to do exactly that this summer.Back for its seventh year, OssFest is gearing up to take over Ossington Avenue once again this summer for one day of fun in the sun with some of the city's top restaurants, vendors and entertainment.Ranked by Time Out as one of the coolest streets in the world in 2022, the street has only continued to uphold its reputation in the years since — even if it, nor any neighbourhoods in Toronto, failed to register on the publication's ranking of the world's coolest neighbourhoods.The stretch of the street between Dundas West and Queen West, in particular, has historically been home to some of the city's best restaurants, stylish boutiques and, when the summer comes, lively patios — and OssFest is the ultimate culmination of them all.Turning the trendy strip into a pedestrian street for one day only, OssFest will see more than...

Culture

2 w. ago Toronto barbershop and several attached apartments going for under $4 million

If you’ve ever dreamed of sprawling out in your very own 4,000-square-foot home and having someone else help cover the mortgage — this wild Toronto property might just be your real estate unicorn.2909 Dundas St. W is equal parts "multi-residential goldmine" and "live-work fantasy."The historical building was completely rebuilt  in 2001 and now offers up a rare combo: serious space to live, over $10,000 in monthly income, and an estimated six per cent return on investment.The hair salon. The building currently houses a hairstyling salon and beauty clinic on the main floor, as well as three studio apartments at the back of the building. An empty unit. The upper floors of the building house five additional residential apartments. One of the studio apartments on the main floor. On the second floor, there are a pair of two-bedroom units and a single one-bedroom unit, while the third floor boasts a...

Economics

2 w. ago Vancouver man accused of attacking Toronto tourist out on bail — again

The Vancouver man who was out on bail when he allegedly battered a Toronto woman is already back on the streets. Postmedia News reports that, according to court records, Peterhans Jalo Nungu, who was arrested immediately after the nighttime attack on April 15, was given an interim release during a court appearance on Wednesday. Nungu […]

Society

2 w. ago Leafs players roamed Toronto streets before playoff games and hardly anyone noticed

There's a common belief held that if you ever find yourself as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, your life will never be the same.With a rabid media market, eagle-eyed fans, and about as much pressure as any professional athlete could be expected to have, even fringe Leafs players are assumed to have a tough time being anonymous in Toronto.But that might not exactly be the case.Posted up on the corner of Bay and Front streets before Game 1 and 2 against the Ottawa Senators in the opening round of the playoffs this week, fan Brian Encarnacao shared a few videos on his Instagram page of Leafs players opting to walk down the street to Scotiabank Arena rather than take a car or public transit.With thousands of fans packed into Maple Leaf Square, the arena itself, and nearby bars, restaurants, and condos to watch the game, you'd imagine the players would be bugged by people trying to stop them for an autograph or a quick pic.One of the players spotted by Encarnacao before both...

Other

3 w. ago Canada in robot trucking vanguard, with one driverless semi already here

MONTREAL — If it’s daytime, odds are a lone box truck is cruising the streets between Toronto and Brampton, Ont., with no one behind the wheel. Bristling with more than two dozen cameras, radars and “lidar” — a laser-based measurement of distance — the vehicle ferries groceries daily from an automated Loblaw Cos. Ltd. warehouse […]

Transport

3 w. ago Toronto house totally gutted by fire is still selling for half a million dollars

In November 2023, a row of historic houses in Toronto's Cabbagetown neighbourhood mysteriously went up in flames. Toronto Fire confirmed to blogTO back in 2023 that the primary addresses for the incident were 225 through 229 River St.229 River St. had been sitting on the market, boarded up for a while, and then, on the day of the fire, it sold. 229 River St. had also been listed as a "multi-unit development" possibility, though the wording was removed from the listing.The front of the house. This made some people suspicious, with some speculating that the fire may have been started to get out of having to replicate the heritage attributes of the house.According to the Ontario government webiste, if a heritage property is destroyed by fire or accident, "the designation by-law does not require the owner to replicate any lost heritage attributes. A replacement building can be of a different design," as the "intent of designation is to preserve the historic, phy...

Economics

last month The history of the horse and human water fountains in Toronto

Long before Toronto's streets were jam-packed with cars and motorcycles, they were filled with carriages and horse-drawn streetcars.In the 19th and early 20th century, horses were one of the city's primary modes of transportation, and just like today's vehicles need gas stations and charging stations, horses needed water troughs to keep them going through their long journeys.As a result, there were tons of horse and human water fountains across the city at major intersections during this time, and many of them even featured a tiny basin for dogs at their base.Horses having a drink at a Toronto water fountain in the 1910s. Photo: Archives of Ontario.One of the last surviving examples in Ontario still stands in St. James Park, along King Street East near Church Street.Manufactured by the Canada Foundry Company Ltd., the cast-iron structure dates back to the late 1800s. Facing south toward King Street is a large trough once filled by two taps, offering water to horses that fr...

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