18 h. ago Toronto tower proposal is 9 times taller than previous plan for same site

The Toronto development game has changed considerably after almost two solid decades of intensification, a shift in planning policies and developer ambitions perfectly exemplified in a recent application filed with City planning staff.A plan tabled to replace a 2.5-storey office building at 170 Merton Street in midtown with a rental tower stands in stark contrast to a proposal tabled for the very same site approximately eight years earlier.The proposal before planning staff would see much of the current structure, along with the entirety of an adjacent townhome complex, razed to make way for a 45-storey development housing over 500 rental units.Redevelopment of the site has been discussed for a decade and a half now, starting with the purchase of 170 Merton by developer Cresford in 2010. Cresford would move into the building a couple of years later, sitting on the property while development plans for the site percolated in the backgroundRedevelopment of the site was finally proposed...

Other

7 d. ago Locals say Toronto neighbourhood 'under attack' by planned condo tower

Residents and businesses in Toronto's Church Street Village area are claiming they are "under attack" by a proposed development and are fighting to "defend the character" of the neighbourhood.A petition started in February by the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association (CWNA) seeks to halt plans to redevelop a group of properties wrapping around the northeast corner of Church and Wellesley, spanning 68-78 Wellesley Street East and 505-509 Church Street.The block of properties is home to a Pizza Pizza location that has served the community for decades, housed with the heritage-designated 1878 William McBean Terrace building. Developer KingSett Capital has stated its intention to incorporate into a new high-rise building on site, rising 28 storeys with a design from architects BDP Quadrangle.68 Wellesley Street East (right of centre) and other future approved and proposed buildings planned for the surrounding area. BDP Quadrangle.A development application filed for the site in...

Events

2 w. ago Toronto's troubled megatower is about to become Canada's tallest building

Sprouting from Toronto's Yonge and Bloor intersection, the enormous new tower known as The One is pretty impossible to miss — both through its visual prominence and its saga of construction setbacks along with disastrous financial and legal challenges.Despite all its trials and tribulations, the soaring skyscraper known as The One is about to claim the title of Canada's tallest building.However, this distinction will be short-lived, and The One will reign as the country's tallest building for just a few months before another huge skyscraper snatches away the crown.The 85-storey tower is now just a few levels shy of its peak and on the cusp of overtaking the country's longstanding tallest building, First Canadian Place, as the country's new tallest within a matter of weeks.The One now rises roughly 80 storeys into the Toronto skyline, and its design from U.K.-based architects Foster + Partners working with local talent Core Architects has already become a ne...

Other

2 w. ago Toronto's most iconic landmarks would not exist if not for a suburban rail yard

Structures like the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre are known as Toronto landmarks by people across the globe, but these megastructures and so many other recognizable buildings in the city's downtown only exist thanks to a massive suburban rail yard built 60 years ago that set the stage for the 416 we know today.Just north of Toronto's northern city limit, the gargantuan CN MacMillan Yard stretches an impressive three kilometres from north to south, and as much as one kilometre across at its widest point.This sprawling assembly of infrastructure — bounded by Highway 407, Keele Street, Rutherford Road and Jane Street — is the second-largest rail yard in Canada, behind the Symington Yard in Winnipeg. While it may not be the country's largest, the 1965 opening of the MacMillan Yard served a sleeper role in one of the most transformative urban renewal projects in Canada's history, at least by association.However, while the suburb of Vaughan would be transformed prac...

Other

2 w. ago Toronto apartment block about to be torn down for huge condo tower after 60 years

A 14-storey apartment tower in Toronto's Church and Wellesley neighbourhood is on its final days, and will soon be levelled to make way for an enormous new tower that will stand as one of the tallest in the area.Constructed back in 1965, the apartment building at 88 Isabella Street has stood just east of Church Street for six decades, but the recent filing of a demolition permit signals the impending destruction of this typical mid-century residential block.Plans were first proposed back in April 2022 to tear down the current apartment building and redevelop the site with a 62-storey tower housing condos as well as rentals to replace existing units on-site. Capital Developments' plan would redefine the mid-block site with a Diamond Schmitt Architects-designed building soaring almost 200 metres into the neighbourhood skyline.The building will feature almost 750 residences. Condos will make up the majority of this unit count, though all 82 of the rental units housed in the existi...

Society

3 w. ago Loblaw to review price increase requests faster due to potential tariffs

TORONTO — Loblaw is reviewing price increase requests from suppliers faster than normal because of the impact of potential tariffs on costs. Spokeswoman Catherine Thomas says the grocer normally reviews proposed increases within 12 weeks, but has shortened that timeline to six weeks to better help suppliers navigate the effects of tariffs. The U.S. is […]

Economics