TorontoRealtyBlog

I was born in 1980.  It was a great year at the onset of an even greater decade, although the class ahead of me always felt that being born in 1979 was a whole lot better…

My parents brought me home to a cute little 3-bedroom, detached house on Airdrie Road in South Leaside, where I lived until I was about two-years-old.

After that, my parents bought a home literally two blocks away on Parkhurst Boulevard.  A detached, 4-bed, 4-bath, with the classic 80’s “top-up” look to it, and I would later learn that one of my friend’s fathers built the home a few years prior.

In 1992, my parents purchased a house on Bessborough Drive, and we moved from the house on Parkhurst, much to my chagrin.  What did I know?  Other than the fact that I didn’t like change…

I attended Bessborough Public School in Junior kindergarten, and then I attended Northlea Public School in Senior kindergarten as my father wanted me to partake in the French Immersion program.  He was always looking for “better,” if you know what I mean…

I went back to Bessborough Public School in 1986, for grade one, and graduated from the school in June of 1994.

I attended Leaside High School from 1994 through 1998 and “fast-tracked,” completing five years of high school in four years, because I was encouraged to do so by my over-achieving sister and father who felt it was a badge of honour.  Geez, this devolved into a therapy session really quickly…

I now make my home in an off-shoot of Leaside, and one that I considered part of the neighbourhood when I was growing up.

Now, why am I giving you the history lesson about my upbringing in Leaside?

Because I think that I get a say.  I think that I get a voice.  I think, if a vote were cast on anything Leaside-related, I would receive a ballot.

There is a lot of development happening at Bayview & Eglinton and I’m shocked by the opposition to it.

I mean, maybe I’m not shocked when I sit down and think about the level of self-interest that exists in society in 2023, which, in real estate terms, can be defined as “NIMBY’ism.”

I’m not speaking as a real estate agent today, but rather as a Torontonian and as a realist.

I could write a much longer blog, or a series of blogs, or a whole book about my thoughts on government, city planning, taxation, development, and everything in between.  But for today, let me just say that I see a city that is on the verge of failing, and it shouldn’t be.  We have the size, status, history, and population to do great things, but we are so far behind when it comes to both infrastructure and housing, and I don’t understand why.

The city of Toronto is broke.  You all saw the budget last month.

And yet we continue to fight over where to go, what to do, and how to move forward.

There’s a “housing crisis” in the country, province, and city, and yet so many people in Toronto are opposed to building.

We’re not building on the Greenbelt, that’s for sure.

But there are those that also don’t want us to build in Leaside either.

Who are these people?

Well, they’re Leasiders.

They’re people who feel that a $5.5 Billion transit line across Eglinton Avenue, which will probably end up costing double or triple, should simply pass-through Leaside, rather than actually service members of that community.  And I don’t mean current members, but rather future ones.

They’re people who don’t believe that density should exist where massive, costly infrastructure resides.

They’re people who are funding opposition groups and paying retainers to lawyers to stop multi-residential buildings from being built.

And as I teased last year: they are wasting their time!

August 4th, 2022, I wrote: “A Real Estate Case Of ‘Know When To Fold ‘Em'”

This was after I had written two previous blogs about the applications to build high-rise condos in Leaside:

March 21st, 2022: Just How Dense Should Our “Densification” Be?

May 5th, 2022: Welcome To Toronto: A City Of NIMBY’s

Essentially, after residents spent time, money, and energy fighting a 25-storey condo development, there was a 34-storey proposal submitted for the property across the street!

I had to laugh.  Seriously.

Even though some random Leasiders harassed me in the comments section of the blog (while keeping their anonymity, how nice!), I still laughed.

It’s like pushing the proverbial boulder to the top of a mountain only to watch it roll right back down again.

Since then, there have been many more development applications submitted in the Bayview & Eglinton area, and the opposing Leasiders are trying to plug a very small hole in a boat that’s taking on water, while five, six, or seven larger holes are springing leaks.

All the while, I wonder, why?

Are we going to stop adding 500,000 residents to the country every year?  No.

Will we be opening up swaths of the Greenbelt to build?  No.

Did we just spend billions on transit that runs through Leaside?  Yes.

I mean, do I want to see the look and feel of the community that I grew up in change forever?  Not really.  But I understand it has to happen for the good of the city, and thus I’m not selfish enough to stand in the way of it.

Today, I want to take a look at all the condominium projects planned for the Bayview & Eglinton area…

1802 Bayview Avenue

46-storeys
419 Units

This is the current site of the “Bayview Carwash” where I always looked forward to getting my butterscotch lollipop as a child when my Dad forked over 3-4 times as much to get his car washed here than any other car wash in the area.

This project is by Gairloch Developments who is quickly gaining momentum in the Leaside area, with 1414 Bayview Avenue nearing completion, and the infamous site at Glazebrook, to the north, undoubtedly being approved in the near future.

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2-20 Glazebrook Avenue

34-storeys
434 units

Also by Gairloch Developments, this tower would replace ten existing homes stretching west on Glazebrook Avenue, from Bayview Avenue, and be in very close proximity to the proposed building to the north…

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1840 Bayview Avenue

34-storeys
377 units

Ah, yes!  The building I wrote about last year when anonymous commenters on TRB noted that it doesn’t take much to become a real estate agent, and thus my opinion on the matter should not count.

(womp womp)

This is the third building proposed for the west side of Bayview Avenue, all on the same block.

So when completed, it would look like this:

Welcome to the new-look Leaside, folks!

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1837-1845 Bayview Avenue

25-storeys
288 units

This building is “ground zero” of the redevelopment of Bayview & Eglinton, as it was the first major condominium proposed, and everything since has spawned from here.

You can read about the opposition to the development here:

www.leasideresidents.ca/1837-1845-bayview-update

Yes, you can “donate to the defence fund” or “grab a lawn sign.”

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Those are the four towers planned north of Bayview & Eglinton.

But there are four more on Eglinton Avenue, as well as one massive development planned above the LRT station.

Let’s look at that one now:

1787 Bayview Avenue

35-storeys
373 units

This development will not only rise above the future Eglinton LRT station, but it will also absorb two existing multiplexes on Bayview Avenue: 1779-81 and 1783-85.

When I was growing up, this was a McDonalds.

This is where I tragically burned the roof of my mouth with that awful McPizza, circa 1994, but I digress…

I believe I had my 5th birthday party at this McDonalds in 1985.

But times change.

There is a new LRT on Eglinton Avenue, a new LRT station at the former site of McDonald’s, and now there will be a massive condo there too.

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As for the four developments on Eglinton Avenue, let’s take a look:

501-503 Eglinton Avenue

12-storeys
174 units

This site will also absorb the existing residential dwellings at 383, 385, 387, and 389 Cleveland Street.

There is a church currently sitting at 503 Eglinton Avenue East, so I’ll let those who want to debate the merits of tearing down churches, do exactly that…

This site had been assembled years and years prior and I believe it took multiple attempts to consolidate this and move forward, as this came across my desk one day as well.

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537-547 Eglinton Avenue

25-storeys
300 units

This site has also gone through several re-designs and re-proposals and is now set to include 59 and 61 Hoyle Avenue to the south, forming a nice little square parcel with the five existing buildings on Eglinton Avenue.

The design is certainly unique!

The proposal seeks to absorb the public laneway running between 61 Hoyle Avenue and the five properties on Eglinton Avenue, so we’ll see how the city responds…

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586 Eglinton Avenue

32-storeys
249 units

This seems like an exceptionally large building for this site, considering the 25-storeys and 12-storeys that the prior two sites were applying for.

I highly doubt we’ll ever see 32-storeys on this site, but it’s a viable condo site nonetheless.

I suppose my eye doctor will eventually have to relocate?  I’ve been seeing her at this location for probably twenty years.  I think she was in another building on Eglinton Avenue before that.

This was where we did our ultrasound in 2019 and found out that we were having a boy.

Ah, memories!

The memories can last forever.  But the building where we made them don’t need to remain for eternity…

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589-593 Eglinton Avenue

35-storeys
389 units

Let’s assume there’s more to this site than only 589 Eglinton Avenue, which shows in Land Registry as a 25-foot x 102.58 foot piece of land.

I would think that this includes 589, 591, 593, and 595 Bayview Avenue, but the application only shows 589.  Maybe it includes buildings on Mann Avenue as well?

This tower will absolutely dwarf the “The Braxton” at 1750 Bayview Avenue, which is all of six storeys, and was built 23-years ago.

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Phew!

That was a lengthy read, for those of you who took it all in.

For those who simply scrolled down to the bottom to leave a nasty comment, let me lay down a challenge:

If you oppose development at Bayview & Eglinton and you want to let me know how you feel, then email me personally at [email protected] and put your name to it.  I’m happy to discuss!

Anybody can comment anonymously and provide the TRB readers with such incredible insight as to how the city is oversaturated with real estate agents, or how many years architects have to go to attend school for, compared to Realtors, etc.

But I’m putting my name on this.

I’m from Leaside, born-and-raised, and I think it’s absurd to suggest that our little “hamlet” shouldn’t be developed, despite the fact that we’re in a housing crisis, and despite the fact that we just spent billions on public transit in the area, with nobody to take advantage of it.

So put your name on yours.  Email me.  Tell me who you are and why I’m not only wrong, but why my voice shouldn’t be heard because you’re better than I am.

Or don’t.  Suit yourself.

For the regular TRB readers, I’d love for you to weigh in.

Should Leaside be off the table for development because the residents don’t want it?

Are these developments reasonable?

Have your say below!

The post Coming Soon: Hyper Density At Bayview & Eglinton! appeared first on Toronto Realty Blog.