Yonge & Eglinton Condo Boom Town

Toronto’s once-derelict main street is in the midst of the most remarkable transformation in its history, with more than 20,000 condos that will house more than 30,000 people — the population of Orillia — under construction or in the planning stages.

And that’s just in a seven-kilometre stretch from Lake Ontario to the hotbed of midtown condo construction at Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave.

The implications are massive. Whole blocks could be revived or razed, more people will cram the subway and sidewalks, and there will be even more urban kids needing schools.

And there are thousands more units yet to come or planned for the areas immediately east and west of Yonge.

City planners, politicians and business improvement groups are all grappling with the explosive changes coming — the need to protect heritage buildings while preserving Yonge’s unique character, and ensure it’s not simply lined with tall buildings and big-box stores.

But the applications from developers to build more and more — and at a size never anticipated on streets once lined mainly with houses — has area Councillor Josh Matlow so concerned that he wants a moratorium on any new highrise developments until the city can get a better grip on services needed to handle the growth.

Some 22 projects with 8,868 condo units are proposed or under construction just in the heart of this midtown area, according to Paul Farish, a senior city planner. Expand the circle out towards Bayview and Davisville Aves. and the number of potential condos jumps to 12,296 units in almost 50 projects.

Between 2001 and 2011 alone, the population of the Yonge-Eglinton area grew 32.6 per cent to 18,453 residents, according to census data, While parts of the downtown are seeing similar pressure from condo redevelopment, that pressure is spread over 2,120 hectares, says Farish. Yonge-Eglinton is just 61 hectares.

Reference: The Toronto Star

http://www.thestar.com/…/2015/09/25/two-ends-of-a-boom-town…