BRIAN'S BLOG
Big changes at Church and Wellesley
December 3, 2014
You can’t escape the construction boom in and around Toronto’s Gay Village at Church and Wellesley, whether you’re here for work, play or just travelling through. Development is mostly a good thing, but there is always a downside to all the construction.
The big negative is the addition at 66 Isabella, which has been a rental apartment building for 42 years where residents had access to a terrific park. While it’s a great that there are new rental apartements being built (196, in fact) the loss of that great green space on the corner of Church and Isabella is major.
50 Wellesley is more of a good news story. Although it has yet to break ground, it will be a nice change from the empty lot that’s sat there for years. There will be a range of units being built, up to three bedrooms. The retail underneath should bring a little life to the street, but let’s hope the bike lane isn’t compromised for too long.
And of course, there is Totem condos, being built on Dundondald Street. One of the attractions for this building is that there will be direct access to Wellesley station. The Commercial Travellers’ Association of Canada Building, which occupied the space is a great modernist design and happily, the façade will be dismantled and will be re-installed in the new building.
I hope the new residential buildings help fill the empty retail spaces on Church Street – seeing some great locations closed is a shame!