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.
–
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…
–
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!
–
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.”
–
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.
–
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.
–
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…
–
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…
–
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.
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 davidfleming@bosleyrealestate.com 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!
Eddie
at 6:56 am
I have lived most of my life near Leaside (Bennington Hts and Davisville Village) and feel the same way Dave does – a bit sad to see the intersection go through these changes, but fully understand why it is necessary. I REALLY miss the MacDonalds at the South East corner and am hoping that once these towers are build and there is retail space available, a new MacDonalds will open up in the area.
On a related note – the interminable delays of the Eglinton LRT are frustrating, and I am wondering how reliable it will be once it opens. Once the towers at Bayview and Eglinton are build, there will be a lot of people living there who rely on this line to get them to Yonge St. and downtown or wherever else they want to go. And of course, there are lots of other towers planned or going up already further East of Leaside along Eglinton as well who will be in a worse situation if the line is not operating reliably.
I am thinking about all the problems the O-Train in Ottawa has had – I wonder if light rail lines are inherently unreliable in Canadian climates, or if we are just to not good and building and operating reliable mass transit.
Nobody
at 12:48 pm
Thankfully so much of the LRT is in a tunnel and Toronto doesn’t get Ottawa winters. Of course Ottawa is having trains break all the time so who knows how much that helps.
Eglinton LRT has been just a cluster
Anna
at 8:07 pm
Canadian municipalities can have light rail lines and have them operate well– Calgary is a great example of that. Ottawa though, is a bit of unique case, for multiple reasons (including the fact that custom train cars were created and had to be manufactured in Europe). The Walrus published an interesting read on that earlier this year: https://thewalrus.ca/ottawas-transit-gong-show/. Cities with climates similar to ours have LRT lines that work great; however, to have transit systems many cities desire, we need to invest heavily in them and, recognize that the point of mass transit is never to make a profit– it’s to serve communities and provide a more sustainable, long-term transportation option than that of the private automobile.
JF007
at 7:04 am
@David sidebar-‘80 born and visit Airdie every Super Bowl Sunday for a get together at a friends place..🤪
Marina
at 7:44 am
I get why people don’t want a bunch of condo buildings, especially because the city is really bad about building the accompanying infrastructure. Yonge and Ellington is a prime example – the schools are all bursting at the seams. They are finally reopening an old tdsb school to take some of the pressure off.
But all that means is that current residents should be pushing for more infrastructure. That might actually have an impact. Anything else is just yelling at the kids to get off your lawn.
My local intersection is Yonge and Lawrence, and I’m actually looking forward to more development. With new buildings we get more local business options – supermarkets, cafes, restaurants, kids activities, and so on. My kids get a more diverse classroom. A more walkable neighborhood. If I wanted all the current areas to stay the same, I can always move to the suburbs.
RPG
at 8:07 am
I went back and read some of the comments from the previous blogs. I feel like these are long time Leaside residents who don’t care that they are the spitting definition of a “NIMBY.” They just don’t want their area to change.
Not to sound ageist here but their comment that they “can’t believe a realtor wrote this” says that they were present in a previous generation when a realtor simply smiled and said nice things about the house while standing on the front lawn and cooing at the clients baby.
Nick
at 8:19 am
I have never lived in Leaside but I drive through everyday on my way to work.
I really don’t understand the opposition to this as for me building on the corridors enables the inner streets to still be quaint old Leaside streets while gaining so much in terms of liveliness and walkability from what is going to be built on the main surrounding streets.
I am also hope to see development explode along that line where we can really get density. The entire strip from Don Mills all the way east to Kennedy and frankly beyond it to Kingston should be targeted.
Jenn
at 9:58 am
Is David being coy about where he lives? He almost told us!
Marty
at 11:04 am
I know NOTHING about Bayview and Eglinton. I do not get up there much.
I found the bit about people suggesting that the new LRT simply pass through, interesting.
I did some work for a developer, back in the 90’s, in Phoenix AZ. There was one municipality there (as most know, Greater Phoenix is a bunch of municipalities) that did not really care for bus service, so they refused to pay for it. Then of course, those buses simply did drive **through***, no stops in that municipality.
Anyway, I like the look of all those buildings, save for Glazebrook.
Jennifer
at 12:29 pm
My problem with these condos is they are likely <500 sq. ft one bedrooms, or if it is a 3 bedroom it is <1000 sq. ft. They get their density for the press, but is that really the density we want/need? A bunch of tiny one bedroom condos?
Izzy Bedibida
at 12:51 pm
I was thinking of the exact same thing. The wrong density. Eventually the schools will scale back as this density is not family friendly for the long term
Nobody
at 12:56 pm
Condos now cost between $1000 to 1500 a foot. Some older buildings with challenges are selling for $800 a foot.
Developers are designing their units to what people can afford. 1200sqft 1 bedrooms are great but with those prices and condo fees that are easily 75 cents a foot per month…
Between permitting delays, land costs, and increase in labour and materials costs we’re far, far beyond $500 a foot price of new condos.
Derek
at 12:40 pm
Are McSorley’s and Duff’s still operating on Bayview?
David Fleming
at 6:15 pm
@ Derek
I’m a big wing guy. I take my wings seriously.
And there’s nowhere I would rather have wings than Duffs on Bayview.
I’m sure wing experts will cringe and offer me their hidden haunts throughout the city, but I like Duffs because of the consistency and expediency. The wings are always the same and they’re fast. Maybe people would rather wait longer for better/different, but I’m not a foodie and I usually go to Duffs on an empty stomach after a long day, planned weeks in advance, and I want my food NOW!
N.B.: I don’t like breaded wings and I dont like “whole” wings, so that eliminates many other peoples’ favourite wing spots.
I haven’t been to McSorleys in years but I frequented that a lot in my youth. Several of my friends worked there. They had “PGA TOUR GOLF” which was a better version of Golden Tee. My buddy Jeff worked in the kitchen one summer and I came in and ordered nachos; he put together a work of art and layered them, stacked them, and built them into a masterpiece so that every single chip had the same amount of goodies on it. There’s nothing worse than “nachos” that’s just a layer of chips with cheese and veggies, covering up hundreds of dry, plain chips.
Originals is another famous haunt. “Back in the day,” circa 2002, it was the unofficial under-age bar one summer for the neighbourhood kids. We’d go every Tuesday, all summer, and it was filled with teenagers.
I worked at Bruno’s Fine Foods on Bayview in the summer of 1996. First job I ever had!
Derek
at 8:51 pm
Awesome
Wings is my favourite food group. My wife and I used to live in an apartment on Balliol and I agree with everything you said. Then when we lived near UofT we happily got the College St location. My mouth waters just thinking about them.
Ace Goodheart
at 8:52 pm
The Wheatsheaf. King and Bathurst.
Best wings in the world.
Ace Goodheart
at 1:09 pm
Leaside ?
No interest whatsoever.
They can do what they like to it.
Interesting childhood memories.
I grew up in what used to be wide open countryside just outside of Oshawa. A favorite pass time was trying to get lost in a corn field then finding your way back out (harder than it sounds).
Saddest day was when they bulldozed the scrap yard where I spent my formative years scavenging for parts for the old cars I rebuilt as a teenager. It’s now a housing development (and the former owners, whom I knew, are now gazillionaires who live in the USA with all the money they got selling the land).
You can’t stop progress.
I remember, at age 18, telling my Dad we should buy a large acreage that came up for sale for the princely sum of $70,000.
That lot, with an old school and a barn, later sold to developers for about 100 million.
He still wishes he’d listened to me.
J
at 3:59 pm
The sentiment that the only thing preventing progress with land development is peoples opinions and old school notions about housing, is quaint. It belies the narcissism people employ to expect to live in a world dependent upon electricity, but have no clue what electricity is.
If you are a person of substance, and have built any large scale projects, one major problem comes to mind with condos of this size in a small area; Where does the sewage go? The assumption that at 6 am over twenty thousand showers and toilets are in use while people get ready for work, and the sewage just goes somewhere magical is extremely worrisome. Even more worrisome is a modern narcissist’s belief that city planning has it all figured out. Not a single developer or city planner cares about the sewage requirements of these cement cash cows long term and within a decade there will be a major environmental disaster because of it. It is only about generating revenue for the city and developers.
Anwar
at 8:41 pm
I don’t buy this. I think the argument in favour of housing near transit assumes further investment in infrastructure, such as sewage, hydro, water, etc.
This feels like an anti-Leaside-development commenter catastrophizing (“all your toilets are going to explode!”) in order to throw shade on David.
marmota
at 10:02 pm
Cities have grown to unthinkable levels all over the world and manage everything pretty well including waste. Some better than others of course. Technology has advanced and will continue at an incredible pace!
There are some 10 cities in the world that have around 10 times the population of Toronto – Look at Tokio! another 35 or so that are roughly 3 times larger.
To limit the growth of a city like to Toronto because of waste seems asinine. It’s likely better for the environment to intensively grow Toronto and the infrastructure it needs than building another city it’s size or grow 5-10 smaller cites.
A Grant
at 6:15 am
Sewage and related infrastructure ought to be replaced every 30-40 years. It’s a lot cheaper and easier to replace this infrastructure in a dense neighbourhood, with a high built in property tax base, than it is for a low density neighbourhood filled with detached houses.
One of the main reasons cities are going bankrupt is the infrastructure bill for low density housing built in the 1960s-1980s is coming due.
Ace Goodheart
at 5:35 pm
Looks like my prediction for best affordability of Toronto houses will be spot on accurate.
I want to come back here in three years and see if I was right.
I figure late 2026 early 2027 is the time.
Should be in the midst of a large price correction.
Interest rates should be getting cut. Mortgages should be cheap and the BoC should be goosing the bond markets.
Best thing to do now is put your down payment in a 5.5% GIC, add to it each month and wait.
Mike H
at 11:52 pm
I lived in leaside for nearly 20 years growing up, and it’s provided me with many great memories (Pat’s Barber shop, playing at old leaside arena or the great educators like ‘Bill Shizas’). My parents had a house on Bessborough drive, notably sharing backyards with Wade Belak <3. Since I'd moved back in 2013, the neighbourhood was already unrecognizable (stucco homes, tear-downs etc.)
I relate to your sense of necessary change at the cost of nostalgic memories and architecture… It's a sad reality.
David Fleming
at 9:08 am
@ Mike H
I grew up one block from you! I was at #96.
I remember when Wade Belak lived on Bessborough and Bryan McCabe lived one block away on Rumsey!
Island Home Owner
at 10:00 am
Homeowners in central Toronto who oppose condo developments nearby aren’t exactly what I’d call good and moral people … just saying!
Margaret
at 5:26 pm
Long time Leasider here! The problem is not so much the developments, but that there is nothing being done to provide services to the soon to be greatly expanded population. Our schools are all >75 years old, crumbling and are not accessible nor are they air conditioned. Where are the new rec centres, parks, etc. Yes, there are NIMBYs in Leaside, but most of us agree that the city needs to grow. As for the LRT, it would be kind of funny if all of the buildings go up but it never opens HAHA
Nick
at 6:19 pm
So that I feel needs to be discussed. Often these buildings go up and their amenities are only for the residents of that site. Long term those costs are a burden for the community living there.
Why can’t we push these developers to shift from that model to one where there are less private amenities and more publicly accessible spaces? We do it with POPS in these projects already, why can’t we make Community Centres in their podiums? Something that will contribute through fees to the long term maintenance of the buildings as well.
Greg.James.Dave.Summer.Maurice
at 7:29 pm
I’m no expert on the future (near and far) of Bayview and Eglinton, but I loved reading this blog. 😀 I grew up in Leaside, so it was a fun trip down memory road. The school and street names are all so familiar. Thanks, David 🙂
Piper Poodler
at 12:46 pm
I lived in Leaside for many years & totally agree with you. The NIMBYism in Leaside is phenomenal.
The blinders people have re development is appalling. (No, I don’t have a vested interest except as a resident of Toronto.
Other neighborhoods are similarly shortsighted. Fortunately it appears we will finally get more housing & perhaps stop the economic bleeding.
Jamie
at 11:55 am
Good of you to highlight the ultimate outcome of NIMBYism, every development prevented is just an invitation for something more objectionable in the future. I wonder what Yonge between Lawrence and Yonge Blvd will look like in 10-20 years. You are absolutely right on infrastructure. The NIMBY crowd doesn’t seem to focus on that until it is too late to force something better.
Lynn Gibson
at 1:10 pm
I worked at the strip mall at Bayview Eglinton in the 80’s, that is now torn down. People may have nostalgia for it but they also stayed away in droves. The company I worked for went bankrupt there. Everyone laughed because that mall had a reputation as low rent for a reason.