Last November, Colliers Strategy and Consulting (on behalf of YI Developments Limited) submitted an application for a 57 storey tower at the southeast corner of  Yonge and Isabella Streets (619-637 Yonge; 7-9 Isabella) that would bring 606 residential units to the site.  

The  Yonge Street frontage would be retail space, with the residential entrance  on Isabella Street, and servicing, parking and loading accessed via Gloucester Lane.

The site is within the Yonge Street Heritage Conservation District, which the City of Toronto designated in 2016 under the Ontario Heritage Act.  However, a group of developers, including YI Developments, has appealed The Heritage Conservation District Plan to the Ontario Land Tribunal. The current development proposal calls for the demolition of the existing buildings. 

City staff released a Preliminary Report with recommendations in January 2022. 

In July 2022, the Toronto Preservation Board recommended that City Council designate the existing buildings as heritage properties.  

The report recommends that City Council state its intention to designate the property at 625 Yonge Street (including 621, 627, 629, 631, 633, 635, and 637 Yonge Street, and 1, 3, and 5 Isabella Street) under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value. 

According to the report, the buildings:

...constitute a representative example of Edwardian Classicist-style commercial main street buildings. Part of Yonge Street's historic commercial streetscape since the early 20th century, the property maintained a long association with the automotive industry, beginning with its original use for Thomas Crow's carriage business. It then housed the Dominion Automobile Company's showroom, the second store location of Canadian Tire, and other automobile companies. From the late 1970s through the late 1990s, the property housed a series of clubs that served the LGBTQ2S+ community, notably including the Domino Club and Komrads."

On August 18,  the City issued a Notice of Intention to designate the buildings  as heritage properties. 

33 and 37 Maitland Street are for sale as a potential development site. Colliers International has compiled an "investment summary" document, which details the rationale for a 38-storey tower. 

33 Maitland is a 3-storey apartment building with 37 units. 37 Maitland is a 2-storey office building that is listed as a heritage property, built in 1853. They are located between the Village Green rental complex and the Cosmopolitan condominiums. 

According to the document, given the height of other buildings in the area, an argument can be made for a 38-storey tower. "The proposed height is based on a hypothetical angular plane between the proposed 15-storey mixed-use building located at 506 Church Street and the recently built 52-storey condominium building at 501 Yonge Street."  (506 Church Street has since been approved at 14 storeys). 

There will be no opportunity for community consultation until a developer purchases the properties and submits a development proposal. 

In 2020 and 2021 the City hosted two public consultations and two stakeholder meetings  on the redesign of the George Hislop and Norman Jewison Parks and Alexander Street Parkette. (See the Yonge Street Linear Park Improvements page at Toronto.ca  for background.)

Revitalizations of George Hislop and Norman Jewison Parks had been  scheduled to start in late 2022; however there have been delays with the projects and construction is now expected to start in 2023. Alexander Street Parkette's improvements were originally planned for 2023, as they must be coordinated with a garage roof replacement project for 25 Maitland's underground parking.  
 
Alexander St. Parkette
The parking garage roof work will entail removing all of the landscaping above it. The City is now in discussion with the property manager of 25 Maitland Street (The Cosmopolitan) to coordinate the timing of their repair work with the park improvements.

​​The goal is that both projects would be completed sequentially during the outdoor construction season of 2023. This schedule needs to be confirmed with both parties. The City will be implementing the park plan developed through consultation, below. ​

A larger image of the above Alexander Street Parkette plan is here.

George Hislop Park and Norman Jewison Parks
 
The detail design stage of work for George Hislop Park and Norman Jewison Park has now been completed and the consultant is preparing construction documents for tender. 
 
Among the improvements, George Hislop Park will feature an LGBTQ2S+ art installation; artist Catherine Tammaro has been engaged to create Indigenous placemaking elements in Norman Jewison Park.
 
The anticipated schedule for these two parks is a construction start in 2023.​​​

A larger image of the George Hislop Park plan is here (after opening, click the image for maximum size).

A larger image of the Norman Jewison Park plan is here (after opening, click the image for maximum size).

Barbara Hall Park and the Wellesley Green P Lot

Although Barbara Hall Park was rebuilt in 2014, ongoing issues with the usage of the park have led to an initiative to rethink its design; community consultations are likely to commence in late 2022.

Looking further forward, the Green P parking lot that sits across from the Wellesley subway station has been promised, in Toronto's Official City Plan, as parkland for many years. 

In the recently released, "TOCore Implementation Strategy: Downtown Parks and Public Realm Plan," 15 Wellesley East is listed as one of the “New Parks Secured through Development and Acquisitions.” 
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The City has not yet determined if the entire lot will go to parkland or if some will be allocated to affordable housing. 

Improvements to existing parks and the addition of more green space will be a welcome change to our rapidly densifying neighbourhood.