Toronto residents raise concerns over empty section of Yonge Street, awaiting demolition since spring
A block of storefronts along a major Toronto road has been sitting empty, covered in black paint and awaiting demolition, since the spring.
"It sort of degrades the area," Michael Snider, the former owner of Snider Music, told CTV News Toronto. "When we moved here in 1986, there was every kind of business in the world."
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Snider's family business is situated right across the street from the empty block, located on Yonge Street near Lawrence Avenue.
"I'm worried about when the construction [begins] and the fact that nobody knows when it's coming," he said.
The land is owned by a developer with plans to build condos on the block, featuring mixed-use retail space on street level.
The local business association has no problem with the plans, but members say they were never consulted on the "black hole" occupying their street.
CTV News reached out to the developer, Montcrest Asset Management, but did not receive a response before the stated deadline.
Several business owners in the area said the black paint began appearing in the spring and it's remained ever since.
People can be seen walking down a block of Yonge Street in Toronto, currently awaiting development. (Allison Hurst)
Beverly Don, the treasurer for the Yonge and Lawrence BIA, said the latest meeting with representatives for developers was in October.
"I said, ‘Can you please change that colour?’” she explained. "And he said, 'Well, we'll see' and he was supposed to get back to me but he did not."
According to the city, the delays in development are spurred by a lack of permits.
“While the demolition permits were applied for in March of this year, they could not be issued as [developers] are not in compliance with applicable law,” a spokesperson said.
"Residential properties cannot be demolished without the issuance of a replacement building permit. There is no replacement building permit applied for at this time,” they continued.
Ted Butler, member of the Bedford Park Residents Organization (BPRO), told CTV News Toronto he’s “disappointed” in the project thus far.
“But it's my understanding it's not the developers' fault at this point," Butler said. "They were on target to start demolition sometime in the summer, but they still have a couple of people living there. And I think they're going through the eviction process with it."
Butler said ultimately BPRO is pleased with the plans for the neighbourhood, they'd just like to see it get underway.
"It's going to be a two-year process to get there and this has just slowed it down," he said.
"There's nothing malicious about this. Unfortunately, it looks like this. We love our neighborhood, and the people that live up here. You know, a lot of pride in the neighborhood. This is just, I guess, part of the growing pains of change."
Don, with the BIA, also said she fully supports the plans for the space, but wishes they could have better communication with developers.
"I don't feel they have made any legitimate effort to reach out to us as the BIA," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6978861.1722008569!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
At least 4 buildings burned at Jasper Park Lodge, others damaged: Fairmont memo
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge said Thursday afternoon most of its structures are 'standing and intact,' including its iconic main lodge.
Major Canadian bank experiences direct deposit outage on payday
Scotiabank says it has fixed a technical issue that impacted direct deposits on Friday morning.
'He was just gone': Police ramp up search for vulnerable 3-year-old boy in Mississauga, Ont.
Police in Mississauga are conducting a full-scale search of the city’s biggest park for a non-verbal toddler who went missing Thursday evening. Sgt. Jennifer Trimble told reporters Friday morning that there has been no trace of three-year-old Zaid Abdullah since 6:20 p.m., when he was last seen with his parents in Erindale Park, near Dundas Street West and Mississauga Road.
Sask. appeal court says anti-trans group cannot join constitutional dispute over pronoun law
Saskatchewan’s Court of Appeal has denied a political group that opposes so-called “gender ideology” intervener status in a legal dispute over the province’s controversial pronoun law.
B.C.'s top doctor ends four-year COVID-19 public health emergency
After four years of mask mandates, gathering restrictions, vaccinations and hospitalizations, British Columbia’s provincial health officer has ended the province's public-health emergency for COVID-19.
Driver charged after flashing high beams at approaching police
Orillia OPP arrested and charged a driver with impaired driving after flashing their high beams.
Canada's Christine Sinclair: 'We were never shown drone footage'
Canada soccer great Christine Sinclair said on Friday national team players were never shown drone footage during the more than two decades she was on the team, following a spying scandal that cast a shadow over the Canadians at the Paris Games.
Powerful cartel leader 'El Mayo' Zambada was lured onto airplane before arrest in U.S., AP source says
A powerful Mexican drug cartel leader who eluded authorities for decades was duped into flying into the U.S., where he was arrested alongside a son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, according to a U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the matter.
Elon Musk's estranged daughter calls out his 'entirely fake' claims about her childhood
Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk's estranged daughter, publicly refuted several recent anti-trans statements her Tesla CEO and X owner father has made about her.