The rapid development of Toronto’s Entertainment District is transforming the area into a high-density residential pocket of the city, with an area skyline that continues to grow richer as new buildings rise. Among the next wave of towers soon to break into the local skyline, construction is in full swing at Plaza’s Theatre District Residence and RIU Plaza Hotel at Adelaide and Widmer streets. The…

The global COVID-19 pandemic is having far-reaching effects in Toronto, including major impacts on what have been booming real estate and building industries. Many jobs and most events are currently suspended, postponed, or affected in other ways, though UrbanToronto is still operating at full strength with our team working remotely. As a means to keep the public in the loop…

A plan to redevelop a site at 625 Sheppard Avenue East—located on the southwest corner at Greenbriar Road in North York—has resurfaced with a new owner and design. Plans from 2016 by former site owner Haven Developments for a project previously known as SIX25BV Condominiums were cancelled. With the site now under the ownership of Canderel Residential, with a new ten-storey design by Graziani +…

In Toronto: Even the bullies are locking heads in a red-hot housing market, while rental-condo listings jump an exorbitant amount.  Elsewhere: One economist believes Canadians will return to big cities, President Biden lays out plan for fair housing, and climate change concerns lead to a first in UK home building.  Toronto Toronto’s housing market so hot even the bully bidders…

2020 may be over, but public health crises don’t adhere to our calendars, and we’re still facing the same challenges that sprung up in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic making its Canadian landfall in Toronto. Just over a year since the first case, many aspects of life have been adjusted to compensate for these new challenges, including the way…

Mayhem. It’s a great word, it really is. Better than its synonyms, I do believe. Pandemonium is a little too crazy for my liking.  I picture people getting trampled as they try to escape from a mall or something. Havoc is far too associated with the word “wreak,” and I’m just not ready to be that tied down. Bedlam is seldom-used,…

The Leslie Street Spit remains a popular destination for cyclists, bird watchers, and many more recreational users, though the approach to the landfilled harbour headlands-turned park has always routed its visitors through a heavily industrialized section of Toronto’s Port Lands. With transformation already underway at the west end of the Port Lands to make the area attractive for visitors and…

Today’s Daily Photo takes us to Toronto’s Runnymede neighbourhood, for a view inside of a repurposed local landmark. The Runnymede Theatre has been converted several times throughout its over nine decades of existence, with a range of uses including a live theatre, a movie theatre, a bingo hall, and a second stint as a movie theatre. Most recently, it was converted…

Adding to the palette of clean modernism to the backdrop to Toronto’s iconic City Hall, the new Ontario Court of Justice is approaching its final height of 17 storeys. As the building climbs closer to its structural peak, the rapid installation of its exterior materials is offering up a better taste of the project’s detail-oriented design by world-renowned Genoa-based architects Renzo Piano Building Workshop, working with Toronto-based NORR Architects.  Looking…