Yeah, 2 storey buildings are a waste of space in the city. Especially on busy main streets. Another recent-ish example would be the 4-5 year old, 2 storey restaurant building at Dundas/Edward.
But I guess even with the drastic redevelopment, living across from the CAMH cannot be an easy sell. Although, I was in the areas last week and the hipster/artist retail strip west of Trinity-Bellwoods is improving. Quite a lot of new shops/restaurants opening up recently, that I don't remember seeing before. The hipster scene is pretty consistent all the way to Roncy.