[dt_toronto_geek]

I remember hearing a long time ago that there were plans for an Alexus 2 but something was in the way. . . not quite sure what/if this parking lot was part of that land assembly.

I heard this back in the late 90's & early 00's. The developer had most (or all) properties up to Maitland Street except the Church on Church property, which was Gatsby's restaurant back then. The owner who lived in the apartment above wasn't selling. Not sure what has changed, if anything, since then. A midrise on the parking lot property would save that vibrant block.

 

[DTowner]

I heard this back in the late 90's & early 00's. The developer had most (or all) properties up to Maitland Street except the Church on Church property, which was Gatsby's restaurant back then. The owner who lived in the apartment above wasn't selling. Not sure what has changed, if anything, since then. A midrise on the parking lot property would save that vibrant block.

Not if it's filled with NIMBYs.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Not if it's filled with NIMBYs.

So I heard last night that the developer sold off the properties south of Maitland St. some years ago, breaking up the land assembly. Currently, Crews/Tango, the parking lot and Boutique Bar properties are owned by one person/company. The owner of the O'Grady's is asking an outrageous price to sell and it's not known who currently owns the Church on Church building. Take all that with a grain of salt, but that's what I was told by who I would consider a fairly reliable, "in the know" source. Bottom line, at some point it looks like most of this stretch will be developed, hopefully a mid-rise that respects the scale of the neighbourhood like the Alexus condos.

 

[to_l]

There's a sign up for a proposed 28-storey mixed-use building for the lot next to the Wine Shop.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

There's a sign up for a proposed 28-storey mixed-use building for the lot next to the Wine Shop.

See the 81 Wellesley thread.

 

[deerparker]

The parking lot next to O'Grady's has been fenced off and has a "sold" sign on it. Anybody know what's going on with this?

The fence is down and the parking lot has returned, newly paved.

 

[Roy G Biv]

The fence is down and the parking lot has returned, newly paved.

They are just getting it ready to be excavated.

 

[mgl]

I should have snapped a pic, but the new fence around the Toronto Hydro parking lot has turned out very well. A parking lot fence is never going to be an attraction, but this has improved the streetscape.

 

[TwoDogs_39]

Does anyone know why the city is ripping up the sidewalks? If anything, they need to rip up and repave the street, which is falling apart!

 

[BayStBoi]

Does anyone know why the city is ripping up the sidewalks? If anything, they need to rip up and repave the street, which is falling apart!

The head of the BIA says they'll be doing the street in a week or two once the sidewalks are done.

 

[DSC]

Does anyone know why the city is ripping up the sidewalks? If anything, they need to rip up and repave the street, which is falling apart!

Normally they repair sidewalks first and then move to the streets. This means the asphalt is not destroyed when they fix the curbs and allows the paving to be the last part fixed.

 

[deerparker]

The grilled cheese place has closed (perhaps not surprisingly). No trace remains that it ever existed. Fencing has gone up around the former 7-24 Video - I guess for the planned RBC.

 

[JasonParis]

Saturday night (Hallowe'en) was an example of what happens when you've lost many of your gay bars. Basically, the tens of thousands of people on the street all scurried to different bars as soon as the rain started and created queues longer than one would see during Pride. I doubt many actually got into their bar of choice.

 

[Torontovibe]

The lineups on Church St. for Halloween were crazy. My friends all decided to just go home early because they got tired of standing in line.

 

[Mystic Point]

The lineups on Church St. for Halloween were crazy. My friends all decided to just go home early because they got tired of standing in line.

I went out on Halloween and noticed there was a tour bus with many Korean tourists armed with cameras. There were also a lot of Middle Eastern men poking around too. I am told Halloween is a big draw among certain foreigners.