Toronto Approves New Yonge And Eglinton Square Development Proposal

The current owner of the Yonge and Eglinton Square wants to build a three-storey shopping mall on the current public space and the North York Community Council has almost unanimously decided to give them the go-ahead, pulling the plug on the square at just 42 years of age. 

That current owner is RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, and along with the new three-storey retail building the new construction will also add five new levels to the office tower at 20 Eglinton Ave. West, and seven levels to the existing office tower at 2300 Yonge St. Pedestrian connections from these two streets to Duplex Avenue and Orchard Heights Boulevard are also set to be improved.  

New 3-Storey Podium Will Add Character To The NW Corner

The community made their voices heard with regards to wanting to square to stay intact. A city staff report said, “the design changes presented by the applicant were not well received by the community,” but pointing out that the land “offers a significant opportunity to be a programmable space,” as reported in the National Post last week. 

Before RioCan bought the square in 2007, the developer who bought the public street area in 1968 was permitted to build two office towers and residences, and the bylaw that passed in that same year allowed the towers but exempted the area that is now the square from any large buildings.  

Some community residents are upset about losing the bit of space they have, and some worry that the taller buildings that might overshadow their homes.  Personally, I think some change is long overdue.  For the most part, the square has been a barren, cold area for half the year and just a crossing point for the rest of the time.

Former Toronto mayor David Crombie, who has lived in the area for quite some time, agrees and called the current square “an inhospitable place” and said that the new development “will help fix it”.  

Eglinton-Lawrence Councillor Karen Stintz told InsideToronto after a community meeting on the subject that there’s be little hope of finding something that would please everyone, and that the square as it currently stands is under-used and is not an ideal community zone.  

The proposed development, which was approved last Tuesday, will add 40,000 square feet within the three new storeys and promises to feature “contemporary and innovative” designs.

A part of the current pedestrian square will be enclosed, and RioCan said that the community will only be losing less than 10 per cent of their current public space, but an outdoor green space and rooftop terrace will be open to the public on the third floor of the new building.

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