Another walking day, another part of the city to explore. Sometimes I find new places to wander around but the other day I went back to Sheppard Ave East to see what other changes are happening. This is a section of Sheppard Ave that is living in the shadow of Yonge Street developments. It’s an area of mixed residential and commercial.
below: Sheppard Ave East looking west towards Yonge Street from Willowdale Ave.
below: A smaller bungalow, and architectural “style” that was common along here.
below: Some of the bungalows are being replaced by much larger houses, especially in the side streets behind Sheppard.
below: More signs of the times, no kids playing outside in the playgrounds of the schools and day care centres.
below: A CTR rabbit trying to run away.
below: This front door with it’s clean and ornate door frame has always fascinated me.
below: 176 Sheppard Avenue East has been empty for a while. I found information about the development here on different websites. One of the sites stated that the new building would be ready to move into in 2019.
below: A vacant lot
below: This is the same vacant lot as there was nothing to prevent me from wandering in.
below: The front of Dudley Court at 166 Sheppard Ave East. I have driven past here a few times this year and I keep thinking that I should check it out before it disappears. The orange “tree protection” fence was a more recent addition. Maybe part of the reason why there is no development proposal sign here is that it’s been about 20 years since the owners started “negotiating” with the city about what was going to be built here.
below: The back of Dudley Court from the vacant lot mentioned above.
below: What surprised me is that there are actually 3 apartment buildings that are empty. The plywood is there to protect the trees that are between the apartments and a ditch. The “ditch” continues underground under Sheppard and then south through a small park towards the 401.
below: There is a pedestrian walkway on the west side that continues north a couple of blocks.
below: Sheppard Ave looking east
below: Sheppard Ave looking west. An evolution of sorts… at first there were small houses that became offices; now they are being torn down.
below: Some of the mid-sized buildings that were developed in the 1970s and 1980s are also “moving upward”. In this case, to 11 storeys with 55 residential units and lower floor retail. It is currently home to medical offices.
below: Once upon a time this was a Pizza Pizza. Then it was for sale. Next, it provided headquarters for an election campaign. And now? Possibly in limbo? All that I could find is a 2017 rejection from the city for a 10 storey development on this lot and the one adjacent (where The Beer Store is now). The official plan calls for lower buildings as you move away from Yonge Street. In the meantime you can call it an eyesore.
below: But not everything is ugly!
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as I walk Toronto 
Thanks for the photo collage of my neighbourhood. You might be interested to know demolition has (finally) begun at Dudley Court, 120-166 Sheppard. The first of the structures to be taken down is the garage on the south end of the property. Workers are there today taking the down the allowed trees and smashing windows out of north building.