The temperatures this January have been warmer than usual but that means more grey skies and dreary weather days. I spent one of those grey afternoons in the fog on a stretch of Bayview Avenue near York Mills Road. It seemed like an appropriate time to see how many abandoned houses I could find.
Once upon a time, and not that long ago, Bayview Avenue in this part of the city was lined with large houses on big lots, often hidden behind trees. Slowly, each house is being replaced with 4 to 6 townhouses in line with a revised city plan. Toronto has many housing issues including a shortage of family homes.
below: Five years ago I posted a photo of this house in a post about empty Bayview houses. It was empty at the time too.
below: This house appeared in the same 2017 post. At that time it still had a red front door.
below: Development is rarely a quick process and things can often get convoluted – the sign on this property is for one of the newest plans – it was filed in 2022. There are websites advertising the 4 townhouses at 2621 Bayview for sale preconstruction. There is also a website that claims that 2621 Bayview is included in a block, 2617-21 Bayview that is/was for sale for $14,800,000. (MLS number C5438385).
below: This is 2019 Bayview, included in the 2017-21 block. At 14.8 million just for the land to get 11 units….. Toronto may have a shortage of units but it also has a shortage of affordable housing. What price is affordable these days? A quick search of properties for sale on Bayview shows that a vacant lot is priced above $4,000,000 (1/2 an acre) and that a newly built townhouse with 3000+ square feet is above $2,000,000.
below: Another house that has sat empty.
below: With an application filed in 2017. Five years. Is the process that slow? The city wants this intensification to happen and there doesn’t seem to be a lack of potential developers circling like vultures. Does a backlog of files that are 5, 6, or more years in the making suggest a flaw in the system somewhere?
below: Preparations for a new access road/driveway have begun where 2673 and 2675 Bayview once stood.
as I walk Toronto 
Bayview south of Eglinton is intensifying as well.
Several houses on the west side were recently demolished on the west side to make way for condos.
There’s already a condo on the west side of the demolition, one going up at Davisville, and the plaza at the NE corner of Bayview and Eglinton will be a big ole condo if the Crosstown ever gets completed.