A three-storey strip of Yonge Street at Castlefield Avenue was recently purchased by Madison Homes, a Toronto-based developer known for its high-rise condominium and commercial developments — leaving residents and tenants to wonder what will be coming next.
The site at 2490-2514 Yonge St. and 12 Castlefield Ave. was purchased for $19,938,163 in February from Ronald Buildings Limited, owned by the McClelland family. It consists of stores that stretch from Pinto Gold to the southernmost Kailyana store and includes the Capitol Event Theatre (formerly known as the Capitol Theatre and now leased by a separate owner).
Although part of the property at 12 Castlefield Ave. is zoned by the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA), Terry Mills, planning consultant for Arris Strategy Studio pointed to the high-rise condo at 30 Roehampton Ave. as an example of how a developer can negotiate with the TPA to incorporate parking into a development.
“[The TPA] had a surface parking lot there, and they were quite happy to negotiate with Minto to have it put in a floor below ground,” he said.
As for the potential height of a future project, Mills mentioned that zoning only allows for 16 metres along Yonge Street but noted that developers don’t always abide by those rules.
The Capitol Theatre at 2492 Yonge St. has been in the McClelland family since it first opened in 1918, featuring vaudeville shows and silent films. Most of the property’s current tenants arrived in the last 12 years, when president of Ronald Buildings Limited Ian McClelland and his brother were running things. The block was run by their stepfather before that and grandfather before that. Ian McClelland would not say why the family had decided to part with the property but noted that it was due to a “family matter.”
A representative from the purchaser, Madison Homes, implied “something” was coming but could not share what that might be. Tenants of the building are anticipating a change, and both McClelland and his brother have renewable contracts to look after the property until January of 2016.
“They wouldn’t have bought it if they couldn’t do something with it,” said Penny Bedford of Stychin Tyme, one of the tenants of the strip. Bedford also said that “word on the street” was that the developer was contemplating putting up condos, but she acknowledged that it was all just hearsay at this point.
When asked if he’d like to see the Capitol Theatre building remain standing, McClelland replied, “You can have your fanciful dreams, I guess, but these things happen in business.”
“They were out doing surveys the other week,” said McClelland. “They’ve got to develop some sort of a plan for the property, and then it has to go to council and be reviewed. These things take two to five years to jell.”