Condo gold rush in midtown continues

Canada Post considers selling historic site near Yonge & Eglinton

The former site of the historic Montgomery’s Tavern near Yonge and Eglinton could get snapped up by a developer to add to midtown’s continuing condo influx, thanks to a decision by Canada Post to transition out of their current building.

Eugene Knapik, a Canada Post spokesperson, said that the Crown corporation issued a request for proposals after determining that Toronto Station K, as the post office is known, presented challenges to planned changes as Canada Post moves to modernize its mail service.

“We’re considering selling the property, but only if the purchaser provides us with a suitable replacement property,” Knapik said.

The post office has been listed on the City of Toronto’s inventory of heritage properties, but can’t be designated while it’s under the federal government’s ownership. Circa 1837, it was home to Montgomery’s Tavern, William Lyon Mackenzie’s headquarters in the Upper Canada Rebellion. Coun. Karen Stintz said she will pursue a heritage designation once the post office property is sold.

“They [developers] will find a way to work around the heritage issue.”

John Robb, a commercial sales representative at Bosley Real Estate, said that all the biggest developers in the city are vying for the property.

“They [developers] will find a way to work around the heritage issue,” he said.

Recent property purchases in the area suggest it may be worth in the tens of millions of dollars. A consortium of developers paid $37 million for a collection of properties on and near the northeast corner of Yonge and Eglinton.

Local resident Terry Mills pointed to neighbouring development applications for 28 storeys on Yonge Street and 24 storeys on Helendale Avenue, which he believes ought to consolidate services where possible to preserve more of the public realm. “You now have a cluster of three sites all together, and all of them, of course, ask for heights and densities that are remarkably more than what was there in the old zoning,” Mills said.

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