The north-west corner of St. Jamestown is an interesting piece of Toronto. An office building at the corner of Bloor and Sherbourne houses shops, a private college, and the main entrance to Sherbourne subway station. To the east is a busy fire hall, and to the south is a church. Yet this block also contains several abandoned houses, some of which are heritage properties. Some of these have been boarded/bricked up since before I first became aware of them in 2001.
The
James Chalmers Building was demolished in 2006 following its collapse. It had been left unkempt by its owner despite its heritage designation. and remains a vacant lot to this day.
Its collapse also forced the evacuation of 4 Howard Street, which was subsequently boarded up to match its neighbours on Glen Road. The upset caused by these events helped lead to changes that allow the city to
mandate ongoing maintenance.
It has long been suspected that the
abandoned houses on Glen Road will meet the same fate as part of a gentrification scheme where buildings are allowed to collapse when they cannot legally be demolished. The street sees heavy foot traffic due to the east entrance to Sherbourne Subway Station, and for the still-inhabited homes. It has also been used regularly by film crews; a sign was posted this week to announce filming of a new television series. 14-16 Glen Road, as seen in the picture that can be accessed via the link above (this paragraph), is shown with windows and doors boarded on only one side. With 1 semi-detached home abandoned, the other inhabited renters for some time yet is now also sealed off from the public. The Anson Jones House on Sherbourne (beside 4 Howard Street) can be seen still inhabited on page 2 of the linked site, yet it also now sits
boarded up.
Indeed, since the publication of the articles I have linked to, signs have appeared detailing extensive high-rise development proposals. Gentrification is not new to the area, evident in Tridel's
postmodern condo building on Sherbourne (almost facing Howard Street) that adjoins an old Knights of Columbus hall which was moved forward several feet from its original site. As can be seen in the picture below, there has been some backlash. A faded sticker reading "Gentrification" can be seen at the top, and it has been graffiti-ed while the buildings remain untouched.
Most recently, fences have been erected around the Glen Road houses. The signs remain unchanged, so perhaps this is a sign of imminent changes to the St. Jamestown landscape.
