Protest is coming to Yonge and Eglinton today and Urban Toronto will be live blogging the event. Local residents are protesting plans by Yonge-Eglinton Centre's owner RioCan to replace open space on the corner with a three storey shopping mall. Basically this will be an extension of the existing mall. City Councillors will be voting on the proposal this week. RioCan is also planning to reclad and add floors to the existing two office towers. This is what the corner looks like right now. 

Corner of Yonge and Eglinton Centre

And this is what the existing office towers look like. 

Existing Office Towers at Yonge and Eglinton Centre

And here is a rendering of what RioCan plans to do. 

Rendering of Office Towers at Yonge and Eglinton Square, courtesy of RioCan

Local councillor Karen Stintz is supportive of the project because she's in favour of increasing density close to the subway. That's ironic considering she was originally elected due to her anti-Minto Midtown stance, which brought two major condo towers to the area.

Blogging from the protest:

11:45:Media is here and some folks are being interviewed. Rest of the square is as quiet.

Protest at Yonge and Eglinton Centre, 11:45 am

12:00:Protest begins. Three media trucks are here as are the police. Are there enough people to fill theatre one in the SilverCity? 

Protest at Yonge and Eglinton Centre, 12:00 pm

12:15:Getting exciting. Here's looking at you Paris 1968!

Protest at Yonge and Eglinton Centre, 12:15 pm

12:30:RioCan getting ready to pour boiling oil from the ramparts.

Protest at Yonge and Eglinton Centre, 12:30 pm

12:45:Where's the kid with the acoustic guitar? We need him to channel Woody Guthrie. (Note there actually was a kid with an acoustic guitar playing earlier. Might have gone back to the subway station.)

Protest at Yonge and Eglinton Centre, 12:45 pm

1:00:Who wants to go to The Pickel Barrel for lunch?

Protest at Yonge and Eglinton Centre, 1:00 pm

The end!