Bloor Street in the Yorkville and U of T areas has been the site of much development activity over the past several years, and several new buildings are set to continue altering the landscape well into the future.

Just west of Avenue Road, and across the street from the Royal Ontario Museum, the north side of Bloor was the site of a row of two-to-three-storey restaurant spaces, including a McDonald's and a Gabby's, which have since been replaced by two new residential developments. Back on July 12th, 2008, construction work was about to get started on MuseumHouse, a 19-storey luxury boutique condominium tower containing just 26 units.

North side of Bloor, just west of Avenue Road, July 2008, image by Edward Skira

Fast forward to January 29th, 2015, and MuseumHouse has long since been completed. Across the laneway from it, work is well under way at the site of Metropia, Bazis, and Plaza's Exhibit Residences, a 32-storey Rosario Varacalli-designed condo tower which replaced three of the four restaurant spaces that previously occupied the site. Gabby's has moved two doors to the east, taking up the only remaining two-storey space.

North side of Bloor, just west of Avenue Road, January 2015, image by Jack Landau

We will return next week with another look at the changing face of Toronto!