Midtown Toronto's Yonge and Eglinton area is one of the fastest-changing areas of the city, home to a wealth of high-rise intensification and a major transit expansion due to open next year. This growth comes at the cost of lower-density buildings. For Throwback Thursday this week, we travel back to October, 2016, looking southwest across Yonge Street. This half-block-long plaza, with partially-sunken storefronts, was designed by local architect Lloyd Alter, opening in 1984. Its windows papered up in 2016, the plaza was soon to be torn down and replaced by a new high-rise development.

Looking southwest across Yonge to site of Whitehaus Condos, 2016, image by Forum contributor PMT

Demolition at the end of 2016 set the stage for the start of construction of Whitehaus Condos by Lifetime Developments and Knightstone Capital Management. The 31-storey, Diamond Schmitt Architects and Turner Fleischer Architects-designed building completed construction this year and is now welcoming residents. Replacing the street-level retail from the former plaza, the new development's base includes double-height commercial space fronting onto Yonge, leasing signs indicating the spaces are now on the market.

Looking southwest across Yonge to site of Whitehaus Condos, 2021, image by Forum contributor Johnny Au

We will return next week with another look at the changing face of Toronto. In the meantime, you can submit your own Throwback Thursday comparisons in our dedicated Forum thread for your chance to be featured in next week's edition.

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