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Throughout October, UrbanToronto is celebrating 20 YEARS, with stories looking back over the last two decades. Each day we are also checking out our ever-changing street scenes, comparing an older "Then" shot with an up-to-date "Now" shot.
Today's 'Then & Now' takes us south of the Gardiner Expressway, looking east along Fort York Boulevard from where it intersects with Angelique Street. In the 2005 image above there is not a single residential building south of the Gardiner — the view is predominantly comprised of industrial-related uses. This area remained like this until around 2007, at which points these large industrial pieces of land started to be cleared, remediated, and redeveloped. The 'Then' image doesn't quite capture it, however the piece of land just out of frame to the right was one of the first redevelopments in this area - Waterparkcity Condominiums - which was completed in 2007 by Lanterra Developments, H&R Developments, and Lifetime Developments.
Scroll down to the 'Now' photo taken in 2023, and the same view east is quite different, with a slew of mid- and high-rise buildings having been constructed. Visible in the photo (going right-to-left) Neptune + Neptune 2 Condominiums (2011), West Harbour City (2011), Fortune at Fort York (2021), and Local at Fort York (2016). Interestingly, aside from the Gardiner Expressway, the only consistent element between the two photos is the landscaping on the north side of Fort York Blvd, which remains as it did back in 2005 with a single row of trees in a narrow paved strip.
Come back tomorrow for another Then and Now from over UrbanToronto's last two decades!
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Thank you to the companies joining UrbanToronto to celebrate our 20 years in business.
| Related Companies: | Arcadis, BDP Quadrangle, Egis, Ferris + Associates Inc., Jablonsky, Ast and Partners, LiveRoof Ontario Inc, NAK Design Strategies, Patton Design Studio, Plaza, Quest Window Systems |
