Huntley-Linden rental demolition approved; 29 units demolished, 51 replacements with tenant protections planned

housing

Huntley-Linden rental demolition approved; 29 units demolished, 51 replacements with tenant protections planned

City Council approved demolition of 29 rental units across four addresses (Huntley, Linden, Selby Streets) and replacement with 51 rental units as part of a 1,411-unit mixed-use tower development already green-lit by the Ontario Land Tribunal. Tenants of the 29 units get a right to return at protected rents plus financial compensation; 25 additional rental rooms are replaced with 22 studio units. The decision is final pending execution of tenant agreements and zoning conditions.

not yet heardToronto City Council · Wed, Jul 29Court ruling

Also in this item

• Of 29 demolished rental units, only 29 are replaced at similar rents; an additional 25 rental rooms are demolished but replaced with only 22 studio units, a net loss of 3 units in the rental inventory at that site, offset by 51 total replacements across the two towers.

• Tenant Assistance Plan secures right of return at similar rents and provides financial compensation; tenants of rental rooms receive studio-unit replacements rather than identical room-type returns.

• Development timeline: East Tower (51 replacement rental units) is Phase 1; West Tower (remaining 1,360 units) is Phase 2, meaning replacement units may not be available immediately upon demolition, requiring interim tenant relocation and assistance.

The journey

Wed, Jul 8 · Toronto and East York Community Council · adopted

Wed, Jul 29 · Toronto City Council · not yet heard

Decision

Rental Housing Demolition Application approved. Demolition of 29 rental dwelling units at 47-65 Huntley Street, 3 and 11 Selby Street, and 2, 8, 12, 16 Linden Street authorized. Replacement secured: 29 rental units to replace the demolished 29 units, plus 22 rental studio units to replace 25 demolished rental rooms, all in the East Tower of the first phase. Tenant Assistance Plan mandated, including right of return at similar rents and financial compensation. Residential Demolition Permit approved under Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 363, subject to conditions.

On video

Jump to this item in the meeting video

Why is this story here?

Big deal at city hallPermanent loss of 29 rental units in a constrained Toronto rental market, mitigated by binding replacement at similar rents. The Tenant Assistance Plan is a hard-to-reverse commitment of city authority and tenant protections, and the two-tower development spans multi-year capital commitment. However, the substance is bounded to this site and does not change the institutional framework for future demolitions. Passes the 'hard to reverse' test (undoing requires either re-housing 29 tenants or breaking a signed agreement) and the 'wide reach' test applies narrowly (affects 29 specific households, not a class of people city-wide). Scores at the boundary of real-but-contained and substantial; the irreversibility of displacement and the binding financial commitment, even if site-specific, justify substantial.Felt nowTwenty-nine current rental tenants face imminent displacement and relocation, with a right to return secured by the Tenant Assistance Plan. This is direct daily-life impact: housing loss, moving costs, and temporary displacement are immediate and tangible for the affected households. The 25 additional rooms demolished affect an unknown number of occupants (a room count, not a unit count, suggests rooming-house or shared-rental occupancy, multiply the number of residents). No other Toronto resident's week changes. Salience is bounded to the affected households (roughly 30-40 people directly, possibly more if rooms are shared). This is direct-and-real for a small specific group, not broad-and-immediate.

Stories are ordered by how much weight a decision carries and how directly it reaches daily life. They rise as a decision date approaches and fall as they age.

Official title: 47-65 Huntley Street, 2-18, 24, and 26 Linden Street and 1-11 Selby Street - Rental Housing Demolition Application - Decision Report - Approval · meeting video