Anthony Marcusa –
With an influx of new building proposals that would change the makeup of the Church Wellesley Village, residents are picking a fight with one of the biggest developers.
The Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association is raising funds to oppose Kingsett Capital’s plan for a tall mixed-use building on the northeast corner of Church and Wellesley Streets, above a longstanding Pizza Pizza location and a row of heritage townhomes.
Kingsett’s application, submitted in January 2024, proposed a 28-storey mixed-use tower with ground-floor retail space and a total of 258 residential units. The proposal includes just 50 two-bedroom units and 26 three-bedroom units, with the rest comprising singles and studios. It also includes replacement of 17 existing rental units and tenant relocation. No parking spots are proposed.
City Planning recommended City Council reject the proposal, but KingSett appealed the decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Doug Ford’s provincial government has made it increasingly difficult for citizens to fight developments at the provincial level, even when a municipality has rejected a proposal. Reforms by the Liberal government in early 2018 to replace the Ontario Municipal Board with several tribunals to address various developments and streamline the appeals process were quickly halted when the Conservative Party was elected to government.
Previously, citizens and community groups could be involved in an appeal as a “participant” or a “presenter”. Tribunal Watch, a public interest group monitoring Ontario’s judicial tribunal system, explains this on its website. These long-standing public participation rights for participants and presenters no longer exist. There is no longer any ability to become a presenter at a hearing.
The Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association has been granted party status, and for months has been fundraising the necessary tens of thousands of dollars. Its GoFundMe page aimed to raise $40,000 by June 30, but in late June only $13,515 had been raised.
Paul Farrelly, chair of the association’s heritage committee, and fellow CWNA member Peter Small attended the appeals hearing where the city defended its rejection of Kingsett’s appeal, which concluded on June 28.
“Really cruel situation – your head hurts,” Farrelly says. “There’s so much preparation. There’s three volumes of evidence books they agreed to. They take witnesses. Everything is going at the speed of light.”
Bill 185, officially the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, further discourages opposition to developers. If the relevant municipality approved a proposal, it prevents members of the public from appealing it to the Lands Tribunal. If the municipality opposed the development, “members of the public can still seek party status at a developer’s appeal as long as the person made oral submissions at a public meeting or made written submissions to the council about the development, “according to Tribual Watch Ontario.
The city denied Kingsett’s application in order to protect heritage buildings from 70 to 78 Wellesley Street East known as the William McBean Terrace. The row houses were constructed in the late 19th century and listed on the city’s Heritage Properties inventory in 1974.
“If Kingsett wins this,” said Farrelly. “It’ll be high-rises up and down Church Street in 10 or 20 years.” The Crews and Tangos bar “is next in line.”
Graywood Developments sought to build a 48-storey tower on the Crews and Tango site, a proposal denied by the Toronto and East York Community Council following public outcry in January 2025. The developers had first proposed a 14-storey building in 2020.
A 28-storey building on the northwest corner of Church and Wellesley, proposed by ONE Properties, was approved after community input.
The neighbourhood association “is not against developments,” said Small. “We’re not against condos, though we’d much prefer affordable rental. High rises have a place, and they are important, but they don’t have to be everywhere.”
“There can be variation, there can be relief. That’s what city planning is all about.”
