Outside Wake’a Boo Breakfast Bar in Bloor West Village, an intimate brunch spot bathed in the pink light of neon signs spelling out phrases like “coffee first” and “this is my jam,” Anna Mattiuzzo carries a takeout container with the remnants of a weekday brunch.
asserted
Mattiuzzo → bath → brunch
Yes, she’s heard about the fate of the restaurant.
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she → hear → restaurant
It’s slated to be demolished for a 15-storey rental tower on the strip of mostly two-storey storefronts on Bloor Street, roughly between Jane Street and Ellis Park Road.
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It → slat → Street
“I’m opposed to it,” Mattiuzzo said.
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Mattiuzzo → ’m → it
“How are we going to accommodate the volume of cars onto, as we can see,” she gestures at passing traffic, “an already congested street?”
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she → go → street
Like the Danforth and Little Italy, Bloor West Village is one of the neighbourhoods that Toronto is known for, stocked with unique and walkable small businesses.
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Toronto → know → businesses
It’s also along a major street, in an area marked for growth because it’s so close to the subway.
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it → ’ → subway
The tower will replace the restaurant and two other small businesses, along with the rental apartments above them, according to the city, which has already approved the project.
uncertain
which → replace → project
The owner listed on the city planning documents did not respond to the Star’s multiple requests for comment.
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owner → list → comment
The plans have brought out fears about parking, long shadows and the loss of charm and small businesses the area is known for.
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area → bring → charm
It’s a story that’s playing out in similar neighbourhoods across the city, highlighting the challenge of increasing density and adding urgently needed housing, without losing the character that makes them destinations.
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them → ’ → character
In Bloor West Village, many residents aren’t confident it can be done.
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it → do → Village
Council approved a zoning bylaw amendment for the site in July 2026, said Dan Nicholson, manager for community planning with the city, in an email.
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Nicholson → approve → email
The decision was not appealed “and is now in force,” Nicholson added.
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Nicholson → appeal → force
The area falls within a “Protected Major Transit Station Area,” a zone within a 10-minute walk of a major transit station, where the province mandates higher density and growth.
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province → fall → density
About 60 residential units are planned along with retail on the ground floor, and some office space, according to the city website.
uncertain
units → plan → website
Mattiuzzo fears the impact on the village.
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Mattiuzzo → fear → village
Retail in new developments tends to be big box retailers.
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Retail → tend → developments
“If you want a city to be interesting it cannot be a row of Starbucks in perpetuity,” Mattiuzzo said.
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Mattiuzzo → want → perpetuity
“It cannot be Shoppers Drug Mart as far as the eye can see.
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eye → see → ?
It needs to be diverse mom and pops.”
Too much, too tall?
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It → need → ?
There is a Shoppers in Bloor West Village, but it’s in the old red-brick 1920s-era Runnymede Theatre and has retained some of the architectural details inside.
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it → be → details
But there are also independent drug stores, quirky gift shops selling sachets of dried lavender, a place to get a watch battery replaced, a Ukrainian credit union and a Catholic Church, flanked by a line of yellowing trees.
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battery → be → trees
Residents dipping in and out of small grocers and running errands used words like “horrifying” and “inappropriate” to describe the tower plans.
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Residents → dip → plans
One passerby outside the future tower site said her thoughts depend on what type of housing will be built, as more affordable units are badly needed.
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units → say → housing
Michael Younder, chair of the Bloor West Village Residents Association, opposes the development.
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Younder → oppose → development
He summed up the association’s concerns in a recent blog post.
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He → sum → post
They include parking — there won’t be any but there will be 62 bike parking spots, according to the architectural plans — and waste management.
uncertain
They → include → plans
It’s about the “proportion,” Younder said.
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Younder → ’ → proportion
Residents are also concerned about the shadow or “valley of doom” it would cast on the north side of Bloor, and the impact that could have on the shopping experience, he added.
uncertain
he → concern → experience
Roughly 43 per cent of planned units in Vaughan’s new master-planned downtown are unsold,
Younder, who has lived in the village since he bought his first house in 1995 and raised his kids there, thinks what happens may have repercussions for other neighbourhoods in the city.
uncertain
happens → plan → city
“I think this sort of sets a precedent,” he said.
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he → think → precedent
It’s more of a hey, is this the only place this building can go?”
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building → ’ → is
Leilani Farha, a housing advocate and 2026 CBC Massey Lecturer, said there are many cities around the world, such as Paris, that manage to be very dense without tall towers.
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that → say → towers
“Big buildings are kind of ugly often, and they lack character, ” she said.
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she → lack → character
While it’s clear there is a need for more rental housing in the city, it needs to be affordable, she added.
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she → ’ → city
Otherwise people already living there will be priced out.
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people → live → ?
“And so the question is, what’s being built here?”
Usually, these towers have one anchor tenant, a large multinational corporation that can absorb the risk.
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that → build → risk
But she believes developers should be more creative, embracing ideas like incubator spaces for small businesses.
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developers → believe → businesses
They could start by asking the community what they need.
uncertain
they → start → what
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
