In 2023, the row of small storefronts at Yonge Street and Bedford Park Avenue was boarded up and painted black, and the Toronto Star reported that neighbours called it an eyesore. The buildings came down. By May 2025 the Ontario Land Tribunal described the property as a vacant redevelopment site. That site, 3180–3202 Yonge Street, sits a short walk from Lawrence station. It was supposed to become The Aston Residences, a luxury condo marketed to affluent buyers leaving their houses.
On Thursday, October 15, the North York Committee of Adjustment approved a different building on the same site: a 157-unit market-rate rental, with more than 70 per cent of the units two- and three-bedroom. If you own a house in Bedford Park and have been watching this corner as your eventual downsizing option, that changes your plan. The large new units next to the subway are still coming. You will be able to rent one. You will not be able to buy one.
Four versions of one building
This plan has been redrawn several times, and each version tells you something about what the market would pay for.
- 2022: The Ontario Land Tribunal approved zoning for an 11-storey mixed-use building with 104 residential units and at least 400 square metres of ground-floor commercial space. Its final order was issued October 7, 2022.
- 2024: The owner asked for more height. The Committee of Adjustment refused a 14-storey version on August 29, 2024.
- 2025: In a May 13, 2025 decision, the Tribunal allowed the appeal in part and approved the 14-storey scheme in principle. That version had 80 luxury units, later trimmed to 77 at the site plan stage.
- 2026: The owner, Montcrest Asset Management, applied to change the tenure from condominium to market-rate rental and raise the count from 77 to 157 units.
The building is no taller. According to the Toronto Star's account of the hearing, the luxury plan had 14 storeys and the rental will have 15 inside the same height, because the high-ceilinged luxury floors were compressed to fit one more. Nearly twice as many homes now fit inside the shape the Tribunal approved.
What the developer's side said didn't work
Michael Goldberg of Goldberg Group represented Montcrest at the hearing. As the Star reported, he told the committee the owner had been "attempting to sell to empty nesters who are quite affluent," and that "it didn't work on this site."
"It is very difficult to bring a development to the market today. This will enable shovels to get in the ground."
The Star also reported Goldberg's account of the new audience: neighbourhood people who no longer want to live in their houses but still want space. The intended buyer pool is mostly the same as before. What changed is that those people will sign leases instead of buying.
That is the central point for anyone planning a downsize nearby. Demand for spacious homes beside the subway did not disappear. The problem was the presale model. Under that model, a developer needs enough buyers to commit to suites years before completion so the project can get financing.
The presale numbers behind the decision
Across the region, Urbanation's Q3 2026 new-condo report shows how thin presales have become.
| Q3 2026, Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area | Figure |
|---|---|
| New condo sales | 760, still 78% below the 10-year Q3 average |
| Share of those sales that were bulk purchases | 339 units, or 45% |
| Pre-construction sales | 60 units, down 61% |
| Completed but unsold units | 5,127, up 40% year over year |
| Units started in Q3 | 381 |
Sixty pre-construction sales across the whole region in a quarter is a very small pool for a 77-suite luxury project to draw from. Completed condos that nobody has bought are piling up, and that weakens the case for starting new ones on presales.
Rentals are funded differently. Goldberg told the committee the owner plans to apply for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funding, which would generally require a share of the units to be affordable. CMHC's Fall 2026 housing supply overview says purpose-built rental starts in Toronto rose 82 per cent in the first half of 2026 and outpaced condo starts for the first time since 1994. It attributes part of that rental supply to proposed condo projects being converted. In that light, 3180 Yonge follows the citywide pattern of 2026. It is a Bedford Park example of it.
Where a buyer stands in the meantime
Downsizing into a newly built luxury condo by Lawrence station is off the table for this project. Downsizing into an existing condo nearby is still possible. TRREB's September 2026 Market Watch shows what that resale market looks like in district C04, which includes Bedford Park.
In September 2026, C04 recorded 13 condo apartment sales, with a median price of $705,000 and an average of $1,007,571. Buyers had 71 active listings to choose from, and units sat for an average of 45 days. The gap of roughly $300,000 between median and average comes from a small number of large suites lifting the average. Most C04 condo apartments sell well below the headline average, and the large suites are a thin, separate market.
Seventy-one active listings against 13 sales gives a buyer time, and 45 days on market means sellers are not getting quick results. Across the City of Toronto, condo apartments averaged $640,248 over 884 sales in September 2026, and TRREB reported condo apartment average prices across its whole area down 7.7 per cent from a year earlier. A downsizer buying resale here has negotiating room. A developer selling unbuilt suites has much less.
Rent is the other half of the comparison, since a rental is now what this corner will offer. TRREB's Q2 2026 rental report put the average C04 two-bedroom condo lease at $3,196 across 26 leases. Urbanation's Q3 2026 rental report found condo rental listings across the region down 25 per cent year over year, to 0.7 months of supply. Rents in the former City of Toronto rose 0.7 per cent. Rentals are getting tighter while resale condos are getting looser. Anyone selling a house to downsize near Yonge and Lawrence now has two different markets to compare.
What the neighbourhood asked for, and what it can still shape
Around 30 letters of objection were filed. One resident, Bryan Walenius, told the committee, as the Star reported, that "neighbours don't feel storeys, they feel people, they feel cars, they feel parcel deliveries, moving trucks and garbage pickup." He also said he supports new rental housing beside the subway. John Miles of the Bedford Park Residents Organization asked that at least 10 per cent of the units be affordable. BPRO had said before the hearing that its board supports more density and affordable options.
In an October 7 message to residents, BPRO president Naomi Faulkner wrote that the City could not object to the 80 added units because the Tribunal had already approved the building's height and massing. BPRO's requests now cover what happens around the building:
- A gate on the service lane where it meets the Bedford Park Avenue sidewalk. Subway riders and children walking to Blessed Sacrament use that sidewalk.
- Community improvement money. The 2022 settlement committed the owner to a $1.2 million Section 37 cash contribution, indexed to the payment date. The 2025 Tribunal decision added a $363,192 indexed contribution for nearby capital improvements, chosen in consultation with the Ward Councillor. That money can go to another Ward 8 benefit if it is not used within three years of the final order. BPRO estimates about $1.5 million will become available once the developer applies for a building permit.
- The parkette at Woburn Avenue and Jedburgh Road. Faulkner wrote that its most noticeable features are the large garbage bins in the centre and a mesh fence along two sides. BPRO is asking residents who want it improved to get in touch.
Under the Tribunal's condition, the $363,192 is spent on projects chosen in consultation with the Ward Councillor. Faulkner put the stakes plainly: "If you stay quiet, money will get spent elsewhere."
A few questions we hear about this corner
When will construction start? The developer's side told the committee that the rental plan is what will let shovels get in the ground. The next step to watch is the building permit application. BPRO says that is also when the community improvement money becomes available.
Why can a minor variance nearly double the number of units? The Tribunal had already approved the height and the overall shape. Changing tenure and dividing the same building into smaller units went through the Committee of Adjustment as a minor variance, which the committee approved. For the specifics of your own property, check the City's application record for 3180–3202 Yonge or ask a planning professional. This post is general information, not legal advice.
Does this affect values on nearby streets? The building will add rental homes that are mostly two and three bedrooms right beside the station. It does not add new condos for sale. If you own nearby, your house will be competing for buyers with C04 resale condos and with new rentals. It will not be competing with new presale condos.
If you're weighing whether to sell a Bedford Park house and move into something smaller near Lawrence station, Jamie Dempster and our team can put your home's value next to current C04 condo sales and nearby rents, so you can compare the options in numbers. Request a free home evaluation and we'll walk through both with you.
