That time a ghostly Toronto apartment building sat abandoned for decades

An abandoned building known as the Bayview Ghost once haunted the Toronto skyline for more than twenty years. It sat unfinished and unlived in — a stark reminder of what could've been. 

Standing atop a hill overlooking the Don Valley, just above the north end of the Bayview Extension, the ghostly structure's stalled construction and eventual demise were delayed for decades due to drawn-out political battles and behind-the-scenes redevelopment drama. 

The Bayview Ghost's story began in 1953 when doctors Morris Freedman and Harry Frimerman purchased the 27.9-acre plot of land.

Their plan? To build a structure called the Hampton Park apartments, a 12-storey, two-tower solution to the city's then-emerging housing dilemma. It would have 880 units and overlook the lush greenery of the Don Valley. 

However, things didn't exactly pan out as planned.

After blueprints for the enormous building were drawn up, developers applied for a building permit. However, East York Council refused the request, citing the feelings of the then-borough's residents at the time: concerns that this pristine pocket of Toronto would become a concrete jungle full of high-rise developments. 

The permit refusal was the first sign of the project's inevitable doom.

As part of their fight against the development, residents in the area had also lobbied for a bylaw to restrict land clearing to just one acre. But Hampton Park developers had found a loophole — in a strategic move, they subdivided the property among family members, so that each lot measured less than an acre. 

1981 aerial view of the site with the abandoned structure highlighted in yellow. Photo: City of Toronto

But without a building permit, the project sat vacant for several months. Then, in a stroke of luck for the developers, an inspector granted the required permit when council was adjourned on a holiday, sneaking approval past the organized campaign against the building. Council later claimed the controversial permit was issued in error. 

With a permit in tow and plans to continue, what could go wrong? Possibly, everything thereafter. 

The building permit came without the provisions for water and sewage service, but development continued rapidly. Protests from angry local residents caused the permit to be cancelled in 1959. But the developers ignored the pushback and the project continued, full speed ahead. 

The building was already seven storeys high when it halted construction. Photo: Patrick Cummins/Flickr

When sewage and water rights were refused, the building continued. It wasn't until the borough denied a right-of-way to the site that construction came to an immediate stop. 

But by this point, the building was seven storeys high with no essential components, like doors and windows. It sat on the hill, a skeleton of dreams that never came true, an eyesore that plagued the Don Valley. 

What followed was two decades of political standoff. The structure lay in silence during this time, aside from impromptu teenage drinking sessions and the occasional creaking and banging of structural elements as they decayed and collapsed. 

The Bayview Ghost sat alone atop a hill for nearly twenty years. Photo: Patrick Cummins/Flickr

While the developers and the city sued each other in a drawn-out battle, residents brought forth a judicial inquiry to look into why there was a failure to follow procedures. The issue was brought to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) in 1961. But it took another twenty years until anything was settled at the Ontario Court of Appeal. 

During the lengthy debate, there were also calls to turn the site into parkland, but the Hampton Park developers weren't having it. 

Meanwhile, the abandoned structure was essentially a free-for-all, seeing the likes of trespassing teenagers and looters in what the Toronto Star called a "horror chamber" in 1969.

The abandoned building invited unwanted guests like reckless youth. Photo: Patrick Cummins/Flickr

Into the '70s, East York and the site owners continued to battle it out. The City pushed for East York to pass a law in 1979 that would allow the removal of buildings that were in disrepair. Hampton Park's developers pushed back on the legislation, attempting to prove that the council had abused its power in trying to claim the property without providing satisfactory compensation.

By 1980, the battle continued under the OMB. The board ultimately approved developing a smaller version of the original Hampton Park apartments. Upon this decision, East York Mayor Alan Redway appealed it to the province, which sided with the then-borough. 

Since the court decided to uphold the 1979 legislation, that meant the city would have to cover the nearly $250,000 cost of tearing down the building.

By 1981, Hampton Park's developers had agreed to move forward with plans to demolish the structure and build 66 luxury homes in its place.

''People should have been living here 22 years ago,'' Morris Freedmon told the Toronto Star. ''But it's a democracy. People get what they want.''

It eventually took another twenty years to see that luxury development go up, as further legal disputes delayed the construction. In the early 2000s, the site was finally developed into what is now known as the Governor's Bridge neighbourhood.

The only reminder of its past is the nearby street Hampton Park Crescent, which shares a name with the since-demolished apartment building.

So, after decades of political wrangling and municipal disputes, the Bayview Ghost was finally done spooking the Don Valley.