Toronto apartment block about to be torn down for huge condo tower after 60 years

A 14-storey apartment tower in Toronto's Church and Wellesley neighbourhood is on its final days, and will soon be levelled to make way for an enormous new tower that will stand as one of the tallest in the area.

Constructed back in 1965, the apartment building at 88 Isabella Street has stood just east of Church Street for six decades, but the recent filing of a demolition permit signals the impending destruction of this typical mid-century residential block.

Plans were first proposed back in April 2022 to tear down the current apartment building and redevelop the site with a 62-storey tower housing condos as well as rentals to replace existing units on-site. 

Capital Developments' plan would redefine the mid-block site with a Diamond Schmitt Architects-designed building soaring almost 200 metres into the neighbourhood skyline.

The building will feature almost 750 residences. Condos will make up the majority of this unit count, though all 82 of the rental units housed in the existing building would be replaced with new units in accordance with the City's rental housing demolition policies.

Approaching three years since its towering replacement was first proposed, it appears the current apartment building's demolition is imminent.

A demolition permit was filed for in late December 2024, and is currently under review by City staff. Once all of the paperwork and inspections have gone through, it is expected that demolition crews will sweep in and make quick work of the current apartment building.

A notice posted to the front door of the building shortly after permits were filed informs any would-be dissenters that they had until February 6 to file objections.

As for the building's population, Capital Developments' President, Carlo Timpano, tells us that all building residents have vacated ahead of the project, and the company is now "actively tendering the demolition work."