Locals are totally up in arms about proposed 'giant monolith' Toronto tower

A planned rental tower on the cusp of approval by Toronto City Council has fired up local residents in the affluent Avenue and St. Clair area, characterizing the planned building as a "monstrosity" and "giant monolith" that threatens the safety of the area.

The proposal from developer Fitzrovia and Hariri Pontarini Architects at 135 St. Clair Ave. W. would see the current government office building at the southeast corner of Avenue Rd. and St. Clair razed to make way for a 49-storey rental tower with 576 new apartments, retail, public art, and an early childhood education centre.

But despite the concessions made in height and other departments introduced since the plan was first proposed in 2024, residents of the surrounding area — one of the most affluent in Toronto — have taken up all of the familiar talking points about how large-scale developments would unacceptably impact their day-to-day lives.

Currently recommended for approval by City planners, the nod of endorsement comes with attached letters of dissent from area residents and organizations who are less than pleased about this significant change planned in their backyards. 

One standout from this lengthy list is an email from John Ritchie, Director and Secretary of the South Hill District Homeowners Association (SHDHA), and Paul Lechtzier, the group's Director and Treasurer.

The letter from the SHDHA filed on Aug. 29 flags "a number of concerns regarding the proposed project at 135 St. Clair Avenue West, primarily related to the excessive height of the structure."

The SHDA's letter cites the previous 2024 plan's height in its argument that "A giant monolith, filling the property and rising to 51 storeys, would be an aesthetic eyesore and entirely out of place in an area comprised of many single residences," adding that "The tallest building in the neighbourhood is approximately half of the proposed height."

"Numerous concerns flow in one way or another from the enormous height - very high density, the lack of setbacks, the lack of green space, shadowing on adjacent housing and parklands, huge pressure and stress on crumbling City infrastructure, the exacerbation of the major traffic congestion around the adjacent intersection, the scarcity of parking in the area, the worsening of the serious wind tunnel effect on St. Clair Avenue West, school bussing, etc."

The group concludes by calling the expected approval "a very bad precedent for South Hill," and instead pushes for a never-going-to-happen alternative of a 24-storey tower as "appropriate and acceptable at the site in question."

Area resident Pamela Stevenson also emailed planners to argue against the proposal, expressing "extreme dismay at the height of this proposed building, which
remains way too high, despite numerous meetings and many, many submissions of public input specifically in opposition to this."

Evidence of this opposition has spilled into the streets, as a flyer posted in the area seeks to drum up locals to "oppose Fitzrovia's 51-storey monstrosity."
The paper printout attempts to convince area residents that the tower "will lower your property value and make your life worse," citing alleged dangers caused by traffic and wind, along with "extreme traffic congestion" and "substantial shadowing." 

Despite all of these efforts, it seems the community was unable to slow the wheels of the municipal approval process.

With the plan's recommendation for approval at the Sept. 18 City Council session, a green light is all but guaranteed for this contentious plan.