60-year-old Toronto tower being demolished and the photos are post-apocalyptic

A 60-year-old Toronto apartment tower is being reduced to rubble to make way for an enormous new development, and photos of the half-demolished structure look like something pulled from the set of a disaster movie.

The tower at 88 Isabella St. was constructed in 1965 amid that era's population boom, offering 14 floors of rental apartments for a growing city. And like the building boom that resulted in 88 Isabella's construction, the current (but waning) wave of construction transforming Toronto has brought about the tower's end.

Crews are in the process of tearing down the apartment building at 88 Isabella to make way for a new 62-storey tower from Capital Developments, which will house a mix of condominiums and new rental units to replace those lost to demolition.

Redevelopment of the site was first proposed back in April 2022, and municipal approval would later pave the way for a December 2024 demolition permit application.

Crews mobilized and installed fences around the site this past spring, and the start of the teardown process began after demolition teams arrived on-site in June.

Early demolition work included the removal of exterior windows, the building's outdoor landscaping along Isabella St., and the start of demolition for the parking ramp and garage entrance along the west side of the tower, as well as on the below-grade sections along the site's southern frontage.

The razing of this 60-year-old structure has heated up in the months since, with structural demolition working from the top down. Crews kicked off the structural demolition phase on the tower's roof, jackhammering away through the late summer months to remove the upper levels of the building.

As of mid-December, demolition has removed the entire 13th and 14th floors, along with the bulk of the 12th level, while only partial floorplates remain intact for the levels below.

With facades ripped away, the demolition is offering one last haunting look within the vacated apartment units, revealing personalized variations like different paint colour choices that serve as a reminder of the lives uprooted for change.

Once demolition wraps up in the new year, the site footprint will be backfilled ahead of shoring and excavation, setting the stage for the new tower's subsequent construction.

The new tower at 88 Isabella St. will bring 750 new residences to one of Toronto's most rapidly intensifying side streets.

Capital Developments

Even more change is planned along this stretch, including proposed towers of 69 storeys at 48 Isabella St., 70 storeys at 81 Isabella St., and 69 storeys at 90 Isabella St..