An application to redevelop a beloved gay bar in Toronto's Church-Wellesley Village with a 48-storey mixed-use building was rejected (once again) by the Toronto and East York Community Council on Tuesday, following pushback from the queer community.
The latest application was filed by Toronto-based Graywood Developments in mid October and proposed the delivery of 574 residential units, nearly 50,000 sq. ft of retail, and "community space for queer supportive programming" to cater to the neighbourhood's predominately queer community. If approved, it would have spanned from 506 to 516 Church Street, replacing the iconic Crews & Tangos gay bar, to be restored upon completion.
Original plans, submitted in July 2020, envisioned a development almost three times smaller than the one that was recently rejected, but even then, the loss of the bar was a dealbreaker for community members who rallied to have the development cancelled or altered.
506-516 Church Street/Diamond Schmitt Architects
506-516 Church Street/Diamond Schmitt Architects
Initially, Graywood had proposed a 15-storey building with 173 units, before tweaking the proposal to 14 storeys in March 2022, which then received Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application approvals in July of that same year. At the time, the developer had worked closely with community members to achieve a plan that appeased residents.
Since then, economic feasibility hurdles have meant the building's proposed height and density has ballooned substantially, raising concerns that go beyond the destruction of a beloved bar.
At an in-person community consultation meeting hosted by city staff in November 2024, 53 community members showed up to air grievances over a number of issues related to the development. Issues raised included, but were not limited to, the out-of-character height within the context of the Village neighbourhood, concerns about not addressing the shortage of non-residential space for 2SLGBTQ+ community members, noise concerns pertaining to how nightclub uses would impact residents, and doubts about the ability of the developer to accommodate the return of the existing businesses on site, such as Crews & Tangos.
Toronto Centre Councillor Chris Moise attended the consultation and tells STOREYS the community response was "overwhelmingly negative."
"I think it’s important to recognize that the developer has previously worked very hard with this community on their 14-storey approval. For some community members, that means that all that work has potentially been thrown out," Moise explains. "That is a tough pill to swallow for many community members, and [...] this development threatens the existing fabric of the community."
The loss of Crews & Tangos as they know it is front-of-mind for community members, but Moise says the second most articulated issue brought up at the consultations surrounded the types of units to be delivered. "There is a fear that the local queer population is being pushed out," says Moise. "There is a fear that the units in this new development are not going to be affordable to the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and that could both impact who businesses cater to them, but also the viability of cultural events like Pride."
Those in opposition to the new proposal include the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association and the Church Wellesley Village Business Improvement Area (BIA), the latter of which is notable as BIAs rarely express concerns over developments, Moise tells us.
The issue, however, extends beyond a single development application. "For at least the past decade, the Village has been experiencing the loss of local businesses and institutions that were catered to the Queen community," says Moise. "This includes clubs, bars, and other queer-dominated spaces that are absent elsewhere in the city. When the community loses a bar like Zipperz or Slacks, or a club like The Barn or Remington’s, they lose more than a place where they feel welcome, they lose their community."
STOREYS reached out to Graywood Developments for comment but has not received a response at the time of publishing.
While the proposed plans do include community spaces for queer people and the restoration of the heritage-protected Crews & Tangos building and existing facade of O'Grady's (another drag show bar/restaurant), it is clear the community feels strongly about preserving the long-threatened character of the Church-Wellesley Village.
"To the developer's credit, they have been willing to accommodate Crews & Tangos in the new development, but this request for a tall building on their site threatens the existing Village as we know it," says Moise. "There are a number of applications on hold until market conditions approve, and perhaps this site just needs to be patient."
Though the Toronto and East York Community Council recommended the rejection of the application, it will be voted on for a final time at the next City Council meeting on February 5.
