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If you find yourself on Isabella Street, between Church and Jarvis in downtown Toronto, you may walk by a heritage building known as The Merlan without even knowing it. Designed by Ontario’s own Norman Alexander Armstrong, the 49-unit, Edwardian Revival-style apartment building has occupied 81-83 Isabella Street for just shy of a century.

However, with The Merlan rising just three storeys, its location in Church-Wellesley Village stands to be better utilized. As such, site owner Akelius Canada Inc. is proposing the demolition of the existing apartment in favour of a residential tower rising 69 storeys — some 744 feet, inclusive of the mechanical penthouse. The heritage facades of The Merlan would be integrated into the new build through adaptive reuse, according to a planning report that went to the City in early June.

The last remaining corner site at the prominent intersection of W 41st Avenue and Cambie Street now has development plans attached to it, according to a new rezoning application published by the City of Vancouver on July 2.

The subject site of the proposal is 5635-5655 Cambie Street and 511 W 41st Avenue, which is together one legal parcel with an address of 5655 Cambie Street. The property is currently occupied by a three-storey office building known as Oakridge Place that was constructed in 1962 and a surface parking lot. The building's major tenant is TD Bank.

Toronto City Council met for its June session last week, and members signed off on over a dozen housing proposals (and refused just one). Among the standout projects were the redevelopment of the city’s historic coach terminal and a massive master plan proposed for the site of Cineplex Cinemas Queensway.

Collectively, the approved developments are expected to add almost 10,000 new housing units to the city, and will hopefully play a part in Toronto reaching its target of 285,000 new homes by 2030. According to the Province, the city fell short of its 2024 goal of 23,750 housing starts, recording just 20,999 new units. Still, Toronto was awarded $67.2 million through the Building Faster Fund in early June for reaching 88% of its target for the year.