It’s no secret that major neighbourhoods and urban hubs along Yonge Street have continued to densify in recent years.
Large residential builds and the return of small business developments have completely reshaped how some communities function post-COVID — and one locale in particular could be on the precipice of something big, according to several experts.
The portion of Yonge between Bloor and College streets — an area mostly without a BIA and nestled amid the busy Yorkville, Downtown Yonge and Church-Wellesley neighbourhoods — appears to be establishing its own identity.
Sally Tran, the general manager of Hype Tattoo Studio, told TorontoToday she’s noticed significant increases in day-to-day pedestrian traffic since her business established a space near Yonge and Bloor streets last year.
“There’s been more pedestrian traffic compared to when we first moved in,” Tran said, adding the location has been ideal for attracting walk-in clients. “We notice that clients discover our shops and like to come in. The area is great for business.”
Tran said the area is gentrifying quickly. Though she said she still notices potentially dangerous and “sketchy” people walking in the area at night, Tran has been impressed by the neighbourhood’s resolve in such a short time span.
“There’s a lot of new businesses opening up, especially around us,” she said. “Services for people — like piercings, tattoos — those are very common. A lot of people walk up and down just to look at different shops, and there’s more private businesses. It’s a good area for people who want to start up their own thing.”
Christopher De Sousa, a Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) faculty member with the School of Urban and Regional Planning, has long considered the stretch of Yonge between Bloor and College streets as “low density” — especially when compared to its adjoined neighbourhoods.
But as more people are moving into the area’s emerging condo buildings, De Sousa said exponential growth isn’t just inevitable for that portion of Yonge — it’s already happening.
“You’re bringing in a lot of population to an under-densified area,” he told TorontoToday. “There’s a lot more densification happening, which means more people and more spending — elevating the number of retail establishments.”
De Sousa has fond memories of walking up and down that slice of Yonge back in the 1980s when music stores, arcades and various shops were bustling with locals.
As new, post-pandemic businesses continue popping up in the area — like bakeries, coffee shops and international cuisine — he believes residents and tourists alike now have plenty of reasons to explore the neighbourhood in droves once again.
“Back then, you’d see people get off their subway stop just to do the walk — there was a really hip vibe from Queen to Bloor,” he said. “It was nice to have people walking more and going up that strip. Yonge has seen a lot of transition, and I’ve noticed more pedestrian traffic recently.”
“There was a time when the Eaton Centre was criticized because all the action happened there,” he added. “But over the last few years, it’s been opening up the street to other businesses.”
Murtaza Haider, a TMU professor of data science and real estate management, pointed to a pair of high-rise condos on the southeast and southwest corners at Yonge and Bloor streets as a driving force behind the area’s recent economic strides.
“Many more buildings have come up in the last few years,” he said. “Even south of Charles [Street], you see new buildings that have emerged along Yonge Street. There’s a slow transformation of the area from where one or two-storey structures once stood — now you’re seeing multi-storey towers.”
“The story of Yonge Street, south of Bloor, is far from over,” he added. “This is a place that will continue to grow as the city grows.”
While Yonge Street densifies, Haider cautioned there could eventually be tougher challenges surrounding traffic congestion management. However, since the street runs along the Yonge-University subway line, access to public transit leaves the door wide open for well-functioning activity, he said.
“The potential for this area to grow is high because it has very good public transit accessibility. And if people are living there, that’s when you see restaurants and shopping emerging,” he said. "The area also has proximity to Canada’s largest employment hub: downtown Toronto.”
According to Pauline Larsen, the BIA executive director for Downtown Yonge, foot traffic averages about 60 million people per year between Grosvenor and Richmond streets.
Between 2021 and 2024, 80 per cent of the stores in the area survived the pandemic while an additional 200 stores opened, she said.
At the end of 2023, roughly 14,000 condo units were in the construction pipeline in the broader Yonge-Dundas neighbourhood.
Shifts to focus on entertainment options and independently run businesses are two major pillars to the neighbourhood’s post-pandemic transition, Larsen explained. She said that’s not just good news for the downtown core, but for Yonge Street’s entire path right up to Bloor Street.
“The residential population is growing significantly — and it’s evolving,” she said. “There are so many things you can do that are beyond the traditional shopping mall or simply ordering something online. The smaller, independent places add lots of spice to the neighbourhood.”
