30-40 Margaret Ave | 3 fl townhouses | Planned

[panamaniac]

I'm shocked (but happy) that this didn't get more of the NIMBY treatment

Well, at one time there were beautiful, elegant, mansions along Margaret and Queen Streets.  IIRC, the Schneider’s and Kaufman’s lived on Margaret Avenue.   Had I been around when the homes were still standing I gladly would have joined the NIMBY folks. Some things are worth preserving.

Also the Augustine mansion (on Margaret).  I don't recall any Schneider homes on Margaret, but I don't know. Today, many of those homes might be saved but at the time they were demolished they had become more bother than anyone wanted to take on.  Too large to be SFH, many had become rundown mulit-family places.  Upkeep and repair costs were prohibitive and on Margaret Ave at least, they were on oversized lots that made them very attractive to developers.  At the same time, many of them dated from the Victorian favour, which was very much out of style at the time.  Even so, I recall that there was public consternation when the Margaret Ave homes came down (some were more Edwardian than Victorian and, as I recall, in pretty good condition).  On the more positive side, we have the KPL and CITS thanks to some of the demolition that went on back in the day.