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Annex Densifies: Mixed Housing Rises While Historic Streets Survive Pressure
The neighbourhood's blend of towers, homes and mid-rises reflects efforts to add units while keeping older streetscapes intact.
How we reported this
The Annex displays a patchwork of apartment towers next to single-family homes and mid-rise blocks, a pattern that has shaped how the neighbourhood absorbs new housing without erasing its older layout.
This arrangement matters now because Toronto faces ongoing pressure to increase supply while many residents value the area's established character. Local streets already combine different building types within short distances, offering one model for fitting growth into an existing community.
Streets with varied building types
Residents on Walmer Road live steps from Gwendolyn MacEwen Park and the Spadina subway entrance. Nearby blocks include Bernard Avenue homes in the shadow of St. George Street towers, new construction at Bedford and Davenport, and fraternity houses on Madison Avenue. The area also contains the former Brunswick House site on Bloor and a mural at Howland and Bloor near John Sibelius Square Park.
City records define the neighbourhood from Christie Street west to Yonge Street east, with the CPR tracks to the north and Bloor Street to the south. A narrower historic core runs from Bathurst Street to Avenue Road.
Population and housing profile
The neighbourhood holds roughly 30,500 residents, of whom 60 percent rent their homes. Average incomes sit near $71,000, above the wider city figure of $65,000. More than 70 percent of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, linked in part to proximity to the University of Toronto. Transit service includes both subway lines plus the Spadina and Bathurst streetcar routes.
These details come from the City of Toronto neighbourhood profile cited in a 2022 account by local resident Sean McGowan. The same account notes that the affordability squeeze has already prompted new construction alongside preserved older stock.
Observers expect the same streets to see further proposals for added units. People looking to follow projects can check the city planning notices posted for individual addresses along Bloor and the side streets between Bathurst and Avenue Road.