It’s been over two years since strategies to adaptively reuse one of Toronto’s earliest purpose-built postal offices were submitted to the City. Two refusals, three revisions, and an Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) hearing later on, the project finally has the consent it sought back in November 2023.
The plans for 1117 Queen Street West have actually remained reasonably real to the applicant’s initial vision: a 29-storey apartment tower incorporated into a previous Canada Post structure, known as the Postal Station C. Featuring Beaux-Arts architecture and created by Samuel George Curry in 1902, the structure has actually been listed on the City Heritage Register because June 1973.
Canada Post stopped operations at the site in 2020. Ownership of the property was transferred to the present owner and applicant, Queen Street Post Inc., in 2021.
According to an OLT case file dated January 30, 2026, the proposal now contemplates an overall gross flooring area (GFA) of 18,615 sq. m (up 17,383 sq. m in the November 2023 application), that includes 17,683 sq. m of property GFA (up from 16,464 sq. m) and 932 sq. m of non-residential GFA (up from 918 sq. m). The unit count has actually been brought down from 272 units to 261.
Though the application was revised 3 times, the basic conservation method for the Postal Station C has actually not altered, the OLT notes. “The Heritage Structure facades will remain in situ and the tower will extrude from the rear structure elevation. All conservation measures described, consisting of reinstatement of openings and changes for availability remain part of the May, 2025 license demands.”
Elevation renderings from February 2025/Giannone
Petricone Associates Ground floor rendering from February 2025/Giannone Petricone Associates Tribunal throws away City’s request to dismiss
City staff have been opposed to the proposed advancement from the beginning. In January 2024, Interim Chief Coordinator Kerri Voumvakis urged City board to decline the advancement, mentioning issues about the preservation of the Postal C Structure’s heritage worth. She likewise questioned how proper 29 storeys would be in the context of the West Queen West Triangle, which is characterized by a mix of low-, mid-, and high-rise buildings no greater than 22 storeys.Per Voumvakis’recommendation, Council declined the Authorities Strategy Change(OPA)and Zoning By-law Amendment(ZBA )applications at its February 2024 session. In May 2024, Council likewise declined a Heritage Alteration Permit and Demolition License that would permit a series of changes to the Postal Station C. Those consisted of the demolition of the 2 symmetrically organized brick chimneys on the south elevation, alterations to the east and south elevations for brand-new entrances, and the removal of all interior structure material, including existing ground floorplate.These rejections led Queen Street Post Inc. to file four different appeals between February 2024 and June 2024. However, the OLT case file from January exposes that the City’s genuine qualm with the proposition comes back to its height– 102 metres in the initial submission, and 98 metres in the most recent modification. The City asserts that the proposed height weakens its Queen Street West Planning Study, represents overdevelopment instead of optimization of the area’s infrastructure, and”stops working to improve QSW’s local color and character.”Though the City requested the OLT to dismiss Queen Street Post Inc.’s appeals at December 2025 hearing, the Tribunal pertained to the opposite conclusion, explaining the proposition as demonstrating “great land use preparation”that remains in the general public interest. Both the OPA and ZBA applications have actually been authorized in concept.