If Honest Ed’s was just a shop, there would be no commemorative plaque on the sidewalk honouring the life and work of the store’s founder: Ed Mirvish. People in the neighbourhood would not tell you their story about this place, like how the store used to give away free turkeys for Thanksgiving.

But the retail world is changing and it has been difficult for Honest Ed’s to keep up. The business is not profitable anymore, resulting in the store’s forthcoming closure in 2016.

The location was sold to developers from Vancouver last year and there has been much speculation about the future of the property.

In September, The Globe and Mail reported that University of Toronto president Meric Gertler had met with Ian Gillespie, the project’s developer, to discuss a potential campus presence at the location.

Situated just in front of Bathurst Subway station — a couple stations away from campus — the location would be well situated to accommodate students.

Althea Blackburn-Evans, U of T director of media relations, said that university recognizes the growing need for student housing across all three U of T campuses, but that it“has no current plans for the Bloor and Bathurst area.”

Student residences are set to be developed in other locations around Toronto, including a recently approved 25-storey student residence to be built at 245 College Street.

The university is also planning to develop near Spadina Avenue and Sussex Avenue, working with the Daniels Corporation. “That project is currently going through a wide-ranging consultative process, involving the local city councillor, city officials and neighbours in the affected areas ” said Blackburn-Evans.

For now, U of T housing remains clustered in a relatively small area immediately around campus.

In the future, however, the university may be required to build residences further off campus to match its growing enrollment. 

As for Honest Ed’s, its potential replacement by condos is likely to deeply impact the surrounding neighbourhood.

For Shauna Brail, a professor in Innis College’s urban studies program, the key issue is maintaining a piece of the location’s history and meeting any potential conflicts posed by use of the space.

Some community members have raised concerns that condo developments could contribute to the gentrification of the area.

“The area’s income is already relatively high, because it’s a central location. Certainly, this new development will increase property value… but I don’t think that this development on [its] own is going to create something that has not already started,” Brail said.

“The space will change and it does remove a part of Toronto’s history by not having Honest Ed’s anymore,”she added.