Even as a monster condominium reaches for the skies at Bedford Avenue and Bloor Street West, more developments are in the offing on Charles Street West, in the heart of Victoria College.

Two old brick houses on St. Thomas Street and several more on Charles Street West are slated for demolition (one historic home at 8 St. Thomas St., however, is to be refurbished). A 23-storey condominium and a 15-storey apartment building have been proposed in their place.

For Victoria College, which is selling the land for the former, and leasing the land for the latter, the move means more income to support academic and student scholarships, according to Victoria College bursar David Keeling.

“Vic does not see itself as a landlord and wants to get itself out of the business of being a landlord,” he said.

The sale and demolition of the brick homes has been in the offing for a decade, but hoardings have only gone up in the last two weeks. Keeling guessed that the houses will be torn sometime in the next year.

Colleges swapping extra land for cash is not unprecedented at U of T. In 2004, for instance, St. Michael’s College sold off a parcel of land along Bay Street, citing a lack of cash. And dealings with developers are not without precedent at Vic, as Keeling pointed out.

One example is the land on Charles Street West where the offices of McKinzey & Company, a management consultancy, are located. According to the arrangement with McKinzey, Keeling explained, Victoria still owns the land, but the suits own the bricks and mortar. In about 15 years, the firm will have the option of turning the property over to Vic.

Keeling was coy as to the value of the new lots being developed, but reckoned that the sum runs in the millions.

“As you can imagine, property values are quite high,” he said.

Yet not everyone is thrilled to see an end to the brick homes on Charles Street West and St. Thomas Street. Especially since another condominium development is going up on the north-east corner of Charles Street West and St. Thomas Street

“With the construction of the new ugly monolith that is already under way, Charles Street West is about to become just another wind tunnel,” Joseph Lawson, a concerned citizen, commented in an email.

-Mike Ghenu