It's no secret that land in Toronto is expensive and hard to come by — especially within the downtown core — and, as a result, developers are having to think outside the box in order to find new kinds of properties to purchase for their next condo projects. 

That's not great news for the handful of gas stations that remain in downtown Toronto, nor the drivers that use them, as developers are now eyeing them as potential locations for new residential redevelopments. 

Case in point: Graywood Developments recently purchased the Esso and Circle K gas station located at 241 Church St. for a rumoured (and whopping) $73 million. 

According to Igor Dragovic, a Toronto real estate developer and urban planner, Couche-Tard originally bought the land at the northeast corner of Church and Dundas for just $4.6 million back in 2016 — proving just how valuable these types of properties have become as of late.

241 Church St (esso at NE corner of church and Dundas) bought by Greywood for $73m earlier in October
Couche tard originally bought site for $4.6m in 2016

— Igor Dragovic (@idragovic26) October 29, 2020

"The subject Property is located in the downtown core of Toronto, at the northeast corner of Church Street and Dundas Street East. The site is surrounded by mixed-use, high-rise development and is adjacent to the Ryerson University campus and within a 10-minute walk to the Financial District," reads the brochure for the sale.

"The Site is located in an area of downtown Toronto that is evolving with significant development occurring in close proximity."

The brochure also describes the land as a "prime downtown high-rise residential redevelopment site."  

In a news release published at the end of October, Graywood announced the purchase of the property and indicated that they plan to redevelop the site into a 53-storey high-rise tower with approximately 570 residential units.

And so, another downtown gas station bites the dust, and Toronto gains yet another high-rise building to add to its overflowing collection.