A property owner claims there are no 'specific' plans to alter two Depression-era Toronto landmarks after a pair of lobbying files emerged indicating the heritage-protected buildings might be in play for redevelopment.

A lobbying company has filed on behalf of Great-West Life Realty (GWL) — the Toronto-based asset management arm of Canada Life's parent company — with the City under the umbrella of planning and development for a group of properties.

Most notable among these are the 1929-built Beaux-Arts-style Canada Life Building at 330 University Avenue and the 1930-built Art Deco-style College Park complex at 1 College Street.

Such lobbyist registrar entries — mandatory for transparency purposes under the City's lobbying by-law — are typically the first publicly available hint that a development is in the works for a site, often appearing long before the first official plans are filed.

The lobbyist registrar entries approved in late November are vague in language, proposing a one-year timeline to lobby for subjects related to planning and development applications.

In a statement provided to blogTO, a representative of GWL reassures the public, saying, "at this point, we do not have specific plans for our Canada Life building at 330 University Avenue." They confirmed that this statement would also apply to the College Park building 1 College Street.

The choice of the word "specific" seems somewhat ominous, however, the GWL representative explains that "as part of our standard process for evaluating and maintaining our real estate properties, we conduct various studies."

The statement continues, "These studies allow us to better understand how our sites may be improved and better integrated with the City's plans for the surrounding community, including transit plans, site servicing and other long-term requirements. "

While this explanation may be enough to put most at ease, GWL has indeed made at least one very unwelcome modification to the Canada Life Building, replacing the vintage sign below the building's iconic weather beacon with a modern version bearing the insurance company's new vibrant red logo in 2022.

College Park is another beloved Toronto landmark now possibly being discussed as a development site, though an addition to this Art Deco masterpiece — while still likely to ruffle feathers — wouldn't be completely out of left field based on its history.

The College Park that exists today is actually the truncated base of an aborted skyscraper plan that would have soared to a height of 670 feet, but it was ultimately a case where ambition exceeded the economic challenges of the era.

GWL has managed College Park since 2000, and, to the company's credit, has taken great care in maintaining certain heritage elements of the complex, most notably the stunning Art Deco event space, the Carlu.