Developer abruptly abandons high-rise condo proposal that threatened to demolish Sneaky Dee’s

Coun. Dianne Saxe describes the complexity surrounding the Sneaky Dee’s redevelopment plan, RBC’s involvement, and the activists speaking out.

The push to save one of Toronto’s best-known independent music venues appears to have paid off after the developer behind a proposed 16-storey condominium abruptly withdrew its zoning application this week, halting plans that would have demolished Sneaky Dee’s.

The withdrawal means Toronto City Council will no longer consider official plan and zoning amendments on July 8 that would have enabled construction to begin at 419-431 College Street.

The move comes after weeks of public outcry and a last-minute intervention from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), whose property sits on part of the proposed land.

On Saturday, CTV News Toronto obtained a copy of an RBC letter sent to the City of Toronto ahead of Wednesday’s upcoming council meeting.

“This letter is to make absolutely clear that the parcel at 429 College Street is under RBC ownership and not the numbered company who has submitted the above-mentioned development application,” Johanna Oakley, director of retail transactions for RBC, wrote to councillors. “The present development scheme cannot proceed in the absence of proponent ownership of the 429 College Street parcel.”

A pivotal RBC intervention

In its letter, RBC emphasized it has “no agreement of purchase and sale or any agreement of any kind” involving its property, where it continues to operate a bank branch.

The bank also objected to the city’s planning recommendations and urged council to reject the application, adding that it had “co-existed with the Sneaky Dees use for many years” and would be “entirely content to see that relationship continue.”

Following that notice, planning consultant Michael Goldberg, acting on behalf of the developer, formally withdrew the application.

CTV News also obtained a copy of that email.

“I have been instructed by the President of my client’s companies to formally withdraw the subject application,” Goldberg wrote in a July 3 letter, adding the matter should also be removed from the July 8 community council agenda.

Speaking to CP24 Saturday, Coun. Dianne Saxe noted that the developer made false claims on their application noting that all businesses including RBC were “certified” when in fact that was not the case.

She says she instructed her team to do a “title search” on the property where it was confirmed RBC never sold off their portion.

“It is a complete puzzlement. Everyone that I’ve spoken to in the planning field, (including) planning lawyers tell me they’ve never seen anything like it. It doesn’t make any financial sense for the applicant to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on an application if they don’t have the right to use the land,” she said.

“How did it happen?... The Royal Bank had a sign very close to their building that they didn’t notice for six years. I don’t understand any of it, but the good news is, against tremendous odds, the application is gone.”

Four decades of history

Located at the corner of College and Bathurst, Sneaky Dee’s has operated for roughly 40 years as a family-owned Tex-Mex restaurant and live music venue, helping launch acts including Barenaked Ladies, Arcade Fire and PUP while becoming a fixture of Toronto’s music scene.

The campaign to save the venue drew support from residents, people online, musicians and several city councillors, including Josh Matlow.

“For generations, Sneaky Dee’s has been a special place for so many Torontonians,” Matlow said on social media.

“Supporting more housing should not have to come at the expense of… the iconic places that we love and value. Good planning means we can have both.”

Mayor Olivia Chow also appeared to celebrate the outcome Saturday, posting a video of herself eating at Sneaky Dee’s without a caption.

Meanwhile, “Save Sneaky Dee’s” organizers marked the announcement by posting a thank-you video on social media showing supporters tearing down and stomping on the development notice sign that had become a symbol of the fight.