Harvey Knopman’s spidey senses gave him an inkling in 2010 that his Bedford Park-Nortown neighbourhood was about to undergo a major transformation.

Knopman and his neighbours had noticed increasing inquiries about their appetite to sell the bungalows that line their leafy North York area. Word spread that several of his neighbours decided to sell. Then developers bought a neighbourhood landmark — The Church of St. Philip the Apostle — on Caribou Rd.

“The Anglican church sold out and the developers started building on the church lot around 2012,” said Knopman, who’s lived in the area for 25 years.

Over the next seven years, Knopman, 73, watched as the church and several decades-old homes along Caribou Rd. were torn down and the foundations for ritzy abodes started to take shape.

Today, the south side of Caribou Rd. near Bathurst St. is lined with newly built, large houses. Across the street, a home at 180 Caribou Rd. dwarfs its neighbours, which include two vacant bungalows fenced up with boarding.

“It’s not the house, it’s the land they’re after,” Knopman said of the remaining bungalows on the strip. “They’re going to knock it (the bungalows) down and transform into monster homes.”

It’s a phenomenon seen across the city — smaller, older homes in Toronto’s residential neighbourhoods are being bought and torn down, replaced by much larger homes with a much larger price tag. Experts say the rebuilds are the result of Toronto’s heated housing market combined with restrictive zoning rules that favour detached and semi-detached homes.

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“The current housing policy permits expensive houses to become more expensive,” said urban planner Cheryll Case, who co-authored a 2017 report dubbed Protecting the Vibrancy of Residential Neighbourhoods, which looked at a number of housing issues including how redevelopment of detached homes was changing the face of several neighbourhoods.

“The centre of the city sees most of that change,” Case said, noting Forest Hill and neighbourhoods in proximity, such as around Caribou Rd., have among the highest numbers of redeveloped detached homes — with up to 20 per cent of the houses in those areas being rebuilt since 2006.

“The houses end up being a lot larger, compared to the original buildings in the neighbourhood,” Case said. “It’s pushing low-income people farther and farther out. Even middle-income people are being pushed out.”

Many of the new houses along Caribou Rd. have been sold for close to $2 million over the last several years, according to property records.

The house at 180 Caribou Rd. was bought as a bungalow in 2012 for $838,000. It was torn down, rebuilt and sold again two years later for $2 million. It changed hands again in 2016 for $3.1 million. It is now for sale on the multiple listing service for $3.2 million. The listing describes it as a five-plus-one-bedroom, six-bathroom, 5,400-square-foot “gated mansion.” The opening line reads: “Feels Like A Brand-New(Never Lived).”

Knopman said developers have tried “many times” to convince him to sell his home a stones throw east of Caribou on Glen Rush Blvd.

“I’m sick of it actually,” he said, adding he was offered $2 million two years ago, but, “If you sell, you’re just going to have to pay the going rate in the other areas, so you’re not any further ahead.”

Though Knopman said he doesn’t mind living in a modest bungalow next to mansions, noting it increases his property value, he did express concern about how some homebuyers who may have been able to afford a bungalow years ago are now priced out of the area.

“Young people can’t get in,” he said.

Eliyahu Khabinsky, 38, a technician for Technology Awareness Group, which operates out of a Caribou Rd. house, said skyrocketing costs have ruled him out of buying property in the neighbourhood.

“Right now, we’re resigned to rent for the future, based on my income,” said Khabinsky, who lives with his family of seven just north of Lawrence Ave.

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“We’re renting a house, but with that comes insecurity,” he said. “We have a two-year lease, but after that the landlord could decide to sell. You don’t feel rooted.”

He doesn’t begrudge the new homeowners — “The people who can afford to buy also want to live in buildings that match their lifestyle,” he said. But he worries that house prices will only continue to climb as newer and more spacious properties swallow up modest homes.

“Even the bungalows are not affordable,” he said. “It’s challenging.”

City planner Al Rezoski said “tear down and rebuild” applications to the Committee of Adjustment have been common for Ward 8 (Eglinton-Lawrence), where Caribou Rd. is located, in recent years, with variance requests typically sought for yard setbacks and roof heights.

“Some of it is related to demographics,” he said, noting a growing trend of multi-generational living. Commuter improvements, such as the Eglinton Crosstown light-rail transit line, has also made nearby neighbourhoods more attractive. He said there is generally less of a market for demolition and rebuilds in areas north of Hwy. 401.

According to Case’s study, 9,149 detached homes were demolished and redeveloped between 2001 and 2016 — more than the equivalent of rebuilding every residential detached (RD zoned) property in York. Detached houses are more likely to be rebuilt when near access to rapid transit, the report found.

As of 2016, only 17 of 140 neighbourhoods (12 per cent) have seen no change from redevelopment of existing detached housing.

Case’s methodology involved geo-locating properties with cleared permits to demolish detached homes, then overlaying those permits with the city’s map showing areas zoned for residential detached housing (RD).

“When we plan for neighbourhoods, we need to consider how that neighbourhood changes over time and how we can provide access to housing for a variety of income groups,” she said.

Councillor Gord Perks said “no reasonable planner would tell you to protect bungalows,” but stressed their demise “is not evidence that there is a supply issue.”

“That is evidence of there being a market issue,” said Perks, a member of the city’s planning and growth management committee. “There is a lot of money slushing around. The market is pushing lower wealth people out.”

He said zoning isn’t and should not be used as a tool to dictate where people can build homes.

“The hidden premise, which is, something in our zoning bylaw is preventing supply, is a false premise,” Perks said, adding, “we’re building at a record rate and there is tons more land available.”

He said in order to create housing for people, “who can’t compete to buy lots at $3 million,” we need to put our purchasing power together and buy good quality social housing.

“That’s the only way to get out of this jam. Changing the zoning will never fix this problem, because the larger economic forces will always hurt the majority of people, who don’t have the kind of wealth to compete.”