Pickleball courts, operating on one proposed but empty condo development site, have sparked a huge debate and forced action from Toronto city council.
At issue is Yonge-St. Clair’s 8 Rosehill Place, a site cleared to make way for a high-rise condo building that has so far failed to launch; a scene quite common across the city in a down housing market. The developer, not wanting to leave the site vacant, found a way to allow community use by connecting with the owners of Fairgrounds Racket Club, which owns and operates several indoor pickleball courts across the GTA.
“Instead of sitting empty as a dirt pit, the developer reached out to us and said, ‘Let’s create something beautiful,’” said Fairgrounds Co-Founder Drummond Munro. “We then set up five outdoor pickleball courts, two padel courts, a little pro shop and retail area.”
Munro says that throughout the warmer season, it attracts thousands of visitors to a site that would otherwise sit vacant, acknowledging that “it’s become a beacon of the community.”
“It will be condos one day, but until then, this is giving that empty space life.”
The problem, however, is that visitors pay a fee to use the courts, around $35 per session, which puts the business on the radar of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), tasked with assessing properties in Ontario.
“We were previously assessed under a residential vacant lot, but MPAC has changed us to the highest and best use commercial. So essentially assuming we’re a 50-story condo building with commercial and retail,” Munro noted.
Munro says that will raise their tax bill by around $500,000, and if it stands, it will mean they’ll have to close down at that site.
“It is just unsustainable,” he said. “We expect to be taxed as a commercial business, but we are not a 50-story condo building, and a $500,000 tax bill doesn’t warrant seven pickleball parks.”
After receiving the reassessment, Munro began to reach out to elected officials and quickly found support.
“We were all gobsmacked at how absurd the assessment was,” said Councillor Josh Matlow, who represents the ward where the courts are located. He argues this issue goes far beyond this one site, pointing out there are several stalled condo developments across the city in the midst of a turbulent market.
“We don’t want to see a whole bunch of these sites that have approved development sit there for years as either big holes or derelict eyesores,” Matlow explained. “We should not be punishing attempts to temporarily animate these sites that allow community access.”
MPAC, however, appears to be doubling down. A spokesperson told Speakers Corner their reassessment aligns with Provincial regulations.
“While the property was originally classified based on approved development plans, once it began operating as a paid pickleball facility, it was no longer vacant land,” a spokesperson said. “Under the current regulations, commercial sports facilities are classified as commercial, and the property is classified accordingly for the 2026 tax year.”
Last week, Matlow introduced a motion to city council, which makes many requests, one of which demands that city staff work with MPAC to change course. That motion was adopted.
“We want to ensure that there is a way for these sites to be assessed differently than typical commercial sites.”
As for the Rosehill location, Matlow says he’s working on a plan to keep the courts running but was not yet ready to announce the details behind that effort.
Munro, meanwhile, is hopeful Matlow’s work will pay off.
“Again, it’s not just about this one location,” he said. “The downstream effect of policies like this means lots are going to sit as empty dirt pits. It means the community doesn’t benefit from it, and the developer has no incentive to move forward on it.”
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