It's the end of an era for Toronto's Regent Park neighbourhood, as the final blocks constructed in the late 1940s for what was Canada's largest and most notorious social housing project are now being demolished.

Originally built in 1948 during a period of postwar optimism and a pressing need for housing, the area subsequently grew notorious for crime.

The urban planning policies that shaped Regent Park have since fallen out of favour, and the area has been undergoing full-scale redevelopment for nearly two decades — ripping out dilapidated old apartment blocks and rebuilding the community using a mixed-income model.

With three phases of the community fully realized, work is now getting started to pave the way for the final blocks of Regent Park's multi-decade reconstruction.

The initial phases began in 2005 as a partnership between developer The Daniels Corporation and Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC).

However, the fourth and fifth phases, soon to begin construction, will be a partnership between TCHC and private developer Tridel, which outbid Daniels for the rights to develop the final portions of the lucrative project.

Thirteen new buildings as tall as 39 storeys will be constructed in the fourth and fifth phases of the long-term revitalization that has been reshaping the area for almost twenty years.

Here's what the next phase of Toronto's Regent Park redevelopment looks like https://t.co/pXDpl2kqjx #Toronto #RegentPark

— blogTO (@blogTO) May 4, 2022

Before these new condominium and affordable housing buildings can be constructed, crews must first clear away the final blocks of the original Regent Park housing project, which was constructed over three-quarters of a century earlier.

The last of the area's storied blocks of brick apartment blocks marked by addresses stencilled in paint are now coming down in an area bounded by Gerrard Street East, Oak Street, Dreamers Way and River Street.

Demolition commenced earlier in May, and crews have made quick work taking the first bites out of the old apartment blocks.

Photos of the site captured this week reveal that structural teardown is well underway on the first of the mid-rises.

Structural demolition is proceeding at a quick pace.

Other buildings in the area have since been boarded up, with interior demolition work apparent, prepping the structures for teardown in the coming days or weeks.

Once the site has been cleared of these buildings, the last traces of Toronto's original Regent Park community will be relegated to the history books.