541 Shaw St
541 Shaw St is in Palmerston-Little Italy. It added a second suite (such as a basement apartment) in 2026 and there are no planning proposals in progress within 250 m. Ossington Station is a 11‑minute walk.
Data as of Nov 8, 2026 · Every item lists its source
- Added a second suite (such as a basement apartment) (completed Jun 2026).
- Break-ins and robberies in Palmerston-Little Italy were above the Toronto rate in 2025.
- Ossington Station (Line 2) is about a 11-minute walk.
- The nearest elementary school is Montrose Junior Public School, 216 m away.
01What’s planned near 541 Shaw St
No planning proposals in progress or recently decided within 250 m (about a 3‑minute walk).
Development Applications and Committee of Adjustment Applications, City of Toronto. A proposal that covers several addresses is listed once. Decided: development files submitted in the last 4 years; Committee of Adjustment decisions in the last 2 years.
02Safety near 541 Shaw St
Police recorded 38 major crimes within 500 m of this address from Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. That's about typical for Toronto (the typical address has 40). The table compares the neighbourhood's rates with Toronto's.
| Major crime | Near this addressreported within 500 m, last 12 months | Palmerston-Little Italyper 100,000 residents, 2025 | Torontoper 100,000 residents, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assaults | 25 | 655 | 768Palmerston-Little Italy is about the same |
| Break-ins | 9 | 256 | 190Palmerston-Little Italy is higher |
| Car thefts | 2 | 114 | 225Palmerston-Little Italy is lower |
| Robberies | 1 | 114 | 79Palmerston-Little Italy is higher |
| Thefts over $5,000 | 1 | 29 | 61Palmerston-Little Italy is lower |
Thick bar: Palmerston-Little Italy. Thin grey bar: Toronto. Source: Toronto Police Service Public Safety Data Portal, Major Crime Indicators (Oct 1, 2025 to Sep 30, 2026) and Neighbourhood Crime Rates. Reported incidents only; police place each incident at the nearest intersection. Five-year trends for Palmerston-Little Italy
03Getting around from 541 Shaw St
The nearest subway station is Ossington Station (Line 2), about a 11‑minute walk (0.7 km). Within a 5‑minute walk there are 10 TTC stops served by routes 63, 506 and 94, with about 2,013 departures on a typical weekday. The nearest GO train station is Bloor GO, 2.4 km away, with 68 train stops on a weekday.
Source: TTC · Line 2 · about 11 min walk
Nearest stop: Ossington Ave at Dewson St, plus 1 more stop for this route within 250 m.
Nearest stop: Harbord St at Montrose Ave.
Nearest stop: College St at Crawford St.
Source: GO Transit · 68 train stops on a weekday
TTC and GO Transit schedules for a typical weekday (Nov 11, 2026). Walking times are estimates.
04Schools and child care near 541 Shaw St
These are the closest public and Catholic schools by distance. They may not be the schools assigned to this address: school boards set their own attendance areas, so check with the Toronto District School Board or Toronto Catholic District School Board.
Elementary schools
Share of Grade 6 students meeting the provincial standard. Toronto: 87% reading, 54% math.
Secondary schools
Share of students who passed the Grade 10 literacy test on their first try. Toronto: 84%.
The red tick on each bar is the Toronto average. Private schools within 1 km: The Orchard Montessori School. Source: Ontario Ministry of Education (2026), EQAO results.
Within 500 m (about a 6‑minute walk): three licensed child care centres, no EarlyON centres, no privately owned public spaces and no shelters or respite sites.
301 Montrose Ave · 117 spaces · infant, toddler, preschool, kindergarten, school age · in the $10-a-day program · fee subsidies
65 Concord Ave · 127 spaces · kindergarten, school age · in the $10-a-day program · fee subsidies
860 College St · 149 spaces · infant, toddler, preschool · in the $10-a-day program
Source: City of Toronto Licensed Child Care Centres and EarlyON Child and Family Centres.
05The building at 541 Shaw St
Source: Building Construction/Demolition Violations
1 building permit in the last 5 years. This includes a second suite (such as a basement apartment), completed Jun 2026. For comparison, about 1 in 10 Toronto addresses had any permit in that time. Permits show work the City approved; they don't show work done without a permit.
Source: Building Permits · 5 on record
It isn't listed or designated on the City's Heritage Register.
Source: Heritage Register
Permit history: 2 projects from 5 permits
- Party Wall Admin Permits · permit issued · issued Jul 25, 2024
Party wall admin permit for construction work at 539 Shaw St · Permit 24 184874 - Second suite (such as a basement apartment)New home · completed Jun 18, 2026
To add 2nd suite in basement and new stairs · 4 permits in this project (such as building, plumbing and heating) · Permit 07 239688
06Around the block
Stays of less than 28 days, like Airbnb. That's more than at almost all Toronto addresses.
Houses that rent individual rooms with shared kitchens or bathrooms. The City licenses them to enforce safety standards.
Flock Rotisserie + Greens (restaurant or bar), Palm Sunday (salon or personal services).
Source: Short Term Rentals Registration, Multi-Tenant (Rooming) House Licences, Business Licences and Permits (storefront types; owners’ personal names are never shown), POPS, and Daily Shelter Occupancy (Nov 6, 2026). Confidential shelter locations are not published.
07Risks and environment at 541 Shaw St
TRCA's maps show this address is outside the areas that could flood from rivers in a major storm (TRCA plans for a storm like Hurricane Hazel in 1954) and outside lake shoreline hazards. Basement flooding from overloaded sewers can still happen anywhere in the city.
Source: TRCA Regulation mapping 2025
In postal area M6G, 5 of 536 home tap-water samples (0.9%) tested above Ontario's limit for lead (10 micrograms per litre). Across Toronto, 2.0% of samples did, so M6G is lower than the city overall. Health Canada recommends a stricter limit of 5 micrograms per litre: 17 samples here (3.2%) were above it. These are voluntary tests, mostly from older homes, so they don't tell you about this house. Lead comes from old pipes and plumbing, not the City's treatment plants. If your home was built before the mid-1950s, you can get a free test kit by calling 311.
Source: Non Regulated Lead Sample · 536 tests, Feb 20, 2014 to Oct 15, 2026
Air Quality Health Index from Environment and Climate Change Canada's Toronto Downtown station, 2.8 km away, measured 3:00 AM EST Monday 9 November 2026. Forecast high for the next 24 hours: 2 (low risk). The scale runs from 1 to 10+; 1 to 3 is low risk.
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · hourly
TRCA mapping is for screening, not site-specific decisions. Lead results are voluntary samples from homes in the postal area, not this address.
08The neighbourhood: Palmerston-Little Italy
Palmerston-Little Italy had 13,120 residents in 2021. The median household income was $88,000, about the same as the typical Toronto neighbourhood ($85,000). 59% of households rent (typical neighbourhood: 46%). 43% of renters spend 30% or more of their income on housing. 24% of workers commuted by transit and 33% walked or cycled (typical neighbourhood: 26% and 5%). The most common first languages other than English and French are Portuguese (6.2%), Italian (3.5%) and Cantonese (2.9%). Source: 2021 Census; the next census was taken in 2026.
In October 2025, the average rent for a two-bedroom in a purpose-built rental building in the former City of Toronto was $2,457, up 6% from a year earlier. Across Toronto: $2,055. 3.2% of these apartments were vacant. These are averages paid by all tenants, including long-term ones, across a large area; new listings usually cost more.
| Average rent, October 2025 | Central Toronto | Change in a year | Toronto |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,526 | +2% | $1,499 |
| 1 bedroom | $1,914 | +4% | $1,763 |
| 2 bedrooms | $2,457 | +6% | $2,055 |
| 3 bedrooms or more | $3,195 | 0% | $2,361 |
Source: CMHC, Rental Market Survey (October 2025), purpose-built rental apartments, central Toronto (the old City of Toronto, before the 1998 amalgamation). CMHC doesn’t publish rents for single neighbourhoods. Adapted by My Address in Toronto.
How Palmerston-Little Italy compares with Toronto’s 158 neighbourhoods →