Rex Heslop
Rex Wesley Heslop, (1905 – September 30, 1973) was a Canadian businessman noted for being a land developer and residential real estate developer.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early years
Heslop was born on a farm in present day Northern Etobicoke. The property would have been located North of the 401 and East of Islington Avenue -- note that neither road existed in 1905.
He worked with his father in the family construction business before moving to Detroit to seek opportunity. In Detroit, he drove a cab for a time; then he became a new car salesman. After his tenure in Detroit, he went to Northern Ontario, working in the mines, until he was injured in a rock slide at which point he moved back to Toronto to work in construction.
He was married to Delma and had two children, Rex Jr. and Marilyn.
[edit] Creating Rexdale, Ontario
Upon return to Toronto, Heslop obtained a loan and built six homes in the Alderwood area of Etobicoke. His next move would be to acquire the land that would be Rexdale - and soon 330 families were calling Rexdale home. Heslop built one of the area's first and for a time largest shopping centres - Rexdale Shopping Centre - opened in 1956 (4 years after the city's first - Sunnybrook (at Bayview & Eglinton) and three years after Lawrence Plaza (Bathurst & Lawrence). By the time the plaza opened, Rexdale had 3,600 homes and 70 industries.
[edit] Building the Delrex subdivision in Georgetown
Heslop, the developer of Rexdale in West Toronto, had purchased several farms on Georgetown's eastern boundary in 1954. By 1958, he and his wife Delma and their two children - Marilyn and Rex Jr. - had moved into their brand new spacious home on Heslop Court.
Heslop then tried a similar venture to Rexdale, but this time in Georgetown by creating another subdivision, this one called Delrex. He ran into political problems and tired of name-calling and in-fighting, sold his interest and retired at the age of 61.
[edit] Legacy
Rexdale, Ontario and the Delrex subdivision of Georgetown, Ontario are named after him. Various streets in Delrex named after him (i.e. Rexway, Heslop, Delrex).
[edit] References
The Way we Were - Toronto Sketches 9, Mike Fliey, ISBN 978-1550026139
