Former gold prospector Rex Wesley Heslop didn’t strike his fortune until he began building affordable housing developments in Alderwoood, Rexdale and Georgetown.

Heslop, who died in 1973 at the age of 68, was a top Etobicoke real estate developer, who was one of a few persons to have a phone in his Cadillac back in the day before they gained widespread use.

The father of two worked with in the family construction business before moving to Detroit, where for a time he drove a cab and worked as a car salesman.

He left ‘Motor City’ for Northern Ontario, where he worked as a prospector in the mines. He was injured in a rock slide and moved back to Toronto to work in construction.

Toronto at the time was facing a major housing shortage with many veterans returning home after WW11.

Local historian Denise Harris wrote that around 1947-48, Heslop acquired land on the southeast corner of Foch St. and Horner Ave., across from Sir Adam Beck Public School, where he built three houses using a precast and concrete wall system which sold immediately.

A year later he purchased more land on the north side of Horner that was subdivided in large lots and L-shaped streets. The so-called ‘army homes’ were mostly identical to each other and were on streets with names of English locations like Chelsea Dr., Fulham Dr., Norfolk Dr., and a Heslop Dr., named after him.

The Alderwood development with 400 homes was a success and Heslop purchased more farm land in the area and repeated his home-building sales.

Heslop by 1955 had purchased farmland in Thistletown, on which he built hundreds of homes. Soon, there were soon 330 families living in a development called ‘Rexdale,’ where Heslop opened the Rexdale Shopping Centre, now Rexdale Mall.

His homes were popular with working folks since were well-built and affordable selling for up to $10,000 then. They made Heslop a very rich man.

Heslop after building the Delrex subdivision in Georgetown, sold his interest in the firm and retired at the age of 61.