No city is ever truly static, but Toronto is as it ever is; there is construction, of course, where one would expect construction; and there are things that come as a surprise, but never anything really paradigm-changing. Effects follow from known causes.
But May takes this street every day, and would have noticed if there had been construction in the spot where previously, there had not been a little shop, and now, there is. But it's such a quaint little shop; she might not even have noticed it--except that she is very much noticing it. It is difficult not to notice it all out of proportion