Roncesvalles-High Park : Development News

When the West Toronto Railpath was first talked about back in 2002, it was possible to imagine a multi-use trail system running from the Junction right downtown right along the railway tracks to Union Station.

Though Metrolinx’s transit ambitions and condo development have over time limited the scope of where such a path can go, a long-awaited environmental assessment (EA) now points the way forward on how the path can be extended further toward the city centre. Phase one, which opened in 2009, provided a path from Cariboo Avenue to Dundas Street West. Phase two could extend the path to Abell and Sudbury streets relatively quickly.

“It is very exciting to have the EA closed so that Railpath 2 can finally move into the design stage,” says Scott Dobson, a member of Friends of West Toronto Railpath. “The great thing about the EA process is that frankly everybody loves Railpath. Everybody [who has seen it] gets it and wants to see it expand.”

For all extension possibilities beyond Abell, the EA calls for further study, leaving out Liberty Village. But Dobson says he’s pleased the EA cleared the way to get the path south of Queen, though between Dufferin and Abell the path will have to run adjacent to, not in, the rail corridor.

“There was no point in doing something that made nobody happy and strayed from the spirit of Railpath, but at the same time nobody wanted to stall the rest of the route up to Dundas where Railpath currently ends. So all stakeholders felt that getting it built to Abell, while continuing to explore southerly options, was the best option,” says Dobson. “A few years ago, nobody wanted land near or in the rail corridor but now that land is scarce and valuable. At the end of the day, it is because of increased density and new transit projects, which is a good thing. But figuring out the exact route has been time consuming.”

The next step is for an RFP to be tendered for detailed design of the extention. Beyond expansion south, Dobson says advocates are also in the early stages of looking north to go from the north tip of Railpath at Cariboo up to St. Clair Avenue.

Writer: Paul Gallant
Source: Scott Dobson

The city is moving ahead on a proposal to a Toronto District School Board property into a hub for food and learning.

As Yonge Street reported in the spring, the 7.3-acre site at the corner of Bloor Street and Dufferin Street) is home of Bloor Collegiate Institute, Alpha II Alternative School and Kent Senior Public School. But the TDSB has designated the property for redevelopment and the city has put together an idea that would turn it into a community hub focusing on food and agriculture.

City council voted this week to enter into discussions with Toronto Lands Corporation (which is tasked with handling underused TDSB real estate), the Toronto District School Board, the province and FoodShare, a non-profit that works with communities and schools to deliver healthy food and food education, and other groups to come up with a plan. FoodShare’s HQ is already in the neighbourhood. The total property involved in a deal would be 10.4 acres and include Brockton High School, though a portion of the property would likely be sold to private developers to generate some revenue from the project.

“The property is strategically important for all four of the city’s defined municipal interests in school properties, and in particular is recommended as the setting for a flagship urban agriculture centre/community food hub, as requested by Council in 2013,” states the city’s agenda item. “Such a hub would promote linkages between education, community economic development and a healthy, sustainable urban food system.”

The staff report points out that there is a significant shortfall of licensed infant child care spaces in
Ward 18, where the property is located, as well as a shortage of parkland, both of which could be remedied with the right kind of facility. Since the provincial government has made the creation of community hubs one of its signature priorities, the city is hoping there will be increased motivation (and possibly cash) to make it happen. “Hubs can provide co-located services that are managed and delivered separately, or the hubs may be coordinated to respond to specific needs, populations, or sectors,” states the report. “Community hubs are advantageous in Toronto for many reasons, including potential cost-savings, service alignments and integration, the ability to target priority populations, bringing services to residents in their neighbourhoods, providing better customer service, and maximizing the use of and repurposing of public property. Every community hub will be spatially and organizationally unique, to reflect local conditions and community needs.”

An urban agriculture centre would provide education and training around growing food, provide economic opportunities and pathways to employment in the food processing and catering sectors, improve the city’s green infrastructure and create a vibrant public space.

The TDSB will review an updated report on the proposal next month.

Writer: Paul Gallant
Source: City of Toronto

UPDATE: The headline and story have been amended to reflect council adopting the item at its Sep. 30 session.

Last week city council voted to develop a proposal that would transform the school lands near the intersection of Bloor and Dufferin Streets into a community hub.
 
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) declared the lands surplus in 2013 and moved to sell off 7.3 acres of the 10.4 acre parcel of land, including Kent Senior Public School, Bloor Collegiate Institute, Alpha II Alternative School and assorted green spaces.
 
Last spring, the city expressed an interest in buying part of the land, but the Toronto Lands Corporation, which handles property no longer required by the TDSB, only wanted to sell the full 7.3-acre parcel. Things have changes since then. The provincial government has made the creation of community hubs a priority and the TDSB has expressed a new interest in exploring hub possibilities rather than selling the property outright.
 
“There would be significant benefits of moving forward with a community hub model on the Bloor-Dufferin School Lands site as there already have been discussions and interest on the part of the City, the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board, the community and social service agencies,” states a motion by Councillor Ana Bailão, who represents Ward 18, where the property is located.
 
City council supported Bailão’s motion unanimously. The hub proposal is expected to go to council’s executive committee on September 21.
 
Writer: Paul Gallant
Source: City Council

Toronto officially got its third bike park this past weekend, as Councillor Doucette cut the ribbon on Sunnyside Bike Park.

Designed by Vancouver mountain bike rider and designer Jay Hoots, and built by Ferdom Construction, the park is the city’s largest.

“Bayview Bike Park is a smaller all dirt bike park and Wallace Emerson is also a smaller park with a dirt pump track and metal riding features replicating a more 'urban' riding experience,” says the city’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation spokesman Scott Laver. "The design of Sunnyside offers more progression and a wider variety of riding features for all levels and experience of riders.”

The off-road park’s wooden skills zone was constructed out of wood salvaged after the 2013 ice storm, and the clay used for the tracks came from the excavation of a development site near College and Spadina.

The park has been in the works since 2010, and cost $500,000.

According to the city’s press release, “This new bike park will address the lack of off-road cycling venues in the west end and ideally will reduce or eliminate the creation of informal bike parks in ecologically sensitive areas of the High Park neighbourhood.”

The city’s currently planning a fourth bike park, for Marie Curtis Park in Ward 6.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Scott Laver

It just got easier being green.
 
As of now, the city is offering $10 million worth of low-interest loans to single-family dwelling owners looking to retrofit their house in certain neighbourhoods around the city, but were previously dissauded by the associated costs of doing so.

"At its meeting of July 2013, Toronto City Council unanimously approved a $20-million pilot energy efficiency pilot program for the residential sector," says Rosalynd Rupert, a communications officer with the city.

"$10 million in funding is to be allocated to the Home Energy Loan Program, geared to single-family houses. HELP is designed to advance funding to consenting property owners interested in undertaking qualifying energy and water improvements with repayment via installments on the property tax bill."
 
It's a pilot project for the moment, available in Black Creek, Toronto Centre/Rosedale, the Junction/High Park, and South Scarborough.
 
"The initial pilot neighbourhoods are the same areas where Enbridge Gas is offering the Community Energy Conservation Program, which offers up to $2,000 in rebates and incentives for energy retrofits," Rupert says. "Also, in the pilot neighbourhoods, the city is collaborating with local groups such as SNAP [Black Creek] and Project Neutral [Riverdale-Junction] to jointly promote HELP to local homeowners."
 
According to Rupert, this is a new approach to funding for Toronto, one the City hopes it will be able to extend across the city and use for other initiatives in the future.
 
"Using local improvement charges for energy retrofits is new to Ontario and Canada. A similar financing program for hot water heaters is being rolled out in Halifax," Rupert says.

"The origin of this type of financing traces to Berkeley, California, in 2008. Various US jurisdictions have launched... programs that function similarly to HELP. How they work is municipalities/regional governments issue special bonds to raise funds for a municipal loan program that could cover renewable energy, water conservation or energy efficiency measures. The loans, including interest, are recovered via the property tax bill."
 
Maybe the best part of the whole deal is that there is no credit check to qualify for the loans. As long as you’re in the right neighbourhood, and your property taxes are up to date (and you get your mortgage-holder’s approval), you’re in. Interest rates are 2.5 per cent for five years, up to 4.25 per cent for 15 year terms.

Application forms are available at the city's website.
 
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Rosalynd Rupert

After the ice, and the branches and wires and crushed cars, things looked bad. The city didn’t make it any better by saying as much as 20 per cent of the city's tree canopy had been destroyed and that people wouldn't have to apply for licenses to take down damaged trees.

"I was concerned," says Councillor Sarah Doucette (Ward 13 Parkdale-High Park), the city's tree advocate. She called in to the city, and was assured that people would have to take pictures of the damaged tree to prove it needed to be taken down. How effective this will be remains to be seen, though the councillor, who lost half of one tree and the entirety of another in her own yard, says if you take the city's hasty announcement as a license for arborcide, "We will come after you."

That 20 per cent figure also concerns her.

"I think that was a very quick ballpark," she says. "We need arborists to go out and look at these. Can we prune this tree and will it come back? But we’re really not going to know for another few years."

And as far as Doucette is concerned, those years should be spent taking a sylvan lesson or two from High Park.

"I drove through High Park after the storm," Doucette says of the park that forms a large part of her ward, "because I wanted to see what sort of devastation we had in the park. There wasn’t any devastation. Some of the branches came down, but for the size of the park, we didn’t have that much damage, and that’s because they maintain and prune the trees. If the city can put more money into pruning our city trees, we wouldn’t be losing branches like this during storms."

She also suggests there should be some education available for residents on the importance of tree maintenance to avoid the mess, damage and potential injury after storms like December’s.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source; Sarah Doucette

The popular play castle in High Park that fell to arson on March 17 will soon be rebuilt, thanks in part to Michael Holmes.

"Toronto is his home town," says Rob Richardson of the city's parks department. "He's certainly done projects all over the place. He saw this as a community tragedy, as we all did. It seemed like a really good fit for him."

Holmes has signed up landscape architect Janet Rosenberg, who will also be donating her services in kind.

"We hope to be able to look at the design possibly by the end of the week," Richardson says.

In addition to Holmes and Rosenberg, the Sprott Foundation has offered to match community donations to the project up to $30,000.

With all the help, the plan is to have the work substantially completed by Saturday, July 7, when community members and other interested people are invited to show up at the Jamie Bell playground to help put finishing touches on the place, including staining and moving mulch.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Rob Richardson

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].

Sometimes, opposition to a big building doesn't work that well.

Just ask the residents of Ward 13, in the general vicinity of 1844 Bloor West, who don't want a new eight- and 14-storey U-shaped condo built on Bloor. The original opposition focused on the decision to put the 14-storey tower right up against Bloor Street. But then the developer, Daniels, and the architect, Donald Schmitt of Diamond Schmitt, agreed to turn it around so the tallest part of the building is now recessed, with the two eight-storey prongs meeting Bloor. More recent opposition has focused on the glass—either for its reflective properties creating a glare, or its presumed energy inefficiency. Some critics have also suggested the proposed number of parking spots is too small.

The proposal was originally made in 2010, and according to Councillor Sarah Doucette, the current design fits the city's requirements, having already received approval from staff.

After a public meeting last Tuesday evening, with about 80 residents in attendance, it was clear there was still a vocal, if potentially small, opposition to the project, which would be the first large condo building directly facing the park.

"I referred it back to staff and the committees," Doucette says. "I've agreed to have another community consultation, but 80 people yelling isn't going to do anything. We need a smaller consultation group to see what the developer will allow us to do. I'm not sure the developer will allow us to do anything now, frankly."

Doucette says she's sympathetic with the concerns of those residents of 22 Oakmount, the 17-storey building owned by WJ Properties, the same company that owns the site that Daniels is proposing to develop. They would be directly behind 1844 Bloor West and their views of the park would be obscured. In Doucette's view, they also form the majority if not the entirety of current opposition. But Doucette is not particularly sanguine about them retaining any say in the matter whatsoever.

"Because this has been deferred, Daniels has every right to go to the OMB," she says, referring to the Ontario Municipal Board, "and at that point, it's completely out of my hands and it's completely out of the city's hands what happens to that site."

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Sarah Doucette

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].

Nominations opened this week for the 2012 Green Toronto Awards, though the most interesting category from the 2011 edition has been dropped.

Last year, the awards expanded to include a green homes category, aimed at individuals who had done something remarkable to or with their own homes.

"It wasn't our strongest category," says Jessica Chow, co-ordinator for the city-sponsored awards. "We don’t know why. We noticed a lot of them were, 'Oh, I recycle in my home.' It wasn't really what we were after."

So this year, it's been folded into the more general green design category, where individual homes will now compete with eco clothing, green roofs and other design innovations.

Nominations can be submitted here until midnight on Feb. 6. Winners will be announced in March.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Jessica Chow

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].

After a much more extensive than average consultation process, it looks like High Park is going to get its first Central Park-style tower.

Early opposition to 1844 Bloor West, which was first submitted to the public in June of 2010, centred on its being glass, its being 14 storeys and its being right on Bloor at the edge of the park, the first condo to do so.

Developer Daniels had bought 13 houses, many of them vacant and most of them dilapidated, to consolidate the 5,000-square-metre site. In response to the concerns, they added masonary to the first floor, and turned the whole building around, so that the 14-storey portion of the U-shaped building wouldn’t butt right up against Bloor. (The two prongs of the 'U' are 8 storeys each.)

Councillor Sarah Doucette says this redesign satisfied city staff and many residents, though one group is still quite vehemently opposed.

"Those 14 floors are now right in from of 22 Oakmount," she says, "which is a 17-storey building, so most of the opposition is coming from 22 Oakmount, which I completely understand."

The proposal went to Etobicoke York Community Council on Tuesday during an evening session designed to allow as many residents to attend as possible.

According to Daniels' development manager Neil Pattison, demolition of the remaining houses will commence "imminently" with construction of the 5.3-density building, on a newly expanded 6,500-square-metre lot, to follow shortly thereafter.

Writer: Bert Archer
Sources: Sarah Doucette, Neil Pattison

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].

According to Gord Perks, the big torn-up road is only a part of the reason the Roncesvalles strip is undergoing such an upheaval.

"There are a lot of dynamics going on at the same time," says the city councilor of the commercial area that's seen many businesses struggle or close -- sometimes after decades in business -- and new ones re-open in the past two years. "We're coming out of a recession, the demographics of the neighbourhood have changed dramatically in the last five years, and yes, construction has had an impact, but I think the other two have bee more important."

Signs of the economic recovery can be seen all over the city, as long-delayed condo developments finally rise out of the ground, but the demographic switch is particular to Roncesvalles. According to Perks, 20 years ago it was a predominantly Polish, Lithuanian and Ukrainian neighbourhood. "Now," he says, "it's much more mixed," with fewer cultural and economic differences from High Park, just a few blocks away.
As a result, Perks says, "The nature of the businesses have changed, frankly because the street is going to be much more beautiful and pedestrian."

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Gord Perks

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].

The Roncesvalles renaissance has begun, as spring brings out a new batch of businesses taking advantage of the waves of displacement on this roadwork-belaboured strip.

Roncesvalles Dental Centre just opened mid-March in the space at No. 235 vacated by the Royal Bank, who moved down the street.

"We had to pretty much gut everything," says Dr. Pamela McGrath, one of three partners who own the clinic and have been overseeing the renovation since September. "We had to take down the walls, redo the ceiling, do plumbing, redo the electrical. We were supposed to open in January, but we were delayed. Construction always takes longer than you think."

The project was handled by Dentrix Construction, which specializes in customizing dental spaces.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Pamela McGrath

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].

Roncesvalles is joining the carnivore rush that's been spreading across the city with the opening of Barque Smoke House next week.

Occupying the space of the old Bistro 299 at 299 Roncesvalles, Jonathan Persofsky and a partner took over the space in January and have been working on it with contractor Solutions Inc. and The Design Agency Inc. since February.

"We pretty much gutted this place from start to finish," says Persofsky of the $230,000 renovation of the 1,400 square foot space, which had been Staropolska before it was Bistro 299, "and when we started looking at things, pretty much everything wasn't done to code. We had to redo all electrical and all plumbing in the building, we didn't use any of the existing pipes, we ran everything brand new."

Equipped with a 500-pound smoker, which Persofsky says is the city's biggest, the new restaurant will seat 64 inside, and have an initial patio capacity of 30, which may be expanded to 80.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source; Jonathan Persofsky

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].

The downside of all the roadwork that's been going on along Roncesvalles is that it's tipped a few businesses out of business.

The upside is it's made room for new ones. Like the newest addition to the Fresh Collective mini-chain of clothing stores.

"A lot of our customers were already there," says owner Laura-Jean Bernhardson, who has two other locations in Kensington Market and on Queen Street West, but they'd only come in occasionally, because, she noticed, Roncesvalles Village residents tend to shop local. "So I figured if we moved there, they would come in more frequently."

Bernhardson was lucky enough to be given what she calls a "clean box," the approximately 750 square foot space at 401 Roncesvalles, occupied for almost 50 years by High Park Tailor, having been thoroughly renovated by landlord Michael Reis including new floors, exposing a brick wall, and removing an unsalvageable tin ceiling.

"I hired a store designer," Bernhardson says, referring to Rob and Susan Whittaker's RLW Design. "I wanted to take it up a notch."
Though much got finished later than scheduled, and much more was still unfinished, the store opened on April 9, just a little over a month after Bernhardson took possession.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Laura-Jean Bernhardson

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].

The most disruptive road work in the city is starting up again this week.

Its significant effect already the inspiration for a poster campaign among local merchants with the tag "Road work sucks," the work on Roncesvalles seems to have been going on forever, and after a short respite, it's up and running again, part of a $9-million improvement program for the area.

"This project was initiated through the maintenance program for track replacement," says city senior engineer Salima Jivraj, "and subsequently tacked on various public realm improvements from the Environmental Assessment initiated 2008."

The work will now consist of streetcar track replacement and road resurfacing. It's expected to last until July.


Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Salima Jivraj

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].