Councillor claims doubling of units possible for Bayview-Post Road

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Although confirming no new paperwork has yet come across the desk of City of Toronto, City Planning staff, Coun. Jaye Robinson recently announced new plans seeking to double the number of townhouse units at the Homes of The Bridle Path development are coming down the line.

Formerly the Alexandria townhouse project was being developed by Hush Homes before being purchased out of bankruptcy early this year by Urbancorp. A long fight by the councillor and local residents over the original project’s density of 20 units failed in an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing. Now, in light of potential plans to increase the number to 40 units, some are hoping that ruling — the lesser of two evils — will remain in place.

“Twenty units was an abomination; 40 is just unspeakable,” said David Bawden, past president of the York Mills Ratepayers’ Association. “Twenty [units] should never have been allowed there in the first place. The OMB pays very little attention to what the public concerns are, from my standpoint, but now we will have to try and rely on that first OMB decision standing.”

“Twenty units was an abomination; 40 is unspeakable.”

The controversial townhouse project, on the east side of The Bridle Path at Bayview Avenue and Post Road, was to have been already completed for occupancy under its original owners. Sales of the units that started in the $2.4 million range, were slow and forced the project’s bankruptcy. Original plans by Hush had the townhouses all at three storeys and between 3,700 and 3,900 square feet with each served by a two-car, underground garage. The new developer is advertising the starting price point at around the $1 million mark for three storeys, three bedrooms and square footage ranging from about 2,000 up to about 2,300. Robinson explained that Urbancorp can go ahead with the original plans as approved by the OMB, but to make any major alterations will require the full application process, meaning Toronto City Council meeting debates and public consultation.

“A change of any magnitude needs an application and the approval process, which can take time,” she said. “We are aware of what they are planning but at this point haven’t received that application.”

Representatives from Urbancorp did not return requests for comment by press time.

Building better lives

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It takes more than bricks and mortar to build a community, but for Judy Mellett and her all-female team of Habitat for Humanity volunteers, it’s a pretty good place to start.

For five years now, the 41-year-old resident of the Yonge and Lawrence area has been donning her hard hat, wielding hammer and nail, chewing grit and sawdust and nursing the bumps and bruises of a physical day’s work, all in the name of a good cause.

“I was looking for ways to contribute. It’s a wonderful way to get involved locally and have a tangible impact on your community,” she said. “Habitat for Humanity was an organization whose goals really resonated with me and the work is physically and spiritually so rewarding.”

Habitat for Humanity helps low-income families secure affordable housing, and teams of volunteers, led by supporting construction industry professionals, build those homes each year. Mellett will dig into her fifth construction project later this September, and in early October, as part of the organization’s Women Build 2014 campaign along with her Telus Women Build team. Habitat GTA will build 12 homes this fall, adding to the current total of 270. To date Mellett and her crew have combined to fundraise more than $120,000 for the projects and have seen many families getting affordable housing by physically taking part in the construction process.

“I have been able to meet many of the families and the children who move into the homes, and their faces just light up,” she said, adding she had no previous construction experience and gave kudos to the professional crew leaders who taught her what she needed to know. “Affordable housing can mean so much for a family, and it allows them to become fully contributing members of their community, so it’s like a cyclical impact. It’s a way for us to literally build a great city.”

GTA Habitat director of annual giving Kristin Philpot praised the efforts of Mellett and the Telus team that has already raised enough to fully fund one home in just five short years.

“Whether she’s swinging a hammer, soliciting donations or spreading the word, Judy is a champion of the cause and a friend to the community,” Philpot said.

Writing for justice

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When Thornhill resident Katie McDonald heard the story about Amanda Todd, a British Columbia teenager who took her own life in 2012 following months of online bullying and harassment, she was deeply moved.

“I remember I was at the gym when I saw her YouTube video,” said McDonald, referring to a video Todd posted detailing her battle with depression. “I just started crying while I was at the gym,” she said.

McDonald didn’t have a personal connection — an expectant mother, she spends her days working as a professional copywriter. But something about Todd caused her to have an epiphany.

“You don’t have to be affected by something personally to understand how terrible it can be.”

At that moment, McDonald decided to help the way she knew she could help best — through writing. “I decided right then, ‘that’s what I’m going to write about,’ ” she said, adding that others should be inspired to use talents that they have to make a difference. “I’m a writer and that’s my gift, so that’s how I’m communicating this message.”

McDonald opted out of writing a how-to or a dos and don’ts–style book and instead opted for a fiction piece. The now-complete work, Bystander No More, is geared toward teens, tweens and young adults. It tells the story of two friends entering high school who grow apart amidst typical teen turmoil — gossip, pressures and tough promises to keep. As one falls victim to physical and cyber bullying, the other finds herself torn on how to help.”

“There’s so much more than just ‘bullying is wrong,’ ” said McDonald. “It’s really geared toward all kids because, if we haven’t been bullied, we all know someone who has been bullied. I wrote Bystander No More in the hopes that I might challenge thought processes, make someone think twice about their decisions [and] motivate a teen to stand up for a bullied friend.”

McDonald is still in the process of publishing the book and is raising money via Kickstarter to fund editing, the cover design and distribution.

Once it’s finished and available for purchase, she hopes to partner with anti-bullying and suicide prevention charities so that sales of the book can help fund positive changes for victims of bullying.

Family land at stake

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Larry Thomas said he had a simple wish: to sever his multi-generational family property into three 50-foot lots so that he could sell the land surrounding his home and live out his golden years without having to worry about maintaining the foliage in his yard on Walmer Road.

Thomas’s family has owned 41 Walmer Rd. for nearly 80 years. Now, aging, sick and walking with a cane, Thomas sought to sever his lot when maintaining it became too overwhelming.

Initially, a Committee of Adjustment approved this request. Later, the Town of Richmond Hill’s planning department discovered that the low-lying area of Thomas’s lot is delineated regulatory flood plain, which should be conveyed to the town according to the official plan. As a result, Thomas would have to give the town the deed to nearly 40 per cent of the land.

Thomas is extremely unhappy that he would not be able to make money off of land his family has lived on since the 1930s. “It’s just wrong,” he said.

“I get where we’re going green and we’re all trying to do everything for the community, but I just don’t understand how anybody could approach anybody and ask to take their land away without compensation,” said Lisa Sawyer, Thomas’s neighbour.

At a recent Richmond Hill Town Council meeting, the town voted to pay Thomas $13,000 per severed lot — a total of $26,000 — in order to potentially create a park out of the land. Not all members of council were on board with this.

“Passing the motion the way it is will create an enormous precedent,” said councillor David West. “It totally undermines our official plan.”

Town staff is now working with Thomas to determine the fate of the land. He says he’s concerned that the town will not maintain the property as well as he has.

“My property is not flooding — it has never flooded,” he said. “However, they somehow insist that this is hazard land, and therefore they have a right to take it and let it turn into actual hazard land.”

Council may reconsider $1 million dry pond idea

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Councillor Alan Shefman thinks the idea of a “dry pond” at Gallanough Park, a large park on the west side of Yonge Street near Clark Avenue West, is a great idea.

The bowl-like dip in the park would be a cost-effective way of keeping the raging waters at bay following a storm, says Shefman. Estimated to cost around $1 million, it is a cheaper alternative to the estimated $5 million underground draining system.

“The point of the pond is to hold the water back coming from the south moving north for about four hours after a major, major storm — a 100-year storm, like we had in 2005,” he said.

Following rainfall, any water gathered would then drain into the Don River.

During the infamous 2005 storm, major damage was caused to homes and public property in the Thornhill area.

“It’s our responsibility to lower the risk of our residents having their homes flooded,” said Shefman.

But the pond has caught some residents off guard and has caused some to worry about what impact it will have in terms of safety, particularly on children and dogs.

Nearby resident Philip Hayman attended a meeting earlier this summer to discuss the plans, thinking there would be multiple methods to discuss.

“If we could meet again, get more clarity, I’m OK with it,” he said. But hearing that the decision was final, he was surprised. “It caught a lot of people off guard. They thought there were still alternatives to be had. That disturbs some residents.”

Shefman says there is nothing to worry about. “The reality is, the pond will be 99.9 per cent dry all the time,” he said. “No matter what our engineers said, people refused to accept that.”

So Shefman has moved a motion at the upcoming September Vaughan City Council meeting to ask city staff to re-examine alteratives.

“In the spirit of being respectful and co-operative, I’m bringing this forward for further study. I just wish people would come to their positions based on the knowledge of what’s going to happen as opposed to perceptions about what’s going to happen.

38 storeys upheld by OMB

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Spitting words such as “unfair,” “absurd” and “makes no sense,” councillor Josh Matlow is joining local residents in their disappointment over the Ontario Municipal Board’s (OMB) recent decision to allow a major condo development at 95 and 99 Broadway Ave. to go ahead as proposed.

“This is a prime example of why I am trying to free the city from the OMB,” Matlow said. “This is an unfair decision that just makes no sense.

“Schools in the area are already overcrowded, the subway line there is overburdened and the infrastructure there just isn’t capable of handling this type of intensification,” Matlow added.

The proposal, fully approved by the OMB and owned by Timothy James Poupore, is for two 30-storey towers built on a common eight-storey podium for a total of 38 storeys, with 853 apartments and 367 parking spaces in seven storeys of underground parking. There will be 37 bachelor units and 527 one-bedroom, 281 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom units.

City of Toronto, City Planning staff; Toronto City Council; and local residents’ associations were hotly opposed, due to the proposed density, which is 22 times the lot area of what city regulations are for that lot near Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue.

Vocal neighbouring resident Sean Boulton said he, too, was “very disappointed” the OMB gave full approval.

“The height is objectionable, sure, but the density is outrageous,” he said. “It appears, basically, that the OMB flatly ignored any concerns council or the residents here had; unfortunately, it’s also not surprising. I would argue that the neighbourhood is already beyond our breaking point and there just isn’t enough infrastructure here to handle it [the density of the development],” Boulton added, saying it sets an incredible precedent for other developments in the area outside of the Yonge-Eglinton intersection growth node where high-rise towers would be permitted.

Mediation for Art Shoppe condo

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Although all parties will have to wait until the end of August or early September for the complete results, a mediation exercise involving the City of Toronto, City Planning staff and Toronto City Council; the South Eglinton Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association; and Freed Developments has been completed.

Coun. Josh Matlow, who helped spearhead the mediation in the past month, said that although results must remain confidential until around Labour Day, he felt it was a worthwhile endeavour that may avoid the need for an Ontario Municipal Board hearing.

“We worked very hard to take into consideration all factors, things like the sightlines for people in the [neighbouring] Quantum [condo] units, to address the resident concerns and the impacts,” he said. “I can say I believe the residents and staff were able to achieve the best result possible."

The current development application, presented by Freed Developments, for the former Art Shoppe at 2131 Yonge St. is seeking a two-tower high-rise, one of 38 storeys and the other reaching 29, with a common base. Residents are concerned the density and height are too great. Representatives from the developer did not return requests for comment by press time.

Plaza plans not popular

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A major redevelopment plan for the Newtonbrook Plaza lands at Yonge Street and Cummer Avenue is headed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) in a year, and in the meantime, Toronto City Council and local residents are still hopeful alterations can be made to make it more appealing to the neighbourhood.

As it stands, the redevelopment proposal by Silvercore Properties is for a mixed-use project focused around 5799 to 5915 Yonge St. with 1,674 residential units and at-grade retail and office space spread through four separate towers of 28, 36, 36 and 44 storeys. The development also takes in 45 and 53 Cummer Ave., with parkland proposed for 46 and 47 Averhill Cres., and in all, covers approximately nine acres of land.

Due to concerns about the proposal’s density and height, council and staff failed to make a decision in the specified time frame allowed, and Silvercore has decided to appeal to the OMB for a decision. That hearing is set for mid-September 2015.

Councillor David Shiner said there is little that can be done at this point by council and concerned residents but wait and hope there will be a change of plans.

“The project needs to be made much more realistic,” Shiner said. “The proposed density is all based on a subway station that is not there, that has no approved plans to be there any time in the near future. I think we’re miles apart in finding a common ground on this.”

Silverview Community Association secretary Anne Brooke has been representing the organization at meetings on the issue and said her membership, too, has great concerns about the density and scope of the project.

“They want almost twice the density that is on the zoning map. The height will exceed the maximum height limit and will be almost twice the height of the building next door,” she said. “There is always tension between the people who want to make money and those who want a nice place to live. I feel that ‘a nice place to live’ doesn’t get enough attention.”

Representatives from the developer did not return requests for comment by press time.

School daze at Yonge and Shep

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Yonge Street and Sheppard Avenue is a neighbourhood that seems to grow higher and higher every year. And according to the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), that development has had an effect on schooling. As a generation of “condo kids” grows up, schools in densely populated areas have experienced unexpected crowding. According to TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird, Yonge and Sheppard is one of those areas.

“A number of schools around here are quite tight,” said Bird. “There are signs up around new condo developments that say, ‘If you move in here, you might not go to the closest school.’ ”

There’s no foreseeable easing of the situation. The area’s newest developments include the 35- and 49-storey Hullmark Centre, where a Whole Foods will be opening this fall, and Emerald Park, where two 33- and 42-storey towers are under construction.

Will Avenue Road’s shops be forced out?

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An increasing number of business tenants are being forced to move or close on Avenue Road in the stretch between Lawrence Avenue West and Wilson Avenue.

Dan Kahnert, owner of Kahnert’s Furs + Outerwear, just recently had to move his family business a few blocks north to the corner of Avenue and Joicey Boulevard after being pushed out by a development. Their former location between Fairlawn Avenue and Brookdale Avenue will soon be home to a seven-storey mixed-use development.

And they’re not the only ones.

“That whole block is going to be a part of it,” said Kahnert, referring to all of the tenants from 1678 to 1704 Avenue Rd., all of which will succumb to the development. The whole area was singled out for larger residential development by the City of Toronto, City Planning department in 2008.

One of the iconic businesses that will be closing its doors — at least on Avenue Road — is Bistro on Avenue.

Founded by Louis Nemes, one of the founders of the St. Louis Wings franchise, the local wing king has been a favourite haunt of North Torontonians for years.

Nemes plans to keep the restaurant open until he is forced out, which will be sometime in 2015. “The customers here, they wouldn’t let me leave.”

Nemes has not found a new location yet, but he says he isn’t worried. “We’ll open at a new location when it comes to that,” he said.

Kahnert, now renting a ground-level space in a new building, is already preparing for more neighbours on top. “There’s another few storeys coming in, commercial office space,” he said. Construction is currently underway.

And there’s more soon to come — North York Community Council recently recommended that city planning schedule a community consultation concerning a development at 2088 Avenue Rd., at Carmichael Avenue. A zoning bylaw application was submitted for a five-storey mixed-use development.

Changes are coming, but some are choosing to grin and bear it.

“It’s certainly going to be different,” said Kahnert, who has no intention of leaving any time soon.

60 acres at Don Mills-Eglinton up for rezone

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With a new underground LRT station at Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue East coming down the rails for 2020, electronics manufacturer Celestica has applied for a rezoning of its 60-acre site near that intersection.

The plans came to the City of Toronto’s staffers in early August and request a change from the current employment lands to a mixed-use zoning for both commercial and residential use.

Located at 844 Don Mills Rd. and 1150 Eglinton Ave. E., the proposal would retain some employment lands along Don Mills north from the intersection with Eglinton, with mixed-use covering the balance of the rest of the site. Initial concepts also include a hockey arena as a replacement for the Don Mills Civitan Arena.

The site first opened in the early 1950s as IBM’s manufacturing plant and remained in their use until they relocated to Markham in 1993 when IBM created Celestica to maintain electronic manufacturing at the original site.

The location is Celestica’s international head office, but with the decline of solar panel manufacturing on site, which Celestica says in its reports to Toronto City Council it is expected to cease in or around 2016, they hope to repurpose the lands.

“Celestica doesn’t need the site and are going great guns to sell it. Rezoning and the LRT there make it more attractive to a buyer,” said Coun. John Parker, who said he has already had several meetings with the owner.

“It’s currently employment lands, and they’re looking for mixed use, and that’s where the showdown could come from, from the city and local residents.

“The city is not fond of losing employment lands, but it could otherwise be an exciting development to see take shape, depending on how this plays out,” he added.

The plans submitted would allow for 2,897 dwelling units, about 77,000 square metres of office space and about 9,000 square metres of retail space. The mixed-use area also plans for eight high-rise towers ranging from 24 to 40 storeys with both above-and below-grade parking with 930 spots.

Representatives from the owner did not return requests for comment by press time.

Say no to grey skies on Eglinton

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As your local MPP during this critical time of transformation on our local streets, skyline and roadways, I believe it is imperative that bright and inspirational designs be injected into our cityscape.

It is bad enough that we have 40- and 50-storey towers that block our skies, but we also have grey concrete slabs everywhere we look! We walk on grey sidewalks, under massive grey condo towers, ride on grey subways, and every second car seems to be silver-grey. This is why, as we plan and build the new Eglinton Crosstown, we need to encourage and promote colourful station design that breaks the greying that has taken hold of our local geography. It is important to remember that the addition of colour can be done without any additional cost or delay.

Adding colour into our everyday landscapes would not only benefit our collective mood, but it also helps to create streets and buildings that garner more respect. When people feel good about where they live, property damage significantly decreases and more care and attention is paid to our public spaces.

Consider the wonderful cities around the world making vibrant changes and adding local colour, like Paris, New York and Amsterdam. An inspiring case study can be found in Tirana, Albania, where, in 2000, then-mayor Edi Rama hired painters to add vibrant blue, yellow, and pink colours to Tirana’s grey, drab post-Communist facade. Crime rates came down, and this once lifeless backwater came alive.

So let’s get out in our communities and add some colour to our public spaces! Let’s add some pinks, blues and greens to stop the greying of our local geography!