Cornfest returns; Koreatown’s inaugural street festival; street closure at Bloor and St. George streets Cornfest returns to Jean Sibelius Park on Sept 15 (3-5pm) The Annex Residents’ Association is again hosting its annual Cornfest. All are welcome to this rain or shine event to enjoy the sweet seasonal treat together with baked goods, games, and live entertainment! Koreatown Street Festival  The Korea Town BIA hosted its […]

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ARA to resurvey all the trees in the Annex  By Terri Chu There’s a lot to love about the Annex: cultural vibrancy, a wide variety of local independent businesses, walkability and trees.  Can you imagine this place without the big, beautiful maples? The streets would feel empty and dystopian.  No one wants to imagine this […]

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Bill 23, the provincial government’s promise to build 1.5 million homes by 2031 is nothing short of an early Christmas gift to developers. There’s no guarantee homes will be built, there’s nothing to ensure they will be affordable, and there’s no help for renters.

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On June 18, Wiener’s Home Hardware celebrated their 100th anniversary with a block party hosted by the Bloor Annex Business Improvement Area, Annex Residents’ Association, and the Harbord Village Residents’ Association. The community enjoyed live music, food, and got a chance to learn about the history of the family-run store (pictured top-right). The block party […]

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The Annex Residents’ Association (ARA) held their annual general meeting on April 21 via Zoom. Those in attendance included members of the ARA, residents and representatives from development teams, city council and Toronto Police Service. The most notable discussions were about improving safety on Avenue Road, the West Annex Heritage Project, vandalism at St. Alban’s […]

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The City of Toronto has been talking about garden suites for years, and on Feb. 2, council agreed to a policy that allows homeowners to build a detached suite in their backyards. 

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Two of the development projects the Gleaner reported on last year have been completed and in their place seven new ones have started. The Gleaner is distributed between College Street, Dupont Street, Avenue Road and Christie Street and this year there are 17 development sites within those boundaries.

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A new condo neighbourhood is rising on Davenport Road between Dupont Street and Avenue Road. With the completion of the 35-storey AYC condos and townhouses at Bedford Road, and another seven builds ranging in size from 7 to 35 storeys, the L-shaped curve at the northeastern edge of the Annex is set to boom.  But the Annex Residents’ Association is concerned that a liveable neighbourhood has not been planned for.  

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Edward Leman gave more time and expertise to protect the Annex community than any other volunteer director in the modern era of the Annex Residents’ Association (ARA).

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In 2009 the Annex Residents Association (ARA) took on the impressive task of cataloging over 10,000 trees in the Annex neighbourhood. A team of forestry students and numerous volunteers worked over the course of four summers logging the trees’ species, age, varieties and their ownership. Now, 12 years later, they’re looking to do it all over again.

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The Annex is facing intense pressure, with 25 major development projects currently underway. Can the neighbourhood grow without losing its unique character? Heritage consultants will be defining that character over the next seven months as they scour the neighbourhood to document 1,007 properties within the boundaries of Dupont, Bloor, Bedford and Bathurst streets.  The goal is for the city to declare the “West Annex”—defined as the area west of Bedford— a Heritage Conservation District (HCD) so that future development takes heritage into consideration.

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Over 40 people were in virtual attendance at the Annex Residents’ Association’s (ARA) Annual General Meeting on April 22. Because of the pandemic, it was the first AGM in two years, but participation was up thanks to Zoom.

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