PHOTO BY BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS: Two city councillors want to make Toronto’s laneways available for housing. bpNichol Lane — shown above — hosts a variety of uses including residences and Coach House Books.
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NEWS (JANUARY 2017): Laneway living
PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: Pacifico Life’s Bloor Street West location remains boarded up. Landlord Yong Jo gave Tamara Hirsh three hours to move her marijuana dispensary out of the building shortly before Christmas.
By Geremy Bordonaro
PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: The Doctors’ (formerly Brunswick College) Parkette is almost ready for its official unveiling, despite being slightly behind schedule. (It had been targeted for completion in the fall.) The harsh reality of winter has brought the remaining work of clearing the construction equipment and removing the barricade into sharp relief. However, the new sleek, modern park is likely to be open just in time for our annual Grading our Greenspace summer feature.
Without missing a beat, Freeman Real Estate and Spirit of Math spanned wing-on-wing to make sure one of the area’s holiday traditions would continue to fly. Thanks to their efforts, nearly 500 hundred turkeys flew off a giveaway table set up at 988 Bathurst St. last December.
The Toronto Police Service is looking for three men in connection with an assault and robbery of a taxi driver near Russell and Robert streets on Dec. 18 at approximately 3 a.m.
It is alleged that the three men were picked up by the taxi a short distance away before asking to stop near the intersection. After stopping they reportedly robbed and assaulted the driver before fleeing.
By Geremy Bordonaro
Rapid population growth and the proliferation of night clubs within the ever-expanding Entertainment District appear to have led to an increase in crime last year in 14 Division, but that trend has not migrated to the Annex.
PHOTO CREDIT BY BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS: Planned by the OMB: College Street is rife with developments denied by the city, only to have been approved on appeal by the provincial agency.
By Annemarie Brissenden
PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: Fans of the Victory Café, which will soon close to make way for the Mirvish Village development, need not despair. Owner Nick Ndreka has opened the Crafty Coyote on Bloor Street West. The bar boasts the same selection of craft beer and rustic atmosphere, and emphasizes its location with a sign emblazoned with the words The Annex.
Captain Owen Stanley (1811-1850) painted this watercolour based on drawings he made while on Sir George Back’s Arctic expedition in 1836 and 1837. He served on the HMS Terror, which almost a decade later would be lost after returning to the Arctic for the Franklin Expedition. Stanley was not part of the ill-fated voyage, having moved on to command his own ships and sail to New Zealand and Australia. The HMS Terror was found in September by the Arctic Research Foundation. The drawings are part of the University of Toronto’s Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library.
COURTESY MATTHEW SWEIG/FOREST AND FIELD LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE INC.: The proposed plan for converting the unused schoolyard into a green oasis includes planters, an amphitheatre, and a path for crossing the site.
By Annemarie Brissenden
PHOTO BY NOELLE DEFOUR/GLEANER NEWS:
The Scott Mission at Spadina Avenue and College Street opened a free toy store for parents of the city’s neediest children. From Nov. 28 to Dec. 9, registered clients of the Mission were able to shop for a bagful of new children’s items including books, sports equipment, puzzles, and games. The Mission has also provided 2,600 grocery store gift cards, emergency groceries, children’s snowsuits, a hot Christmas meal, and a Christmas gift for every child in its camp and youth program this holiday.
On Nov. 25 the Bloor Annex Business Improvement Area (whose chair also publishes this newspaper) showcased its street revitalization plans at Markham House in Mirvish Village. The plans — expected to be implemented in 2018 — include converting public rights-of-way along Bloor Street into parkettes and a renewed tree inventory on the north side of the street.