Media coverage saves program for now By Geremy Bordonaro A streak of luck, international media attention, and more than a little bit of hope have saved Newcomer Kitchen, which had its roots in Mirvish Village. The Gleaner first covered the initiative — which gave Syrian refugees temporarily housed in hotels the opportunity to make a home-cooked […]

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BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS Deals fell to the floor as the Honest Ed’s demolition continued with the dismantling of masonry, lumber, and steel. Originally divided by a city-owned alley called Honest Ed’s Way, the store’s sections were constructed very differently. Pictured here is the west annex, which was built on the houses that once stood there […]

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Mirvish Village icon finds new life By Geremy Bordonaro What are some Annex icons? The Hot Docs Ted Rogers (formerly Bloor) cinema perhaps, or the Trinity St. Paul’s Centre. Some might point to the University of Toronto, or the streets lined with bay and gable style houses. Until recently, surely one would have said Honest […]

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PARA AGM focused on Mirvish Village development By Geremy Bordonaro Westbank Projects Corp.’s Mirvish Village development was the focus of the Palmerston Area Residents’ Association (PARA) annual general meeting last month. “There have been dozens of meetings and literally thousands of hours poured into this so that it could be made better in each and […]

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ARA holds annual general meeting By Geremy Bordonaro Development dominated the Annex Residents’ Association (ARA) annual general meeting on April 27. The area has seen an increase in developments over the last few years, most notably the Westbank Projects Corp.’s Mirvish Village development, and that coloured every topic of discussion, from bike lanes to community […]

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The Toronto and East York Community Council unanimously endorsed a planning staff recommendation to approve Westbank Projects Corp.’s application to redevelop the southwest corner of Bloor and Bathurst streets on April 4. It’s a significant milestone that comes after three years of community consultations and collaborative work between the Vancouver-based developer, planning staff, and community […]

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Community, city closer to approving Mirvish Village development By Geremy Bordonaro It all came down to this: one final community meeting about Westbank Projects Corp.’s application to build a large mixed-use development on the former site of Honest Ed’s and Mirvish Village. After a long and unprecedented involvement from the community — including residents and […]

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Not just buildings By Joe Cressy If you’ve ever made your way to a development meeting in Ward 20, you’ve heard me talk about the need to build community as we grow and change. With almost one quarter of all proposed development in the entire city occurring in our ward, we’d be leading ourselves astray without this focus. This has […]

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Toronto for Everyone celebrates Honest Ed’s By Geremy Bordonaro For 68 years, Honest Ed’s welcomed all those who came to its doors. While the store made its last sale on the final day of 2016, it will play host to a grand wake before it closes its doors one last time. And organizers hope the […]

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Craft beer pint of choice By Geremy Bordonaro Founded over 15 years ago, The Vic, as the Victory Café is known to its patrons, will soon close. Like all businesses on Markham Street from Lennox to Bloor streets, it is making way for the Mirvish Village redevelopment. But local lovers of craft beer need not […]

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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 […]

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Mirvish Village’s internationally-known comics and graphic novel retailer The Beguiling has already begun moving to its new location at 319 College St. Its sister store, Little Island Comics on Bathurst Street, will be closed. The store’s Peter Birkemoe says he expects to open the new location just before Christmas, and be fully operational by January. […]

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