November 2nd, 2020 · Comments Off on EDITORIAL: Confusion reigns in COVID-19 response (Oct. 2020)
As the pandemic continues and enters its second wave, the people of Ontario, and especially Toronto, Ottawa, and Peel region can count on one thing: chaos in the rules and guidelines that allegedly exist to protect us. While confusion reigns it is clear that we need a leader who knows how to lead, and if that’s too much to ask, that leader needs better people to be following himself.
Recently, the City of Toronto requested that the province re-impose Stage 2 type restrictions on bars and restaurants with indoor dining. The city provided no evidence, at least none shared with the public, that these venues are a specific source of coronavirus transmission. Yet, the province has heeded the request. By most accounts, restaurants and bars have done a really good job keeping patrons and workers safe by making their establishments meet every rule the health authorities insisted upon only to be suddenly shuttered now for at least 28 days. By the way, there are no new restrictions on daycare centres or places of worship, which can remain open.
In almost the same breath, Premier Doug Ford called upon Ontario residents not to have family and friends over for Thanksgiving, and to confine themselves to dining with the people they live with. He added perplexingly, “don’t kiss and hug your aunts and uncles.” Is the suggestion that there are a lot of people having their turkey with the aunts and uncles who they live with? Or, does he recognize that no one is listening to him anymore? So what he is really saying is that he knows everyone will have family dinners anyhow, but when they do they should just avoid kissing relatives.
No one seems to be correlating the spike in cases to the return to schools. If children tend to be asymptomatic then how do we know they are not super spreaders? It’s not just the schools themselves but all the other interactions that people are having that are enabled by it. The potential for exponential increases is on our doorstep and before we know it the ICU beds will be full of COVID-19 patients, with no room for those suffering from other life threatening medical conditions.
One needs to look behind the curtain to see who is feeding Ford theses back-of-the-napkin plans. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams seems to have a vote of confidence from both Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott. This seems to be the bulk of his fan club. Williams endorsed the back to school strategy, which the province said was backed by advice from Sick Kid’s Hospital. It was not.
At a press conference on August 27, in response to a question about the risks posed to teachers when schools re-opened for in-person learning, Williams drew a comparison to health-care workers who he said were not being careful when they “go home, casually go around and don’t wear a mask, go off to the mall or wherever and expose yourself.” According to the province’s own data, 2,642 health-care workers at long-term care facilities have contracted COVID-19, and eight of them died. Williams does not see this as something they contracted while on the job.
Dr. David Fisman, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto, tweeted that William’s resignation is “long past time, to my colleagues who say this in private [yet] are reluctant to speak out publicly: we don’t have a lot of time.”
Ford needs new advisors. We need coherent, consistent, fact-based policy. Show us the facts, Mr. Ford, on how this virus is spreading. Otherwise, it just looks like you are making it up as you go. People will stop listening to you, and it may be true that they already have.
November 2nd, 2020 · Comments Off on FORUM: Inclusionary zoning is the answer (Oct. 2020)
Growth in affordable housing is impossible without making it mandatory
By Mike Layton
The city’s need for affordable housing has never been more apparent than over the course of the pandemic. The public seems to have taken notice. My colleagues and I have been working on this issue and asking for additional and substantial investments in housing for more than a decade. We believe that housing is a human right and we need the funding and policies in place to treat it as such.
Not a week goes by when we don’t hear about a major condo or luxury rental development displacing cultural institutions in our city such as Sneaky Dee’s concert venue and restaurant, for example. Our neighbourhoods are changing, and prices are going up.
With the power that the current provincial government gives developers, the community benefits that can be achieved through private developments are extremely limited. Now is the moment to change that.
In mid-September, city staff released a report on Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) that could transform the state of affordable housing in Toronto. The proposed policies put forward a framework outlining how this tool – which would require that developers include a certain amount of affordable housing in new residential buildings – might be employed.
Short of significant intergovernmental investment in affordable housing – the likes of which our city has not seen in decades – IZ is Toronto’s best chance to finally build the units desperately needed by our low- and moderate-income residents.
Implementing the strongest possible IZ framework is especially important now.
As a city councillor, I am seeing countless first-hand examples of how the pandemic is threatening Torontonians’ housing stability. Many who have lost their jobs or had their hours reduced have been unable to make rent, and the provincial government is now allowing landlords to evict them.
Finding affordable alternatives will be next to impossible for most. I personally know families where four or more individuals have been forced to share a one bedroom apartment, and this type of situation – always unacceptable, but especially dangerous during a pandemic – will only become more common.
There’s a lot that city staff have gotten right in this report. The affordability period for units created through IZ would be 99 years, which means this housing stock would be protected for future generations. IZ housing would also comprise a mix of sizes, ensuring that affordable family-sized units are built.
More good news is that the report’s definition of “affordable housing” would take into consideration tenants’ incomes, and not just average market rates. As of July, the average monthly rent for a 751 square foot Toronto condo (approximately the size of a 1-bedroom) was $2420. With the suggested IZ formula, a one-bedroom would cost $491 for a one-person household in the 30th percentile of incomes, and $806 for one in the 60th.
But when it comes to the proposed set aside rate – how much of a building is required to be affordable – the report falls short. Toronto city staff are proposing that only 5-10% of a condo’s residential floor area be dedicated to affordable units, and 2.5-5% in purpose-built rental buildings. They are worried that higher rates will discourage development. But the reality is that Toronto could set much more ambitious IZ requirements, and developers would still be able to make their buildings – and their profit – happen.
Additionally, city staff have suggested that developments be exempted from the policies if they have fewer than 100 units in some locations, and 140 in others. Last year, the Ford government hindered Toronto’s ability to employ IZ outside of Major Transit Areas. The city should be aiming to maximize IZ’s outcomes where it is permitted, rather than impeding them further.
In the coming weeks, as Toronto starts consulting on these proposed policies, residents must let the city know it is imperative that we create as many units, in as many buildings as possible. Now is our moment to shift the power from developers to people, and to begin to turn the tide of the housing crisis.
Please let me know if you would like to become more involved in this process and I will be sure to share opportunities to make your voice heard, and make a difference.
Mike Layton is the councillor for Ward 11 University-Rosedale.
November 2nd, 2020 · Comments Off on FORUM: Waiting on a second-wave plan from Mr. Ford (Oct. 2020)
Development proposals sneak through during crisis
By Jessica Bell
The cooler weather has arrived, but there is no respite from the coronavirus. The second wave has begun. The spread of the new coronavirus, the need for affordable housing and concerns about development along with developer and affordable housing pressures, are the key issues I’m hearing about this season.
Cases of COVID-19 are rising fast largely in response to the Ford government’s decision to move to Stage 3 and ease restrictions in July. The case counts are increasing at the same time as schools reopen, flu season begins, and businesses are just starting to recover from the spring shutdown. The timing couldn’t be worse.
It is vital the government release an effective second-wave plan that includes tighter restrictions as directed by public health, an increase in the capacity and number of testing sites so sick people don’t have to wait four hours to get a test like they do at Toronto Western Hospital, an investment in schools which includes the hiring of more teachers to reduce class sizes, and the implementation of paid sick leave so people can stay at home and not expose others. We got a taste of normal life in August. Let’s all do our part, and that includes the government, so we can eventually live normal lives again.
The pandemic has turned the ongoing tension between neighbourhood interests and big development into a massive migraine. Premier Ford has used the pandemic to justify his decision to override Toronto’s noise rules, which means residents from 666 Spadina Avenue to Yorkville to Robert Street can be exposed to construction noise, including non-essential construction, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. I fully support the move to support essential construction, such as testing sites for the coronavirus, but residents deserve more peace and quiet from non-essential construction than what they are currently getting.
The development proposal to build a 13-storey condo at Bathurst and College to displace the beloved Sneaky Dee’s bar has highlighted once again how our laws favour developers over community needs for affordable housing, good schools, and great venues for music, art, and small business. We can’t just grow, we need to grow well.
As your representative to Queen’s Park, I am advocating for laws that will give the city and the people of University-Rosedale more say over what developers can build, and what they should give back to the community in return. For a start, Toronto should be exempt from the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal, which allows developers to hold up and contest planning decisions made by a democratically elected council. Both the city and the province should require developers to give back more to the community in the form of community benefits agreements, affordable housing, and higher fees to fairly contribute to the amenities residents need, including parks, schools, and transit.
Sneaky Dee’s is one of many cultural institutions facing closure. Many music, theatre, and dance venues, from Lee’s Palace to The Free Times Cafe, are struggling to survive in the face of pandemic restrictions, shrinking revenue, rising rent costs and development pressure. These venues entertain us, challenge us, and tell our stories. They need our help. I encourage you to contact our office and suggest ways to help our creative sector.
Finally, one silver lining has emerged around the gloomy cloud of being a renter during the pandemic in the most expensive city in Canada: three years after the motion was approved, the City of Toronto has finally begun enforcing its new short-term rentals rules. This motion restricts short-term rentals to one’s primary residence. We expect this move will return many units to the long-term rental market, and provide relief to condo dwellers who want to replace the overnight partygoers with long-term neighbours. Starting this September, short-term rental hosts are now required to register with the City of Toronto. Please contact 311 if you want to initiate a complaint against an illegal AirBnB listing.
These improvements to our housing market happened because we fought for them. If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, it is that change can happen very quickly; we just need to steer that change in the right direction.
Please contact my office if you have questions or concerns. Make sure to stay safe by social distancing, hand washing and mask wearing when required.
Jay Macpherson paved way for next generation of female professors
A young Jean Jay Macpherson during her teaching years. COURTESY VICTORIA UNIVERSITY
Correction: On page 11 of the August 2020 issue of the Annex Gleaner, in the annual Grading our Greenspace section, Jay Macpherson was misidentified as “he”. This error was brought to our attention by Alexandra F. Johnston, professor emerita, Department of English, Victoria College, University of Toronto. The Gleaner regrets the error.
By Mary An
Jay Macpherson Green at 255 Avenue Rd. was named after Jean “Jay” Macpherson in 2013, one year after her death. She was a much-loved English professor to writers including Margaret Atwood, Dennis Lee, and Alexandra Johnston. Her legacy, however, extends beyond a park and inspiring a handful of successful Canadian writers.
Born in London, England, in 1931, Macpherson didn’t like being called by her first name, so she chose to go by “Jay.” At nine years old, she was brought to Newfoundland as a war guest, and then moved to Ottawa where she studied at Carleton University. She continued her studies at McGill University before finally landing at the University of Toronto (U of T). At Victoria College she studied under the renowned literary critic Northrop Frye, and began publishing her own contemporary poetry in 1949. She won many prizes, including the Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry, the Levinson Prize by Poetry magazine, and the University of Western Ontario President’s Medal for The Boatman. She even established her own small press: Emblem Books, where she published distinguished writers including Dorothy Livesay, Alden Nowlan, Al Purdy, and others.
All of these achievements are impressive enough, before even considering what she accomplished in her career. Macpherson did what was nearly impossible for a woman in 1957 – she became one of five female professors in the English department at U of T.
Macpherson was considered to be an “excellent teacher,” and an outstanding friend by both Margaret Atwood and Alexandra Johnston.
In her fourth year as an undergraduate, Johnston lived in the same building on campus with Macpherson when, as the story goes, she heard a knock on her door at 10 p.m.
“It was Jay, in her dressing gown with her braid down her back, handing me back a marked essay,” she said in an interview with the Annex Gleaner. “It’s not the sort of thing professors do, going out of their way like that.”
Johnston is now a retired Professor of English at Victoria College, and between 1981 and 1991, acted as the first female principal of the college. Johnston says that as a teacher, Macpherson took on the role of mentor and by doing so, helped pave the way for a new generation of female academics.
“She was the link between the senior generation who had been teaching since the 1940s and the new people who came on in the 1960s,” Johnston said, adding that Macpherson also proved herself to be someone with an enormous heart. “Even during the last years of her life, she looked after another elderly colleague, who was in a wheelchair, and did everything for him,” Johnston said. “She exhausted herself doing it, but none of us could compel her to stop.”
November 2nd, 2020 · Comments Off on LIFE: Paying homage to local characters (Oct. 2020)
Vibrant mural meant to appeal to children
MARY AN/GLEANER NEWS
By Mary An
At the intersection of Bloor Street West and Major Street, the Annex has welcomed a new mural. With help from the City of Toronto’s StreetARToronto grant, the Bloor Annex Business Improvement Area (BIA) held a competition last year to fill the wall in a way that would best represent the neighbourhood.
This unique, vibrantly colored mural was painted with children in mind, and features key Annex residents. The artist wanted to capture different personalities through colour.
“It’s nice to paint something that is child-friendly because a lot of murals are beautiful, but they’re more for adults,” Daniela Rocha, the artist, said in an interview with the Annex Gleaner.
Behind the bushes, on the left side of the mural, a young boy with the name ‘Oscar’ on his cap is captured riding a bike. This drawing of Oscar was not originally planned. Rocha said she added him because he would often visit her while painting.
“He would be super excited about it – like he would just talk to me, and he was super sweet. So, I thought it was like a nice surprise,” she said.
Rocha’s mural also depicts Ted Winick, who was known to be a strong pillar of the community, who died in May, 2019. Winick appears as a man playing chess next to a dog. Winick and his wife Heidi Winick were co-owners of the Spirit of Math schools located in Toronto. He was also the founder of the Chess Institute of Canada, where he not only taught chess but also taught valuable life skills to youths and supported the community for many years. Winick passed away in June 2019, and Rocha was asked to include him in the mural as an homage.
“Daniela submitted her work and it was accepted. Then, last minute, we asked her to add the little chess player in the corner,” Melanie Ramsay, Project Administrator of the Bloor Annex BIA said.
November 2nd, 2020 · Comments Off on SPORTS: Baseball Leafs look back on the season that wasn’t (Oct. 2020)
With Christie Pits locked down, local players endured a rare summer off the diamond
Grant Tamane lays down a bunt at Christie Pits as Johnathan Solazzo (seated on cooler) looks on. After a season lost to the pandemic, the Toronto Maple Leafs hope to resume playing baseball in 2021. R.S. KONJEK/GLEANER NEWS
By R.S. Konjek
For Toronto Maple Leafs outfielder Grant Tamane, it’s been 20 years. Third baseman Johnathan Solazzo figures it to be 23 or 24.
That’s how many years it’s been since they last spent a summer without playing baseball.
“I did find myself randomly driving to Christie Pits a couple times this summer.”
—Damon Topolie, Manager
Team manager Damon Topolie tops them all. He started playing T-ball at age four, making it more than four decades since he hasn’t played organized baseball in some form.
This is the story of the Leafs’ 2020 season, the season that wasn’t.
Not long after the COVID-19 shutdown in March, the City of Toronto announced the cancellation of several longstanding events including Pride, Luminato, the Caribbean Carnival and the CNE. Most parades, cultural events, and neighbourhood festivals were cancelled.
The city also called “time” on major sporting events.
Back then, summer still felt a long ways off, but the Leafs – members of the Inter-county Baseball League (IBL) – found their season hanging in the balance.
In April, three of the league’s eight clubs suspended operations for the year. The remainder, including the Leafs, hung together to wait out the shutdown.
As spring turned to summer, the Leafs hoped that a shortened baseball season could still be played.
Taking a cue from the scene at Trinity Bellwoods Park, team owner Jack Dominico envisioned a scenario where fans at Christie Pits could be spread out using social distancing circles placed around the hillsides that surround the Leafs’ ballpark.
Players were told to stay in shape. Solazzo gathered some weights from his neighbours and assembled a homemade gym where he could work out.
“Gyms were closed and it was too cold to go out, but I was still working out, hoping and wishing for a season,” he says.
The league formulated plans for a one-month regular season, followed by a month of playoffs.
Unfortunately, the clock ran out. “It was really close,” says Topolie. “We were days away from starting a season, but municipalities would not release their parks [for organized sports]. In order to start a season we needed to start at the beginning of July, but parks were not released until the middle of the month and others at the end of July.”
On July 9, the IBL announced that it was cancelling an entire season for the first time in its 102-year history.
For the Leafs and their fans there was disappointment, but it could have been worse. Unlike other ball clubs, the Leafs do not charge admission, so they will not take the same financial hit those that rely on ticket sales to fund operations.
With a summer of Sunday afternoons unexpectedly wide open, how did the players occupy their time?
Tamane gave yoga a try, and got himself a dog.
“Being stuck at home I had a large amount of time to myself, which made me really want a dog,” he says. “I ended up building a fence in my backyard and adopting a two-year-old Husky/Shepherd mix from a rescue. She now takes up all my time, since I get to bring her to work!”
Topolie and Solazzo found ways to bring some baseball into their summer.
Topolie provided private lessons to younger players, sometimes up to a dozen sessions a week.
“I did find myself randomly driving to Christie Pits a couple times this summer,” he adds.
In August, Solazzo and teammate Marcus Knecht accepted an invitation to a home run derby organized by the IBL’s Guelph Royals. Eight different players from around the league participated in the event at Hastings Stadium in Guelph.
Accepting the invitation was “a no-brainer,” Solazzo says.
“It was awesome to see the guys, just to talk shop and see faces you haven’t seen all year.”
Although neither Leaf won the derby, Solazzo enjoyed the experience and hopes it can become an annual event.
A few swings of the bat in Guelph will go down as the only baseball action for the Toronto Maple Leafs this year, but they are already thinking about 2021.
Topolie will be back as the team’s manager and he also hopes to continue playing. Solazzo confirms that he will be ready to go.
“I am very eager to play ball in 2021,” Tamane says. “I’m just not sure if it will be baseball in the IBL or a local softball team. I live in Paris, so my commute to Bloor and Christie was getting harder and harder each year, but I do it because I love the sport and my teammates are family.”
If things return to normal in 2021, the Leafs will take to the diamond in early May.
November 2nd, 2020 · Comments Off on NEW IN BUSINESS: New restaurant opens mid-pandemic (Oct. 2020)
Entrepreneur invests in community on a wing and a prayer
Inder Singh, owner of the new Wild Wings in the Annex, took the brave step forward of opening up a restaurant in hopes of supporting his new community. MARY AN/GLEANER NEWS
By Mary An
Braving an uncertain future for business in the pandemic, this August, Inder Singh took the bold step of opening a restaurant across from Spadina Station.
Singh is now a proud franchisee of a Wild Wing where many different varieties of chicken wings and other spreads are available from morning until night.
“We have to adapt to this new normal now, we can’t just sit back and rely on the government to do everything for us,” said Singh, in an interview with the Annex Gleaner.
Before Singh opened his restaurant in the Annex neighbourhood, the previous proprietor was evicted due to unpaid rent.
Knowing the potential risks, Singh still took the chance of opening his restaurant.
“Even if I don’t make money, at least I’m creating jobs for my employees and at least they have something to bring home to put food on their table,” he says.
Singh opened a Wild Wings restaurant in Kitchener with his brother-in-law before opening a second location in Toronto.
The pandemic forced him to make cuts to his Kitchener restaurant, but he chose to open the Toronto location to assist employees who would have otherwise lost their jobs.
“Because of COVID, business was slow. He had the option to lay me off, but instead, moved me to Toronto,” says Hardeep Singh, Manager of the Annex location of Wild Wings.
“It’s like a family here. Inder is a nice guy and is very supportive,” says Hardeep.
Some other new restaurants to Bloor St.:
Indian Desire opened at 469 Bloor St. W. a few months ago and offers an “artistic take on traditional Indian dishes.” COURTESY INDIAN DESIRE INSTAGRAMAlso new to Bloor is Knockout Chicken at 490 Bloor St. W. The second location of this nascent chain, its first location is at 206 Augusta Ave. in Kensington Market. BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWSEat BKK has moved its Thai street food from a spot in the Annex Food Hall to its own location at 513 Bloor St. W. BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWSKendell Garcia and his partners saw the opportunity to open a new Scotty Bons restaurant in the Annex as the pandemic created a vacant space on Bloor Street. Scotty Bons offers a mix of the various Caribbean islands’ flavourful food, including sandwiches, roti, and poutines. Garcia, pictured above, is in front of his first restaurant location in Scarborough. The new Annex location will be located at 402 Bloor St. W. TANYA IELYSEIEVA/GLEANER NEWS
Comments Off on NEW IN BUSINESS: New restaurant opens mid-pandemic (Oct. 2020)Tags:Annex · Life
November 2nd, 2020 · Comments Off on ARTS: Global pandemic month eight: the show goes on (Oct. 2020)
Discover a wealth of Culture Corridor programming on-line
By Meribeth Deen
Remember festivals? Remember movie theatres, parties, the crush of humanity drawn to the streets because there were places to go, things to see, and people to meet? Sometimes eight months feels like forever, even though we got a dose of sunshine, could set foot into museums, and got re-acquainted with dining out.
It’s October, people, and not only are we facing ineffective patio heaters but also spiking levels of daily infection and a provincial death toll that might make you want to stay in and open up your old friend, the computer.
If there’s anything that this pandemic has taught us it’s how to use Zoom, and that artists will keep making art anyway.
So instead of hopping on a subway to be there in person, let’s have a look at Bloor St. Culture Corridor’s virtual offerings.
First stop, Hot Docs. As a Hot Docs member endless adventure is at your fingertips at any moment. Want to travel the world in search of the juiciest fruit? Watch The Fruit Hunters, by Yung Chang (Up the Yangtzee.) Want to meet the Jane Goodall of Giraffes? Her name is Anne Innis Dagg, and you can learn all about her and her journey as a woman in science in The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, by Alison Reid. Want to hang out with Noam Chomsky between debates, or chill with the Beatles in India? You can do all that, and much, much, more. A $59 “bronze” membership will get you free access to all special films and online events each month, plus a discounted rate for Curious Minds courses.
Next stop, the ROM. The museum will absolutely save the day if you’ve got a kid home from school with a cough or a sniffle. Every Tuesday at 2 p.m., ROM Kids Coordinator and Camp Director Kiron Mukherjee will go live on Instagram Live to combine his passion for children’s education with storytelling to bring to life science, history and art for you and your loved ones in the comfort of your own home. Kiron will share activities, easy at-home crafts, behind the scenes anecdotes and fun facts—all connected to the ROM collections. You can also simply browse the ROM’s collection with a continuously growing database of art and artifacts.
On October 15, uncover the little known history of Kensington Market with Vivian Felsen, brought to you by Miles Nadal JCC, The Toronto Workmen’s Circle and The Committee for Yiddish. A Toronto writer and translator, Felsen will tell the story of how she came to discover the mostly forgotten yet truly remarkable literary activity of this largely working-class, Yiddish-speaking community, and the uniqueness of its language and its writers between the years 1910 and 1950.
Between October 15 and December 3, you can sing and connect with others from the comfort of your home, with Alex Fiddes’ virtual specialty choir. As described on the Miles Nadal JCC website: Each session will include an optional live virtual social component, a live choir rehearsal session, and a taped choir session released as a YouTube video.
The live choir session will include real time discussion of the music, followed by a warm up. For the taped portion, the vocal parts have been sung and recorded by the music director and layered together, which means as you sing, you will hear all the vocal parts in the mix, similar to the real thing. You will have access to the chart, vocal tracks, and instrumental tracks, as well as the taped session so you can practice and sing as much as you like. There is no pressure to perform. You are encouraged to sing for the love of singing.
Finally, step into someone else’s shoes. The Bata Shoe Museum will be presenting Dr. Kimberly Alexander, a professor of history from the University of New Hampshire, discussing the long-term impact of 18th Century issues alongside Creative Director and Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack who created the exhibition on Patriotism and the Politicization of Shoes, 1760-1780s.
So yes, the pandemic is still terrible and Halloween might be a bit of a bust this year but, Toronto’s creators are still there for you. Be there for them in return, by tuning in the way we must in 2020.
Comments Off on ARTS: Global pandemic month eight: the show goes on (Oct. 2020)Tags:Annex · Arts
September 9th, 2020 · Comments Off on ON THE COVER: Keeping an eye on our greenspace (Aug. 2020)
Sally Bird Park is located mid-block on Brunswick Ave. north of Harbord St. Long plagued by graffiti this mural has garnered the respect of taggers who leave it alone. See more about the area’s parks in our annual reviews.TANYA IELYSEIEVA/GLEANER NEWS
Comments Off on ON THE COVER: Keeping an eye on our greenspace (Aug. 2020)Tags:Annex · News
September 9th, 2020 · Comments Off on NEWS: U of T’s unique laneway homes (Aug. 2020)
Sustainable design was key to plan to build these and more
The University of Toronto has invested heavily into energy efficient laneway houses as part of a pilot project — as seen here in a laneway just east of Huron St. near Robarts Library. MARY AN/GLEANER NEWS
By Mary An
The making of University of Toronto’s pilot laneway homes located south of Sussex Avenue on Huron Street, is near completion. According to Anne Macdonald, Assistant Vice-President of Ancillary Services for the University of Toronto, they plan on getting residents for the laneway homes by this fall.
“It’s truly an experiment for us wanting to test out some ideas and see what was possible,” Macdonald said. These unique homes will be a first for the university, but not for Toronto.
Award-winning architect Brigitte Shim built her own laneway home more than 25 years ago. Shim is also a professor at the University of Toronto at John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.
“We actually ran up against a lot of bureaucracy, because you couldn’t build a house behind a house, you couldn’t build a house without street frontage,” Shim said. Local planners at the time wondered about her quality of life because they thought it would negatively be affected by living in a laneway. After being approved to build in the laneway, and raising two kids in the home, Shim believes that laneway houses should be available all across Toronto.
“Everyone wants to live in the village, in the middle of the city, and laneways provide that opportunity. Our laneways are not just parking lots, but they actually become places for people to live,” Shim said.
According to thelanewayproject.ca, there are more than 2,400 laneways in Toronto. “You have all these downtown neighbourhoods, that need more people living in them. They’re not as dense as they could be, and laneway housing is one way to do that,” Shim said.
Understanding the need for density, the U of T launched a pilot laneway housing project. Teaming up with the Huron-Sussex Residents’ Association, they created a neighbourhood plan in 2014, identifying where development might occur. Six years later, the three pilot houses are almost finished, but, these are no ordinary laneway homes.
While planning these houses, the University of Toronto also considered their sustainability and energy performance.
“The goal is to be as energy efficient as possible. We were hoping for net zero, I don’t think we’ll be quite there but, we will be close,” Macdonald said. The homes will include solar panels to support this idea. It will also include a unique feature that was not originally predicted.
According to Macdonald, the three pilot homes will will be partially heated using geothermal energy. An ‘earth-tube’ will go down into the soil, where it will, “act as a moderating influence on air temperatures.” Earth-tubes were recommended by the architect of the project, as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels because the earth is naturally warmer during winter, and cooler during summer. The integration of geothermal energy will allow for smaller, more efficient heating and cooling systems in the homes.
Earth-tubes would not have been possible if U of T hadn’t demolished a nearby house, leaving a big hole in the ground.
“It’s possible that future builds will not have that same opportunity,” Macdonald said, “but because we had it there we thought we would try it.”
Panel construction, which minimizes construction noise, is another unique feature of this development. According to Macdonald, finding a contractor who was comfortable with panel construction was, “tricky.”
“It’s essentially constructed of panels that kind of click together. They’re all pre-purchased, pre-assembled, and brought to the site…It all kind of snaps together as if it was a big Lego project, and then from there, the interior gets built,” Macdonald said.
The University of Toronto plans on building 30-40 more laneway homes after they receive feedback from the three pilot homes. According to Macdonald, it will take a year for feedback on the energy performance of the homes, and a few months for the design.
“We want them to make sense for families, because that’s who we house in the neighbourhood,” Macdonald said.
September 9th, 2020 · Comments Off on NEWS: Residents reject plans for Planetarium site (Aug. 2020)
New plans fail to quell concerns
Residents and the University of Toronto continue to clash over the design of the building that will replace the planetarium. This is the latest rendering. COURTESY U OF T
By Tanya Ielyseieva
A re-vamped proposal with a scaled-down building on the site of the former McLaughlin Planetarium continues to face opposition from community groups representing local residents. A July 14 meeting was held to review the latest plans, and there, the Queen’s Park Coalition, which represents roughly 40,000 households, stated their case against the nine-story, multi-use building which they say will create an unacceptable visual impact on Queen’s Park and Philosopher’s Walk.
Designed by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the proposed building will provide space for several academic departments including the Faculty of Arts and Science, the Faculty of Music, and the Faculty of Law. The development will include a recital hall, work areas, laboratories, meeting rooms, offices, and a café.
The initial consultation in June 2019 led to numerous changes in the size of the building, such as reducing the mass of the recital hall, initially conceived as a floating component that would have loomed over the stories below.
“Through this process, we have actually been able to push the recital hall further away. It still has a very sculptural presence and is elevated above Faulkner Hall with great views of the skyline, but it is enveloped by a set of overlapping adjacent window systems,” said Charles Renfro, Diller Scofidio + Renfro partner and architect. “The colour palette that we’ve chosen, not exactly the specific materials, but our palette is warm and friendly and takes cues from brick and limestone, and in the facade, you can see powder-coated aluminum, which takes a sort of brick colour.”
The updated proposal will be 43 metres and includes a mechanical penthouse, which exceeds the 18-23 metre height permission in the area.
The July 14 consultation was held to assess these revisions. Members of the Queen’s Park Coalition stated that the proposal continues to show a lack of concern for the cohesive landscape and built form of the area and fails to resolve two fundamental issues:?bulk and height.
“There’s just too much program on a too-small site hemmed in by lovely heritage buildings on three sides,” said Bronwyn Krog, a representative of the Queen’s Park Coalition. “With the front and back highly visible from two important heritage landscapes, Queen’s Park and Philosopher’s Walk. The proposal will create an unacceptable visual impact on these heritage cultural landscapes, which are a fundamental planning principle.”
Krog read a letter from Bill Greer, the architect for the Toronto Historical Board.
“The proposed structure is too high, too bulky, and an entirely inappropriate gold colour for this district. It does not fit within the heritage context of the significant historic area of the St. George campus of the university. It is also critically important to preserve all of the mature trees on the site as it will take many generations before new trees grow to an equivalent size,” reads the letter.
Sue Dexter, of the Harbord Village Residents’ Association, stressed that these are not planning issues but “living issues” which intersect with the heritage context and will be overwhelmed by the present proposal policy.
“Before approving this application, we need to get the heritage right. We all have a responsibility to generate policies for the site that reflect community priorities, conserve character, and allow for compatible development to occur. The university has 16 available sites for buildings from the 1997 master plan. There is no excuse to overbuild here and lose a heritage landscape prized by the residents of this city,” said Dexter.
According to Dan DiBartolo, Senior Planner at Heritage Preservation Services, all aspects from the demolition of the planetarium to the implementation of the landscape plan and the conservation of Faulkner Hall were looked at thoroughly.
The application is under review and the final report is set to be ready in the fall.
An anonymous spokesperson from the U of T stated, in an email to The Gleaner, that the hope is for approval to be forthcoming and for construction to begin in the spring of 2021.
“We are looking forward to creating a landmark building that will add to the city’s cultural district and offer new opportunities for public programs,” wrote the spokesperson. “We want this to be a building where the university connects with the city, and the city connects with us.”
September 9th, 2020 · Comments Off on CHATTER: “More than a farmers’ market” re-opens safely (Aug. 2020)
Christopher Dunbar, owner of Dunbar Organic Farm, is excited to get back into the community and to share his harvest at the farmers’ market. MARY AN/GLEANER NEWS
After a long delay, the volunteer-run Bloor and Borden farmers’ market is open and ready for another season. The market takes place Wednesdays from 3-7 p.m. It’s located in the Green P parking lot off Borden Street just south of Bloor Street.
This season, there are only seven vendors at the market, with offerings ranging from baked goods to fresh organic produce. According to Rory ‘Gus’ Sinclair, former chair of the Harbord Village Residents’ Association (HVRA), the market plans on staying open until the end of October.
There are a few changes to keep in mind when visiting the farmers’ market this summer:
Only some vendors will be accepting cash, credit cards are strongly encouraged.
All shoppers must maintain a six-foot distance from one another.
Hand sanitizer will be available for visitors.
Masks are mandatory for all shoppers.
There is also a one-way lane for shoppers to line up and enter the market. Additionally, a new online ordering system is available on the Bloor and Borden’s farmers’ market website: bloorborden.com Shoppers may now pre-order on the website and pick up their orders at the market in line.
Pre-ordering may be a blessing for shoppers, but making it happen proved challenging for some vendors.
“My biggest challenge was predicting my crop,” said Christine D’Hulster, Co-Owner of Son-in-Law Produce, in a phone interview with The Annex Gleaner. “With online ordering I have to have my product online a week before, so that’s been really challenging, to determine if the crop is going to last another week or how much I can offer.”
Baker Olivia Yetter, owner of OY’s Joys likes the new online ordering system because it helps decrease waste and determines the amount of products she has to bring.
“Without obviously any pre-sales, I would bring my goods and try to sell them. If it didn’t sell, I would take it home as a loss,” Yetter said in a phone-interview with The Gleaner.
Another change in the market this year is the community-filled atmosphere. According to Helen Goldlist, Chair of the Market Advisory Committee (MAC), the market is more than an area for local groceries, it’s also a place to build and strengthen the community. In previous years, the market’s centre square was filled with musicians, activity tables, and resting areas for community members to get together. However, this season, the farmers’ market will lack the centre square due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I would say the community feel is different, but, the customers this year are still very supportive,” said Christopher Dunbar, owner of Dunbar Organic Farm.
D’Hulster also made many online connections with community members who showed support and appreciation for her produce.
“It’s obviously a very hard time for people and the fact that receiving our produce makes their day and brings a little bit of normalcy in their life has honestly brought tears to my eyes,” said D’Hulster.
“I think every neighbourhood should have a market because it does bring a community together. When you have a stronger community, you’ll have stronger people,” Dunbar said.
—Mary An, Gleaner News
Comments Off on CHATTER: “More than a farmers’ market” re-opens safely (Aug. 2020)Tags:Annex · News
