Should infill take precedence over upward building? By Brian Burchell With affordable housing at a premium in Toronto, two councillors are proposing to open up the city’s 2,400 laneways to infill development. Arguing that residential growth in the city must not only be vertical and sprawling, Mary-Margaret McMahon (Ward 32, Beaches-East York) and Ana Bailão […]

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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. [pullquote]“Certainly we want to continue doing it next […]

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Recommendations for mandating community participation By Annemarie Brissenden Four local residents’ associations, collectively representing the north end of Ward 20, banded together late last month to submit commentary on the province’s review of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). In their letter to the Province of Ontario’s planning policy branch, the Annex Residents’ Association (ARA), Harbord […]

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Residents decry loss of green space and heritage impacts By Brian Burchell It was billed as a community consultation, but a Nov. 29 meeting on plans to add an 11-storey mixed-use building and eight stacked townhouses to the north and south of the existing 25-storey tower at 666 Spadina Ave. was more about airing grievances […]

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Year in review reflects community initiatives By Annemarie Brissenden Little did we know last year that our annual holiday cover — a reproduction of a painting by Lawren Harris — would be quite so appropriate for 2016. Harris enjoyed a renaissance this year as the subject of both an Art Gallery of Ontario exhibition curated […]

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Residents glimpse settlement offer By Brian Burchell In an effort to bring transparency to the Ontario Municipal Board’s (OMB) mediation process, Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) took the unusual step of bringing a developer’s confidential settlement offer to the community for comment before that offer is voted on by Toronto City Council. “You have an […]

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Crime in 14 Division for August and September was less than the previous year across six major categories, reported Detective Sergeant Brian Kelly at a Community Police Liaison Committee meeting on Sept. 20. The division’s boundaries are Spadina Avenue, Bathurst, Front, and Adelaide streets. Although six people were arrested for a violent robbery that had […]

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Creating a spot to gather By Geremy Bordonaro Humans have been moving stones to create monuments since at least prehistoric times, an act that is taking on a very local incarnation, thanks to the Bloor Annex Business Improvement Area, which is installing four parkettes along Bloor Street between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street. Placed at […]

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By Annemarie Brissenden and Clarrie Feinstein The University of Toronto (U of T) steering committee mandated with prioritizing the institution’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) released its Interim Report last month, just as the Native Students’ Association launched a petition to implement a mandatory Indigenous studies credit across all levels […]

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By Brian Burchell Spurred on by a recent spike in drug overdose deaths, Toronto City Council voted 36 to 3 on July 14 to establish three Supervised Injection Sites (SIS) throughout the city. Typically run through public health clinics, such sites provide a space for clients to self-administer drugs — which they supply themselves — […]

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Council votes in favour of pilot project By Geremy Bordonaro At long last, bike lanes are coming to Bloor Street. On May 4, Toronto City Council voted 38 to 3 approving a pilot project to install separated bike lanes on Bloor Street from Avenue Road to Shaw Street. [pullquote] “Bike lanes on Bloor [Street] is […]

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The Annex Residents’ Association (ARA) has unveiled a new web application to track all the building developments in the areas on and north of Bloor Street. Residents can use the program to help keep up to date on how many new building projects are in place, as well as add information about them. The web […]

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