Exhibition features musical memorabilia By Annemarie Brissenden It was a grand opening for a grand old dame. Approximately 45 community members, music aficionados, and company dignitaries celebrated the transformation of Brunswick House from a notorious student dive bar into a boutique flagship drugstore when Rexall/Pharma Plus officially opened Rexall Brunswick on Bloor Street West late […]

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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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Proposal designates character areas By Brian Burchell The City of Toronto hosted a public meeting to consider expanding the University of Toronto’s exemptions from the Planning Act early last month. Billed as a “pre-application consultation” by the city, it drew community members who questioned the need to broaden the university’s powers. Approved by the city […]

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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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Building diverse and sustainable cities By Mike Layton Our city is changing. In some Toronto neighbourhoods, the pace of change is difficult to manage, and even more difficult to get ahead of, because it is so rapid. Of growing concern is that the character of many communities can be overwhelmed by an influx of chain […]

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Process to designate Kensington Market underway By Geremy Bordonaro After a year of study and consultation, the city is going ahead with the process to designate Kensington Market a Heritage Conservation District (HCD). The decision was announced at a community consultation meeting last month. “It’s a two-year process,” said Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina). “By […]

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Nearly one hundred bar and restaurant staff from Kensington Market participated in a free workshop on how to deal with drug overdoses on Feb. 27. Organized by the Kensington Market BIA and Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina), the workshop taught participants how to recognize and respond to an overdose. Queen West Central Toronto Community Health […]

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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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Canadian cities receive only 10 cents for each tax dollar they pay By Mike Layton With all the talk about tolls and taxes, I feel I need to admit something: I don’t mind paying taxes. The reason I don’t mind paying taxes is simple — taxes are the price we pay for living in a […]

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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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