Active18 Members Update – June 6, 2011
1. New Park – The third public meeting to discuss park design was May 31 at 7pm at Alexander Muir Public School. The public meetings have been productive and there are still numerous important issues where public input is invited. At the last meeting, it was determined that a 4th public meeting will be held in the near future. The City will distribute flyers when a date and place are determined.
2. The annual members meeting of Active18 will be June 22 at 7pm at the Theatre Centre.
100-1087 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M6J 1H3
3. A18 is represented at the new Ward Council which meets quarterly by Steve Heuchert of the Steering Committee. Among the topics this new body will address is planning along the rail corridor on the west side of the Ward where many old industrial properties are seeking conversion.
4. A18 met with the developers and architect for the 1093 Queen/Dovercourt building as well. They are working on additional drafts and designs.
5. The land west of Gladstone and south of Florence and continuing west of Dufferin and north to Peel is ‘in play’ with two or three (depending how you count) development proposals being discussed.
a. The zoning on both sides of Gladstone is up for grabs with the main issue being scaling down the permitted height close to the established residential neighbourhoods. Streetcar, the developer of the building at the corner of Queen and Gladstone is seeking permission for a similar sized building due north. Planning is convening a series of consultations with the neighbourhood, the first one is June 16, 6:30 at Alexander Muir School.
b. The Councillor has launched a study of the Ward 18 industrial and vacant lands along the rail corridor to identify where streets and parks will go as development proceeds. Area Study Public Meetings: June 6, 6:30, at the Church of First Born, 72 Perth Ave. and June 13, 6:30 at Bloor Gladstone Library.
c. The A18 Steering Committee is to meet with the new owners and would-be developers of the lands on the west side of Dufferin north of the tracks to ‘get acquainted’. This is hopeful that they are coming to the community before developing plans … but there are numerous difficult issues here so that the planning disaster south of Queen is not repeated.
6. A18 representatives are participating in both the Park Working Group and a subcommittee of it, The Public Art Sub-Committee. The P.W.G. involves more detailed work on park design with the City and design consultants – Victor Ford and Associates. The Public Art Subcommittee is trying to develop a funded programme of temporary art installations in the new park and the peripheral public areas. Volunteers interested in either are welcome.
7. Extensive negotiations took place to consider relocating the MoCCA to the new Condo – The Edge – on the south side of the park. MoCCA eventually decided not proceed with this. Similar negotiations are now underway with an exciting group of artist-run, not-for-profit, Media Arts organizations who are looking for space to share. The Media Arts Alliance are comprised of organizations for Photography, New Music, Film and Video, New media and a number of media festivals. They have all been downtown Toronto ‘residents’ for 30 – 40 years and are being pushed out of their existing locations by rising rent prices. A classic gentrification issue. The ‘hook’ in each of these proposals is that the neighbourhood will have to absorb some further density so that the developer can make this space available to the arts groups at affordable rates. The A18 Steering Committee has said in principle this was acceptable but we need to see the details. There will be lots more on this at the forthcoming Annual Meeting.