Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhood – Article by Richard Poplak in The Grid (Dec. 12, 2012)

I’m pleased I learned about a recent article by Richard Poplak in The Grid (Dec. 12, 2012) concerning Yonge and Eglinton.

[The Grid ceased publication on July 3, 2014; for that reason I have not included a link.]

I learned about the article through listening to CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on Dec. 13, 2012. I found the link through @metromorning on Twitter.

E Condos proposal

The article refers to development pressures on the horizon:

“City Hall and developers insist that this [upcoming major condominium development at Yonge and Eglinton] is both manageable and desirable, and that the future will reveal a glittering ersatz downtown as vibrant and buzzy as, say, downtown. But where, locals wonder, are the plans for all this growth? Where are the amenities that will integrate the newcomers—the parks and schools and bike rings and shrinks’ offices needed to absorb so much development? Yonge and Eglinton, which was the site of Toronto’s only recorded armed rebellion in 1837, is at its breaking point—its furious residents on the verge of taking up arms once more.”

“Every piece of dirt at Yonge and Eglinton is subject to an application”

The article features Terry Mills, who spent his career as a home renovator and urban designer:

“As part of the Sherwood Park Residents’ Association, he’s played a decade-long role as a neighbourhood activist, which doesn’t mean that he’s as militantly anti-high-rise as his comrades. He runs a consultancy firm called Arris, and has developed a document called the Midtown Consolidation Strategy, in order to lobby some sense into City Hall, developers, and residents.”

Mills is keen about what describes as intelligent density:

“‘Every piece of dirt at Yonge and Eglinton is subject to an application,’ says Mills. ‘Everywhere you look, there is going to be a development. We have to keep our eye on the ground level, and come up with good public solutions.’ The alternative, as always, is an unlivable, unlovable dead zone.”

There’s a demand for rental condos

I was also interested in reading a Dec. 13, 2012 Toronto Star article underling the fact that there is a demand for rental apartments and rental condos across the Greater Toronto Area.