Mr. Christie update from Councillor Peter Milczyn

Following message (Jan. 17, 2013) is from Office of Councillor Peter Milczyn:

Good afternoon,

Councillor Peter Milczyn asked that I email you today and update you on this Etobicoke matter as you have been in touch with him in recent months regarding the closure of the Christie plant in South Etobicoke.

Peter has some good news that I would like to share with you.

Mondelez officially withdrew their “Concept Plan” for the Christie site at 2150 Lakeshore Boulevard West, which was previously submitted to City Planning Staff on November 1st, 2012. That report recommended a residential development to replace the Christie Plant with 27 Condominium towers.

Once Mondelez announced the closure of the Christie Plant, the Mayor and City Councillors acted quickly to approve a Motion at City Council to prevent Mondelez from re-zoning the Christie site. Mayor Rob Ford moved this Motion on November 17th, 2012 entitled ‘Making Room for Jobs – Protecting an Employment Area in Etobicoke Lakeshore’.  The motion included the following recommendation:

“City Council request the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Minister of Infrastructure to consider exercising his authority under the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe to identify the employment lands in the vicinity of the Ontario Food Terminal, as well as the Ontario Food Terminal site itself, and the lands at 2150 Lake Shore Boulevard West as a provincially significant employment area.”

Making Room for Jobs was approved unanimously by Council; sending a strong message to developers that the City will continue to protect existing employment lands in Toronto.

Mondelez is now asking that the site be re-designated to a “Regeneration Area”, and that there be further study to determine the appropriate uses for the site. Councillor Milczyn will continue to be involved in the process to ensure that any future development proposals for this site suit the needs of the community.

I will continue to keep you updated on this matter, and do not hesitate to contact the Councillor’s office if you have any questions.

Kinga Surma on behalf of

Toronto City Councillor Peter Milczyn
Ward 5 | Etobicoke-Lakeshore
********************************
Toronto City Hall
100 Queen Street West Suite C51 | Second Floor
Toronto, ON  M5H 2N2
********************************
P: 416.392.4040
F: 416.392.4127
www.petermilczyn.com
9 replies
  1. Donna Magee
    Donna Magee says:

    Thx to city council for taking the time to consider the redevelopment of the christie plant and adjacent area in terms of the wider picture……particulary emplyment. As significant an issue is the need for community services to serve the increaed poulation as a result of the new condos along the lakefront. The proposed Mimico GO station renovation at the current Royal York location may not be the best choice. The GO station may be brtter location adjacent to the food terminal (to serve a much larger poulation of people and to connect to more surface routes) that is combined with a school/community centre/library and shopping. 9Think creatively like the Don Mills plaza that has a “village” type atmosphere? Could ths happen under an atrium that stretches from a tower to a tower like downtown? Can the food terminal be incorporated into a community based project by sinking it? perhaps some affordable housing incorporated over shops? City Council has an opportunity to create a vision for community development that addresses the needs of everyone but do they have the political will to bring it about?

    Reply
  2. Jaan Pill
    Jaan Pill says:

    These are great ideas, Donna!

    I find it so valuable to have discussion – to have conversations – about the options available to us as members of a civil society.

    I’ve recently been following messages from organizations such as CivicAction which are focused on mobilizing community input on regional planning issues. There is so much value in these conversations. I look forward to learning more about the views that you’ve shared.

    I also want to thank you for suggesting, some time back, that I set up a newsletter format for the email messages that I send out to my email distribution list. That was a great suggestion! I’ve heard many comments indicating that the newsletter format works really well as a way for people to keep track of news updates.

    Reply
  3. Shay
    Shay says:

    Hello, very happy to see this happen. We are planning on moving to that area away form Cityplace ghetto. The reason why we loved that area is its relatively low density of glass towers (compared to Cityplace). A mixed use area like shops, restaurants, grocery stores, cafes, bistros, small bars/pubs and retail space (like the Shops at Don Mills, Danforth/Leslieville, or even the Junction BIA has done) and a place for farmer’s market (like the Junction again) would be the best use of it. It would be even better if we could have a Go Station there so people from surrounding areas could easily hop in on the Go and come to Mimico village. Please please please make this happen. If government allows it, there will be plenty of developers that will make this reality – no more condos though!

    Reply
  4. Donna Magee
    Donna Magee says:

    I recently reviewed the range of community services available to the Humber Bay Shores community. There are no schools (children are bussed to schools in neighboring communities, no Community Centre ( recreation, community assembly, hockey rink?, churches,libraries) Residents do not want a ‘bedroom” community……ie. thousands of places to sleep but work, community services, shopping etc elsewhere. The vision shared by most residents in the HBS area is of a viable communty in and of itself, within the context of the City of Toronto. The HBS residents association is actively involved in trying to ensure that the redevelopment of the Christie site is based on ‘community” needs NOT just 30 more condo bdgs. At a city of toronto mtg last week I heard Mark Grimes, our current city councillor make a perplexing and frankly very worrisome remark…….waving his hand he declared that shops could go westward along the Lakeshore….Is he really pushing forward the needs and interests of Mimico rather than the growing community of Humber Bay Shores as well as the condo developers? The population of Humber Bay Shores is projected to be close to 40 000 over the next decade……but the lack of/inadequate, and the fragmented, poorly organized current infastructure projects is costly and woefully inadequate. The current plan for the multi use Waterfront Trail ( a Gardiner Expressway for cyclists) bringing thousands more people through the community while constructing a plan for a one lane eah way of traffic on Marine Parade Dr given the numbers we are talking about borders on the absurd……and with no provision for future widening. We need to hold Councillor Grimes accountable for what has happened and continues to happen in this Ward……..it may even mean we need to choose a new councillor ……….

    Reply
  5. Ivan Poloni
    Ivan Poloni says:

    Can someone provide the current status on the development plans of the former Christie Planr site?
    Is Mondelex still the owner?

    thanks

    Reply
  6. Jaan Pill
    Jaan Pill says:

    We will check on this, Ivan, and will let you know.

    We’re aiming for an answer some time next week (last week in January).

    Reply
  7. Michelle
    Michelle says:

    I’m perplexed as to why no one has brought up using the lands for public transportation improvements. The last I heard was pissibly makng a new GO train station in the area. Those of us who regularly commute on the TTC definitely think that there are opportunities for improvements between Park Lawn and the Humber loop. Couldn’t a streetcar right of way be accommodated as some mornings it takes 10mins to travel this short distance due to car traffic. It’s only going to get worse as more people move in and the parking at Mimico GO is a joke.

    ere can we find the latest updates on what is planned for this area?

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply to Jaan Pill Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *