The development application at 220, 230, & 240 Lake Promenade and 21 & 31 Park Blvd is complex because of its location and scale within the surrounding neighbourhood and the large rental demolition & conversion component.
The initial application proposed a phased replacement of the five existing rental apartment buildings by five new buildings with towers ranging from 12 to 30 storeys. The current buildings house a total of 548 purpose-built rental units. The proposal includes 2021 housing units, of which:
548 would be rental replacement,
29 would be market rental, and
1444 would be market condo units.
The proposal also includes the delivery of a new public road and new parkland.
My initial focus for this complex application has been to provide increased opportunities for community engagement – beyond the legislated minimum requirement of one Community Consultation Meeting (CCM) and one Tenant Meeting – and to ensure that tenants of the buildings are aware of their rights and the tenant protections the City has in place in Rental Housing Demolition and Conversion applications.
To date I have coordinated:
A virtual Community Consultation Meeting (CCM) on June 27, 2023
An in-person CCM held at the Long Branch Legion 101 Hall on July 5, 2023
A site tour and discussion on July 15, 2023, where over 70 tenants and neighbours of the buildings joined me, my team, City Planning Staff, and representatives for the applicant on a tour of the proposal and had the opportunity to ask questions and have conversations about the proposal
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An initial in-person Tenant Meeting at Long Branch Legion Hall 101 September 27, 2023, to inform the tenants of their rights and entitlements in a Rental Housing Demolition & Conversion Application in Toronto
Note: at least one other Tenants’ Meeting will be held further into the process
Through these community engagement efforts, we heard a great deal of feedback on the application, which we documented and shared with both City Planning staff and the applicant’s planning team.
We heard your concerns about (in no particular order):
The impact on and displacement of existing tenants, and the lack of new affordable housing in the proposal
The height and density of the initial proposal
Whether the existing hard and soft infrastructure/services are adequate to support an application of this size at this location
The impacts of vehicular traffic on residential roads used to access the site and on pedestrian and cyclist safety in the neighbourhood
The impact of an extended construction period on nearby residents
The environmental impacts, such as the loss of mature trees and effects on bird migratory patterns
The potential for asbestos exposure during demolition
I value this feedback highly. I factor it into my discussions with Planning Staff and the applicant, and I will continue to factor it into my review process as this application continues through the process to an eventual decision at Council.
In coordination with City Planning staff, I have also brought together a Working Group to allow for further consultation and review in a smaller and more collaborative space.
The Working Group participants include:
12 community participants made up from tenants of the building, close neighbours of the site, and representatives from local stakeholder groups
City Staff from Planning, Parks, Urban Forestry, & Transportation Services
The applicant’s planning team
Myself and a member of my staff
To date, the Working Group has met three times to review and discuss the site layout, parks and open spaces, pedestrian and vehicular traffic impacts, and the size, scale & design of the buildings. The applicant also presented some initial changes to their proposal based on feedback received to date.
The general consensus from the community representatives was that while the applicant did a good job addressing community feedback by making design revisions to the site layout and parks, they failed to appropriately address the highest priority concerns related to the impacts of the size and number of housing units proposed in the application.
I would like to see the applicant do more to address these concerns raised by the community. The impact of this development on the lives of nearby residents and existing tenants would be significant. The site is only accessible by residential side streets – which we have heard are already dealing with problems related to too many vehicles in the space – and the community has been vocal about a shortage in community spaces and services available for existing residents.
While the City has policies in place to protect and compensate tenants affected by Rental Demolition and Conversion applications that I understand to be among the strongest protections of municipalities in Ontario, there are some gaps and the impact to people’s lives is significant. I believe that this application, with its size and location, should be looking for what additional benefit can be provided for the surrounding community beyond the provision of additional market housing units.
What’s next?
Community Planning Staff are currently working with the applicant with respect to their updated proposal based on the feedback received to date.Once that work is complete and the design revisions have been formally resubmitted, I have committed to a 4th Working Group meeting to review the revised proposal, and I will share that proposal in a future community update. I will also be working with Policy Planning Staff around the appropriate timing for the next Tenants’ Meeting so that the existing tenants are kept informed.
For more information or to share your comments on the application, please contact:
Eno Rebecca Udoh-Orok (Toronto City Planning) – [email protected] or 416-392-5474
My office – [email protected] or 416-397-9273
If you are a tenant of the existing rental buildings looking for information and support,please contact:
Andrew Cohrs (Toronto City Planning) – [email protected] or 416-392-4730
Patti Pokorchak (Lake Promenade Tenants’ Association) – [email protected] or 416-951-3842 (email preferred)
Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA) – [email protected] or 416-921-9494
