Weston : Development News

Weston-Mt. Dennis has become known as a "priority neighbourhood" since Mayor Miller’s time in office. An industrial part of town that lost its industry, there’s not a lot of money, and according to the Toronto Community Foundation, not a lot of sense of belonging, of connectedness among its residents, and especially its kids.

"The recipe in Rosedale is to send your kids to summer camp," says Rahul Bhardwaj, president and CEO of the TCF. In summer camp, and at the cottage, or even on the street picking up a frozen yogurt and heading over to the Bloor Cinema, for instance: That’s where you get your sense of belonging, your sense of community, in many parts of this mostly quite functional city. "In Mt. Dennis, that’s not an option."

So the TCF, along with helpers like ING, Access Community Capital, Humber College, Urban Arts and the City of Toronto, are putting the finishing touches on the Bartonville Building, a disused city signage storehouse that’s being transformed into a community hub, offering local residents a place to enjoy each others’ company in.

"I wouldn’t say they lack a sense of community," Bhardwaj says, "but they may not have as much a sense of belonging to their community. People here weren’t feeling like they could come out in their community and interact with each other. We think people getting out into their community strengthens their ties with their community."

The building on Bartonville is being outfitted with what Bhardwaj describes as "a really upbeat kitchen," along with a dance studio, a recording studio, and programs to offer courses in food handling certification, bike repair and bike safety and small business development.

The budget for the building project is $350,000 in cash and kind.

Between now and the grand opening in October, the city’s installing planters and other street furniture to connect the two neighbourhoods of Weston and Mt. Dennis, and to lend them a unified sense of place.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Rahul Bhardwaj

Weston Village is getting a little boost that may turn into a major uplift.

Last month, it was announced that a plan to brush up John Street, the current site of a weekly farmer's market, and the future site of a Metrolinx stop on the way from Union Station to the airport, would get a $23,750 grant to help with the costs of designing and then implementing a plan to possibly pedestrianize and otherwise revitalize the street.

The grant came from the Urban Land Institute, a US-based organization that "promotes good land use and sustainable communities," according to its district council chair for Toronto, lawyer Mark Noskiewicz.

Though the grant is small, it is intended to spur investment from public-private partnerships. "The grant was announced last month, as we've already leveraged the $23,000 into $75,000 to $80,000" from the city and Metrolinx, Noskiewicz says.

The plan now is to use that money to complete the design and, if funds continue to flow in for the project, possibly even get the construction done by June of next year.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Mark Noskiewicz

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The library in Mount Dennis is shutting down on Saturday at 5pm and won't be opening again until some time in the first half of 2013.

The 60-year-old library, with its current collection of 45,000 items, was last renovated in 1982, when Moffat and Duncan architects designed an addition to bring it up to its current size of 11,350 square feet.

The new renovation, which Anne Bailey, director of branch libraries, calls "a complete renovation," will take at least 18 months, with a construction budget of $2.86 million and a complete budget of $4.3 million.

"There's a complete redesign of the interior of the library, with logical entrances and exits and a new layout of the collection, equipment, programming space and staff work areas," Bailey says. There will also be new landscaping, a new main entrance and greater accessibility for people with disabilities.

The project was designed by G. Bruce Stratton Architects.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Anne Bailey

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Ground was broken last week on a new 192-bed long-term care facility in north Etobicoke.

The 10.5-acre site, currently housing a 337-bed long-term care facility, is being restructured to keep up with current ministry standards.

"We decided to build the home towards the south end of the property so we could maintain the current physical structure until the end of construction," says Reg Paul, acting general manager of long-term care homes and services for the city. "Once we've opened up the new home, there will be a month or two in between and then we will tear down the old structure."

The old facility had already been downsized by 75 beds, and by early 2013, when the current construction is completed, Paul figures the problem of the remaining difference between the two facilities of 70 residents will have resolved itself through what he pragmatically refers to as “natural attrition."

The new facility, which will continue to be known as Kipling Acres, has been designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects. The construction is being managed by Buttcon Ltd.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Reg Paul

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Smithfield Park in Rexdale has had its playground equipment replaced at a cost of $110,000.

The old steel equipment was removed and upgraded to a steel and plastic combination with wood fibre surfacing to allow, according to spokeswoman Suzan Hall, for accessibility.

"The Park re-opening was a great success," Hall says of the ceremony held last week. "The children just swarmed the playground and the parents were very pleased."

Work began in late July on the project, which was funded in part by the Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RINC) program, and was completed on Aug. 23.

The new equipment includes structures aimed at juniors (ages 2-5), seniors (5-12), as well as swings and spring toys for toddlers.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Suzan Hall

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Thanks to two tennis organizations, kids at Jane and the 401 now have three resurfaced courts in Maple Leaf Park.

Tennis Canada and the Doug Philpott Inner-City Children's Tennis Fund (which caters to mostly outer-city kids, as it happens) are, among other things, devoted to smashing the stereotype that tennis is for rich kids.

"This is something that Tennis Canada has done a few times," says spokeswoman Sarah Grossman. "Our mandate is to get kids playing as much as we can, and this is just one extra way to fulfill our mission, providing an opportunity where it wouldn't otherwise be possible. I would say we've definitely gone a long way in terms of breaking down those stereotypes."

Maple Leaf Park is just south of Tennis Canada's Jane and Steeles offices.

The mayor and pros Bob and Mike Bryan were on hand for the official opening during the Rogers Cup.

As a result of the refurbishment, the Philpott fund's summer tennis program will be extending its program to include Maple Leaf Park as its 13th location.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Sarah Grossman


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Louise Russo Park is getting new playground equipment as part of a rash of playground and park improvements being funded in-part by soon-to-expire federal funds.

The equipment at former Flindon Park, re-named four years ago in honour of Russo, who was paralyzed by a fragment of a bullet meant for someone else at California Sandwiches in 2004, has been designed with disabled children in mind.

"It's a very old park," says Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, in whose ward it is, "and it was at the top of the list to get a new, freshly built playground."

Mammoliti estimates that the cost of the refurbishment, which was officially unveiled yesterday, was about $110,000.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Giorgio Mammoliti


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Strathburn Park, 6 acres in the Weston and Sheppard area, got a $175,000 facelift this month, including a new playground, with money from developers and the federal government.

Though the contract was awarded last fall, construction didn't begin until May.

"This is the one community park in that residential area," says David Nosella, the city's supervisor of capital projects, describing the area as stably residential with exclusively single-family dwellings. "It serves the whole area from the 401 up to Sheppard."

According to Nosella, there was $100,000 set aside in the capital budget for improvements to the park, and the other $75,000 came from what's known as Section 37 funds, so-called for the city's program allowing developers height or density increases in return for tangible community benefits.

The project is one of about 60 being hastily completed across the city in the final months of the construction season before the deadline for the federal stimulus money expires in March.

The playground was officially re-opened yesterday.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: David Nosella

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a cool new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].

CORRECTION: The original version of this story misstated the closest intersection to the park as Warden and Sheppard.