The Kingsway - Islington : Development News

The city has agreed, by a vote of 43-1 (the one being Rob Ford) to buy 4 acres of designated surplus land adjacent to an Etobicoke Park on Lothian Road from the Toronto District School Board to ensure local residents will continue to have access to the public green space.

"There's not a lot of four-acre sites in the heart of Etobicoke that are already city-owned and green," says the ward's councilor, Peter Milczyn, "so that's why I was so enthusiastic to retain this space as public property."

Whatever initial hesitance there was in acquiring the land -- and there was, according to Milczyn, years of negotiations behind this transaction -- stemmed from the $8-million price tag for land that, as far as taxpayers were concerned, was already theirs.

What finally sealed the deal was an agreement to revisit the purchase in three years to see if enough money had come into the city from nearby development through what's known as Section 37 to justify the purchase price. With units enough to house 5,000-7,000 people in the vicinity already in the works, Milczyn says he doesn't see it being a problem.

According to Milczyn, the space will likely have goal posts erected in the next year to make it more inviting as a soccer field.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Peter Milczyn

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].

Work on the 2km stretch of Bloor Street from Keele to South Kingsway is half complete. The work, which will replace and repair water mains, sanitary sewers, storm sewers and combined sewers, is projected to cost $7.6 million.

"The water mains leak," says Gordon MacMillan, the city's director of design and construction for linear infrastructure. "The joints start to fall apart, there's concern about collapse, so they're all being replaced."

But October, when this work is slated for completion, will only mark a brief respite for area drivers.

"Next year, we are going to be reconstructing the road, so this is just getting the undergrounds done this year," MacMIllan says.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Gordon MacMillan

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].

The paths in Tom Riley Park are getting much needed improvements thanks to some federal and provincial funding.

Berry Road Park Trail, Woodford Park Trail and Wedgewood Park Trail are all getting general clean-ups and maintenance, as well as new lighting. The paved paths are also getting re-paved.

"It's a key link along Mimico Creek," says ward councilor Peter Milczyn of the kilometer-long park. "It's a multi-use park, with recreation facilities as well, located in such a way that there are single-family detached neighbourhoods as well as high-density condominium and apartments along its perimeter, so it's a major park for the community."

Councillor Milczyn estimates the work will cost about $100,000 and be finished by fall.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Peter Milczyn

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].

Work has begun restoring the Lambton Kingsway outdoor pool, the first major restoration in more than 20 years.

Central to the north Kingsway community, which ward councilor Peter Milczyn describes as 90 per cent single-family dwellings.

"All the mechanical systems are being refurbished," he says. "Pumps, heaters, et cetera. Washrooms are quite old, too, and really need to be spruced up."

The deck is also being demolished and rebuilt and the pool itself is going to be enlarged. Work on that aspect of the project is expected to begin towards the end of this month.

The budget for the entire project is $1.195 million.

Councillor Milczyn expects the work to be mostly completed by the end of autumn, with finishing touches done by next spring in time for summer opening.

The funding is part of the federal-provincial infrastructure spending that has already been worked into the city's capital budget. According to the terms set out by the fund, the money must be spent by March.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Peter Milczyn

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].

Construction is to begin later this month on the final, 36-storey tower in the Essex condo community at Kipling and Dundas in Etobicoke.

Park Nuvo, the fifth tower on the lot, will have 333 units. Designed by Mississauga firm Graziani & Corazzo Architects, who have also worked on Aura and College Park, as well as one of the existing Nuvo towers on the site, which is being developed by Tridel.

The development began in 2000 and at the time, the area was an unknown quantity to condo buyers, according to Tridel spokesman Samson Fung. "Sales were slow for that first one because no one knew the area," he says. "We had to educate people about what kind of area it was."

The lot is just southwest of where Dundas, Kipling and Bloor all intersect, bordered by Aukland and St. Albans Road just north of the railway tracks. In addition to its proximity to three major thoroughfares and commercial strips, the towers are right next to Kipling subway station.

 

Writer: Bert Archer

Source: Tridel