People really want another
Loblaw by the waterfront.
According to Councillor
Adam Vaughan, in whose ward a new Loblaw's is in the process of being negotiated for an old warehouse at Bathurst and Lakeshore, the packed public meeting last Monday was vociferous in its support of the project, despite some Heritage Toronto concerns about the old art deco structure.
"Heritage would like to preserve the building," Vaughan says, "and they don't like it when the strategy to preserve it is to recreate it." According to Vaughan, Loblaw's plan is to take it mostly apart and put it back together again to get around certain problems, like a 14-foot grade, and the support columns for the Gardiner Expressway that are built right into the warehouse's superstructure.
Given the popular support for the project, Vaughan says that "they question then becomes, can planning staff live with it. And it doesn't look like they can."
The project is being designed by
ARK, a division of the Markham- and Shanghai-based
Petroff Partnership Architects.
About 150 to 200 people attended the meeting at the
Harbourfront Community Centre's medium assembly room. Vaughan estimates they had to turn away another 150 for lack of space.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Adam Vaughan
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