Residents filled the William Lea Room to near capacity Tuesday night to hear both the City Planner and the developer of the property known as 939 Eglinton Ave. E. As many as 30 people made comments and asked questions about the five-acre site on the southwest corner of Eglinton and Brentcliffe Road. Questions centred on traffic, schools and what many said will be a hopelessly overloaded LRT when it is completed in 2021. The developers are Diamond Corporation in partnership with Dawsco Corporation, the land’s owner. Dawsco has operated a shopping mall on Brentcliffe between Eglinton and Vanderhoof Ave. for many years.
A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD NEWS
It is by any measure an enormous proposal. Councillor Jon Burnside called it the “Big Daddy of them all.” He said the development will set the tone for what happened to the west at the Leaside Centre property owned by Rio.Can and to the east on the property occupied by Staples and other big box stores. Mr. Burnside lamented the failure of the City to properly study the area as was called for in its flossy Eglinton Connex study of 2013. There was no money but the Councillor said his continuing efforts had finally yielded results and such a “drilling down” into traffic conditions at the site will be done. But it was not clear just how much value it will have in assessing 939 Eglinton. He called the study “a little bit of good news.”
CLASSROOMS IN A CONDO?
The plan itself is quite staggering. It is a project worthy of Burnside’s Big Daddy description. Four condo towers of 19, 20, 31 and 34 storeys plus a mid-rise multi-use building on Eglinton of maybe eight storeys and a new private road to separate less intense commercial activity the south. There would be a mid-rise office building and a park. Under heavy questioning about how the school board would manage the influx of kids, CEO Steve Diamond said his firm has had talks with the Toronto and District School Board (TDSB) about classrooms or a school (it wasn’t quite clear) in the condos somewhere. It was getting on in the evening and this bit of information was treated quite scornfully by the residents.
HOW HIGH?
The mood started to go downhill during a description of the development by architect Sol Wassermuhl In a detailed description of the site he neglected to state that the towers to the south were to be 31 and 34. It was only when Mr. Wassermuhl was asked the specific heights of these two towers that he said they were 31 and 34 and added he was sorry for forgetting that. The information is public but the meeting took this slip quite badly. It isn’t clear just why it happened but ratepayers can be unforgiving of mistakes. The development is at an early stage and Mr. Diamond was hopeful that a final version could be agreed upon in meetings with the City. He said that he did not wish to find himself at the OMB and that his firm has not resorted to that in the past.
I see your article does refer to the southwest corner.
As a former Leaside resident, and also editor of the defunct Leaside Advertiser newspaper, about 25 years ago, a major developer, it may have been Tridel, proposed a similar scheme. Public info sessions were held. prior to the meeting, I had interviewed a man who had worked at the old factory (Phillips) that stood originally on the site. He told me that in World War II, he was one of many building radars sets for both the RAF and RCAF, which contained radioactive materials. He mentioned that , I better put these in legalese, that disposal of the after products was somewhat “casual”.
I mentioned this to a developer rep at a public meeting and I still remember the man’s face going almost white. the project never happened. The property is also adjacent to the former Leaside dump, a fact I’m sure the local councillor is aware of.
Ah, what has happened to “My Home Town” !