About 150 people were present at a City information meeting Wednesday night at the Best Western Hotel on Mt. Pleasant Rd. to hear details of a revised plan for tower developments known as 18 Brownlow. The new proposal is for a single 24-storey rental apartment building on half of the original property at the corner of Soudan Ave and Redpath Ave. It was a full court press in many ways for both SERRA, the South Eglinton Ratepayers and Residents Association and for the property owner, Mitch Abrahams. In fact, there is a critical round to come before the Ontario Municipal Board later this year. Mr. Abrahams made his case in response to questions. He said he was passionate about rental accommodation and that in the context of the already highly developed neighborhood, his newly-proposed tower was appropriate. The mood of the meeting was correct but deeply hostile both to the size of the proposal and the killing precedent process that has led to the transformation of single family streets into canyons.
PALPABLE HELPLESSNESS
Josh Matlow (Ward 22) seemed to express the dissatisfaction of ratepayers with the process that brought Soudan Ave and others to their present state. “I will say to the developer, and any other developer who believes that pointing to wrongs of the past is the precedent that we should do wrong today, that no longer should the narrative be set by the development industry.” Matlow said residents had been let down by both the City and province. His condemnation seemed tangible as City Planner Andrew Taivara explained to bewildered residents that while 14 storeys was a recommended maximum height in the neighborhood, it wasn’t the law. The City would have to consider 24 storeys and ultimately live with what the OMB decided. Such palpable helplessness infuriated many at the meeting, as it has before.
