Tag: Crazy Place: Bayview & Eglinton

The corner of Eglinton Ave. E and Bayview Ave. is a source of constant surprise these days. The two-storey construction building that has risen in the Metro parking lot almost looks like Metrolinx gone into the boarding house business .

A car jumped the curb at Sunnybrook Plaza Tuesday and slammed into the mattress store beside the CIBC. It appears any injuries were minor. Two similar occurrences in January of 2016 and in 2013 are linked here. Photos courtesy Bob Arsenault.

Drivers heading northbound on Bayview Tuesday night were met with rubber-traffic-cone chaos at Eglinton. It was re-paving of all things (see video) for reasons unknown but probably necessary. Later, large parts of the corner will be excavated to create the Leaside station which will sit on this corner. Wild and crazy for sure.

The citizens group known as Concerned Residents of Leaside has sent general e-mail asking for financial support to fight RioCan over the redevelopment as proposed of Sunnybrook Plaza. The giant REIT has appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board to overturn the City’s refusal to permit high-rise towers 13 and 19 floors at the site. The mail, which was forwarded by Geoff Kettel, says the City has completed its assessment of RioCan’s proposal, “which is largely in favour of the community. We have a few more points to add, but this is very positive for us. Nonetheless, to fully represent the community’s interests, we will be hiring a lawyer and city planner for representation at the OMB to oppose RioCan’s appeal.”

GO FUND ME

The mail asks people to contribute to a fund at the Go Fund Me site to raise as estimated $30,000 to hire a lawyer and cover other costs related to winning at the OMB, It extends an open invitation to a “community lawn meeting” on Saturday June 18th at 9:30 AM, at 281 Bessborough Dr. to discuss the strategy and answer any questions. It say to bring a lawn chair.

CITY’S ADVICE TO RIOCAN

The mail summarizes the City’s advice to RioCan about this project as follows:
– Revise the proposal to predominantly mid-rise form (9 to 11 storeys)
– Comply with angular planes of neighbouring sites
– Increase the amount of non-residential gross floor area
– Provide an additional setback for the townhouses along the private driveway
– Continue to refine the private driveway to improve the pedestrian environment
– Adjust the setbacks around the buildings for better pedestrian flow and accommodate road widening
– Increase the amount of outdoor amenity space

OMB PRE-HEARING JULY 26, 2016

The matter will be discussed at the North York Community Council meeting on June 14th, at around, but not before, 2 p.m. at the North York Civic Centre (5100 Yonge Street) on the lower level in the Council Chamber. The OMB pre-hearing is set for July 26, 2016 at which the group must seek standing for the November meeting where the final decision will be taken.

Reader Gary Slippoy has recorded the last phase of the McDonald’s demolition. Depictions of the new “Leaside” (not Bayview) LRT station are few and it is known that Metrolinx wants to go up, up, up at this corner. We shall see.

Reader Gary Slippoy has a sent along this picture of the demolition at Eglinton and Bayview as of Wednesday, April 27, 2016.

The wrecker is busy daily and it won’t long before the job is done. The final hours of McDonald’s at Eglinton and Bayview is seen in a photo from above taken by reader Gary Slippoy and below looking north from the driveway of the four-plex to the south (South Bayview Bulldog)

Thirty years later, it’s goodbye to the McDonald’s building that was part of the burger firm’s historic expansion of the 1980s. A giant backhoe is ripping up the parking lot Tuesday and will soon take down the former restaurant, second home to casual eaters and Leaside High kids. The site will become the “Leaside” LRT station at Bayview Ave. and quite possibly a good deal more. Metrolinx has consulted with developers about a large, maybe quite high building on this site and has purchased two of the four-plexes to the south on Bayview to make a sizeable  footprint for this new building.

The demolition of the now vacant McDonald’s at Eglinton and Bayview and the also vacant strip mall at Eglinton and Laird is imminent. A portion of the Rio.Can Leaside Centre (where Canadian Tire is located) east of Pier One will be fenced off to permit construction of the supplemental exit/entrance to the LRT. Work at Bayview is scheduled for March 14, 2016 and it appears work may have started at Laird.  Metrolinx

Work in the south side lanes of Eglinton Ave. (eastbound) has reached a point where one of the eastbound lanes has been opened. But one eastbound lane has been closed making causing motorists turning left into Eglinton to pause to make sure they are in an open lane and not a construction dead-end. Reader Gary Slippoy says he watched from his window yesterday after they opened the new lane. At least 12 cars stopped suddenly due to the change of lanes.(Thursday, January 21, 2016).

As tenants move out at Sunnybrook Plaza the remaining businesses are comparing notes on when they might be told they will have to leave. There are now seven vacancies including long-time merchants like Gentry Clothiers. Mac’s Milk departed a couple of days ago and workers are now gutting the store. Meanwhile a belief is growing in retail backrooms that if RioCan is unsuccessful in its proposal to build twin towers (19 and 13 floors are proposed) it may redevelop the plaza in a much more modest way. The belief at least among some merchants based on discussion with sources is that RioCan will not settle for a nine-storey compromise. Such a building would still require the expensive foundation work necessary because of the underground river crossing Eglinton and running east through Leaside  Instead, this Plan B goes, RioCan would rather spend much less and instead add only a floor or two to the present plaza and have the commercial strip carry on much as it has since it was built in 1952.