Today marks the tenth anniversary of Birch Cliff News. A time to look back, move ahead, and begin a new chapter.

It’s hard to believe that a full decade has passed since June 14, 2012, when I hit “publish” on the website’s first story — a multimedia piece on the history of Birch Cliff.

It also seems like a fitting time to announce, with mixed emotions, that Birch Cliff News has come to the end of the road.

In the last two years, I’ve retired from the paid workforce and am now spending more time at the cottage than I am in Birch Cliff.  My deep connection to the community that I’ve called home for 29 years is changing.

As this chapter closes, I wanted to take a moment to say goodbye and reflect back on some of our local stories over the last ten years.

Thunder Woman Healing Lodge meeting at Birchmount Community Centre. June 12, 2018. Photo: John Smee/Bluffs Monitor.

An informed community is a stronger community

Birch Cliff News was a labour of love born out of my firm belief that an informed community is a stronger community. 

In the changing news ecosystem, I could see the need for professional hyperlocal journalism that was informative, verifiable, free of bias, and avoided sensationalism.

I wanted to create an online resource where Birch Cliff residents could share reliable stories and have a conversation about things that are unique to our neighbourhood and make it a special place to live.

I am proud of the fact that Birch Cliff News has remained a non-profit, volunteer-driven website written by the community for the community.  

As I look back on the last ten years and re-read the 500 stories that have been published on the website, what emerges is a clear picture of a community in transition.

Before and after photos of 1552-1572 Kingston Road.

A neighbourhood in transition

In June 2012, Birch Cliff News launched with feature pieces and softer stories about events such as the Birch Cliff Public School Fun Fair, the Birchmount Collegiate prom and Canada Day.

That all changed on July 14, 2012, when southwest Scarborough was hit by a torrential storm that overwhelmed the sewers and flooded the basements of almost 400 homes with rain water and sewage.

Birch Cliff News published more than 30 stories about the impact of the flooding, including pieces about the clean-up, personal stories, public meetings and explanations from Toronto Water.  

The answer at the time was that it was a one-in-100-year storm. In hindsight, the storm was more like the canary in the coal mine since, as so many have experienced, Toronto now floods on a regular basis.

Eight years later, it was announced that more than 100 streets in Birch Cliff, Cliffside and Cliffcrest have been targeted for $300 million in recommended infrastructure upgrades by the City of Toronto

Kingston Road construction. April 2014

Revitalization

The need for infrastructure improvements and revitalization became top stories for Birch Cliff News.

When the website was launched, Kingston Road, the main thoroughfare in our community, was riddled with potholes, businesses had difficulty staying afloat and almost nobody paid more than $ 1 million for a house.

Who could forget the two years of construction in 2013/2014 when the heart of Birch Cliff was torn up to replace the watermain, build new sanitary and storm sewers, remove ancient railway tracks, resurface Kingston Road, add streetscaping features, replace the sidewalks and then replace them again when they crumbled?

It was disheartening at the time to cover stories about business owners who bet on Birch Cliff but ultimately closed shop:  Rosemary and Thyme, Nice Nook, Rustico, M & J’s Eastside Deli, SPICE, Price Saver Fruit and Vegetable Market, D.O.T Furniture, and TD Canada Trust.

But the dream that Birch Cliff could have a vibrant, walkable, main street never died and before too long we saw business successes such as The Birchcliff, Luxe Home Decor, The Kingston Social (now City Cottage Market), Corbin Catering and Foods, Kennedy Catering, Little Bugs Nursery, and Dollarama.

Birch Cliff News reflected the community’s determination to shop locally and that was never more important than during the first Covid lockdown.

The Manderley at Kingston Road and Manderley Drive. Rendering: Nova Ridge Corporation.

Then came the developers

Before too long, condo developers began seeing the potential in our corner of southwest Scarborough.

This was the kind of rejuvenation envisioned in the Kingston Road Revitalization Study. 

But then developers realized that if you built tall enough, the upper-level units would have a view of Lake Ontario.  The condo applications started coming fast and furious, with most developers wanting to build taller than the prescribed zoning.

You can track the change in attitude towards development in Birch Cliff by simply reading the headlines:

• Condos Coming to the Bluffs
• Kingston Road Condo Craze
• New condos place Birch Cliff at a crossroads
• New Ten-Storey Condo will Displace Tenants
• Robust Opposition At Condo Meeting
• Birch Cliff Fights at Ontario Land Tribunal

The flurry of development led to the rejuvenation of the Birch Cliff Village Community Residents Association. It was a signal that the spirit of local activism that started in Birch Cliff in the late 1950s is still alive and well.

The Birchmount Bluffs Neighborhood Centre, Taylor Memorial Library, and the Bluffs Monitor are all wildly successful initiatives that started at the grassroots level.

Sometimes, the Birch Cliff community was united by hardship and sadness, like the 2013 fire at 1457 Kingston Rd., the ice storm later that same year, the tragic hit and run accident that killed a Birch Cliff mother, and a very rare local murder.

Wayne’s Warriors. July 2013.

Heartwarming stories

But the news business isn’t all doom and gloom. There were countless heartwarming stories that we covered such as Scarborough’s own Wayne Simmonds bringing his NHL friends to Birch Cliff, to the delight of children and adults alike.

Many stories were written over the last ten years as birch tree murals sprouted up all over the community thanks to the vision of Mural Routes and the now-retired “mural lady” Karin Eaton.

The spirit of sharing has always been alive and well at Birchmount Bluffs Neighbourhood Centre as they transitioned their holiday support program to Share 365.  BBNC supports 250 families (700+ individuals) with things such as free fresh food, hygiene and cleaning products, and subsidized nursery school.

It’s been encouraging to see Birchcliff Bluffs United Church, already renowned for its food bank, open a drop-in centre for drop-in space for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth as well as seniors.

And when Birch Cliff Public School celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016, several hundred graduates returned for a reunion that many will never forget.

Birch Cliff Ambulance. April 9, 1941

Rich community history

Personally, some of my favourite stories were about the rich history of Birch Cliff and I hope you found them as illuminating as I did.

The first official landowner in Scarborough was Captain William Mayne, who was granted a plot of land in Birch Cliff in 1796.   Mayne was a former aide and companion to Elizabeth Simcoe, wife of the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada.

In a story titled “From Farmland to Suburbia”, Birch Cliff News described the way that housing developments were established in the early 1900s, giving readers an idea of when their houses were built and what they might have cost.

Elizabeth and Bruce Plain, who moved to Birch Cliff in the 1940s wrote a wonderful story in 1996 for Scarborough’s Bicentennial about the days when homes cost $5,000, were heated by coal and a typical phone number was Oxford 1-9830.

It was inspiring to learn about the extraordinary fundraising efforts of Birch Cliff Public School during World War II under the guidance of the original principal Mrs. Ellen Reece.  The campaign culminated with students presenting an ambulance to the Canadian Armed forces on April 9, 1941.

There was also the remarkable backstory about the original Taylor Memorial Library building, a private home that was gifted to the community in 1962 by Fred Taylor “for the purpose of a library and no other.”

I could go on and on. If you’re interested in learning more about the history of Birch Cliff, head to the website and click on the “Community History” tab at the top of the page.

The need to preserve history is the primary reason why I’m keeping the website active even though there will be no new content going forward.

Many thanks to everyone

I would like to take this moment to thank the supporters of Birch Cliff News and express my deep gratitude to the many contributors who wrote stories over the last ten years. 

Thank you to Earl Abalajon, Persis Abraham, Ashley Ashbee, Brian Ashton, Ron Baldwin, Tyler Bloomfield, Stephanie Burke, Daniel Caudle, Frank Crisafi, Linda Curley, Greg Dennis, Chelsey DeVito, Morgan Gallagher, Penny Harbin, Hannah Korbee, Sean Mallen, Marian Martin, Brett McGarry, Regina McKenzie, Melissa Mercer, Christina Mulherin, Matt Owczarz, Donna Sevilla, Jane Smart, Marielle Torrefranca, and Albert Williams, 

Special thanks to John Smee, publisher of the Bluffs Monitor and photographer extraordinaire, who became a close collaborator over the years as we traded photos and editorial content.  Thanks to real estate agent Mike McCann, who spent four years writing a regular housing feature for the website.  Thanks as well to journalist Ian Harvey, who regularly pitched story ideas and covered them himself.  I’m also grateful to Jackie Spicer of The Ink Tank for creating the original logo, tagline, and digital banner, as well as for her writing.

Finally, thanks to everyone for reading and supporting Birch Cliff News.

It’s been an honour to tell your stories.

Hedy Korbee

The post Farewell from Birch Cliff News appeared first on Birch Cliff News.

The combination of fellowship, warm weather, cold drinks, a barbecue, and good music made for a lively party at the Scarboro Veterans Memorial Hall, which was built in 1922 after the First World War.

Branch 13 President, Dan Burri, receives lifetime membership in honour of his service.

“This is one of the best branches in the City of Toronto and you’ve been here for 100 years. Congratulations,” said District D Deputy Commander Richard Viles to a round of applause during the formal ceremonies.

Viles also presented Branch 13 President Dan Burri with a lifetime membership to celebrate Burri’s 25 years with the Legion and eight consecutive terms as the local President.

In an interview, Viles said that Branch 13’s success is a result of a strong executive and robust support from the Birch Cliff community.

“It’s well run. It is financially sound. And it works a lot within the community. I know Dan and the rest of the guys. They’re doing a good job. There’s never,  ever a problem with Branch 13, ever,” Viles said in an interview.

“I feel blessed”

The crowd included many community members as well as several veterans who have served all around the world.

Notable among them was John White, 89, who was a member of the Royal Air Force in Britain from 1951 to 1954. 

He’s been a fixture at Branch 13 for 54 years and is the local Legion’s longest-serving member.

“I feel blessed that I’ve been allowed to live long enough to see it. I really do. It’s amazing,” said White.

“100 years and no condos. Let’s keep it that way,” White said, in reference to Branch 13’s determination to remain financially viable and out of the clutches of condo developers.

John White, centre, a member of Branch 13 for 54 years

Legion serves younger veterans

Ken Thompson, first vice president of Branch 13, said it’s important that the Legion perseveres because its purpose is not limited to veterans of the First and Second World Wars.

“There’s a lot of younger folks that are veterans, maybe from Afghanistan, or Bosnia, different places, and when they come back, a lot of them need help transitioning back into the city. And that’s what we’re there for, to provide that help. It’s not necessarily financial, it could be support. There’s a whole raft of services that are capable and willing to provide to those vets,” Thompson said.

One younger veteran at the party was Gord Roy, who served in the South African army and has been a member of Branch 13 for 15 years.

“I can talk about things. I’ve got something in common with whoever’s been in the military. And also there are functions that we do here.  We play darts and snooker,” Roy said.

“Originally, this building was actually for the soldiers when they came home. If you got PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)  this is a place to come to where you can affiliate with your fellow soldiers. Because you can’t go back into society, right?  This is what this was all about originally.”

Official ceremony at Legion’s 100th anniversary celebration

During the formal ceremony, Ward 20 Councillor Gary Crawford,  an associate member of Branch 13,  congratulated the Legion for 100 years of important service.

“When you look at this building, when you look at all of the people here today, in many respects, although it was different 100 years ago, in some ways, it’s almost identical to what the purpose was 100 years ago. It is to serve, it is to honor, it is to recognize those who not only gave their lives, but to those who today are continuing to fight for this country continuing to serve,” Crawford said.

The post Royal Canadian Legion Branch 13 celebrates 100 years of service appeared first on Birch Cliff News.

A milestone celebration will take place in the heart of Birch Cliff on Saturday, June 4.

Branch 13 of the Royal Canadian Legion is commemorating 100 years of service to veterans, their families, and the broader community.

The centenary event at 1577 Kingston Road will bring together former service members, dignitaries, and local residents for an open house, barbecue, drinks, speeches, and music by local artists.

“I feel very, very proud to belong to such an outfit as the Royal Canadian Legion,” said John White, of the organization he’s been a member of for 54 years.

“We’ve had tough times and we’ve had good times and we’ve had easy times and hard times, but we’re still going.”

The historic Scarboro Veterans Memorial Hall, renown for its colourful mural of soldiers marching off to war, was built in 1922.

It has welcomed veterans of every Canadian conflict since the First World War.

When the cornerstone was laid on Dec. 5, 1922, it was described by the Globe and Mail as “an important event in the history of the veterans’ organizations in Toronto’s suburban district.”

Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 13, 1922. Photo: Scarborough Archives

Cornerstone laid for Scarboro’ Veterans Memorial Hall. Globe and Mail Dec. 5, 1922.

Branch 13 President Dan Burri and 1st Vice President Ken Thompson, 2019 Poppy Campaign.

While membership has ebbed and flowed over the years, what’s never wavered is the local Legion’s tradition of service.

Last year, Branch 13 raised $30,000 through its Poppy Campaign.

The money was distributed to the Sunnybrook Veterans Program, service dog programs, and Veterans Left Behind, an organization that helps unhoused veterans, according to Dan Burri, president of Branch 13. 

“We still have veterans that served in Afghanistan and Bosnia and in peacekeeping missions around the world. And that’s why we have to carry on, being here and having the Poppy Campaign every year, so we can support the veterans,” Burri said.

“In a way, it’s false to think that veterans are only from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Everybody who serves in the Canadian Forces and the RCMP are veterans too.

Another $8,000 was raised through other means to support Variety Village, the Bluffs Food Bank, and the Shepherds of Good Hope.

Branch 13 donation to Variety Village Swim Team. Photo: John Smee/Bluffs Monitor

In the beginning

A century ago, Scarborough First World War veterans originally organized themselves as the “Returned Men’s Club” as well as the “Great War Veterans Association”.

They merged and worked together to help those returning from the battlefield in search of camaraderie, employment assistance, health services, and pensions. 

There were about 15 such organizations in Canada and what emerged was an ineffective patchwork of groups and services that eventually united in 1926 as “The Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League”.

In 1960, Queen Elizabeth granted royal patronage and the organization became known as the Royal Canadian Legion.

Governor General Lord Byng of Vimy visits Branch 13 of the Royal Canadian Legion. May 27, 1923. Photo: Joan Clarke Family.

A highlight of the early years was a visit by Governor General Lord Julian Byng, the Vimy Ridge war hero, who attended a ceremony at Branch 13 on May 27, 1923. 

Lord Byng received an enthusiastic welcome from the Birch Cliff community, according to an account in the Globe and Mail.

“The Canadian Corps was founded on a spirit of comradeship,” Lord Byng told the crowd. “It meant a great deal to us in those days. And I am certain there is use for the same spirit today. This hall is an expression of it, and one in which we can all take the greatest pleasure.’

Globe and Mail, May 28, 1923.

Overcame early financial hurdles

Newspaper archives indicate that Branch 13 faced early financial difficulties from 1926 to 1928, however, members triumphed to save Scarboro Veterans Memorial Hall from the auction block over mortgage difficulties.

Globe and Mail, December 5, 1930

By 1930 the local Legion was out of the red and raised $2,000, along with two other Scarboro branches, to help pay for the Scarborough Cenotaph at Kingston Road and Danforth Avenue where Remembrance Day Ceremonies are still held today. 

Not only did local Scarborough veterans provide funding for the war memorial, but they were also heavily involved in the construction, which was unique at the time.

The cenotaph was officially unveiled on August 30, 1931, by Premier George S. Henry and Admiral John Jellicoe, Admiral of the Fleet, the highest-ranking officer in the Royal Navy. 

According to the Globe and Mail, Admiral Jellicoe noted that the Township of Scarboro “contributed men in a usually heavy proportion to their population when the call to arms came in 1914.”

Ontario’s Minister of Public Welfare, H.G. Martin added that the cenotaph was deliberately designed to face east “from which comes all our hope”.

“Canada’s best have come from the East, and it was fitting the memorial should face their native soil,” Martin said.

Scarboro War Memorial unveiling, August 31, 1931. Photo: Scarborough Archives

Globe and Mail, August 31, 1931

Photo: John Smee/Bluffs Monitor.

Post-Second World War expansion

Rapid expansion after the Second World War led to the construction in 1956 of an addition on the east side of Veterans Memorial Hall. 

It’s not difficult to see why more space was needed when viewing the Second World War service plaques that hang at Birch Cliff Public School and St. Nicholas Church.

The plaques, hand-drawn by Group of Seven artist A.J. Casson,  include long lists of names of Birch Cliff residents who volunteered to fight, with stars denoting those who died at war.

Birch Cliff Public School war veterans plaque

St. Nicholas Anglican Church war veterans plaque

According to veteran Doug Julette, in a March 2005 article in the Bluffs Monitor, 31 out of 40 students in the Birch Cliff PS class of 1935/36 joined the service during the Second World War.  Julette was featured for receiving his 60-year membership pin along with George Gordon.

Bluffs Monitor, 2005, Branch 13 60-year service awards

John White, who joined Branch 13 in the 1960s, said post-Second World War membership rose to 700 people and they enjoyed euchre, cribbage, snooker, and Saturday night dances, where people “lined up at the door on Kingston Road because there were no corner bars on Kingston Road in the 1960s and early 70s.”

1991 facelift

Photo: John Smee/Bluffs Monitor.

In 1991, almost 80 years after it was built, Scarboro Veterans Memorial Hall got a facelift that transformed it from a squat brick building into a Kingston Road landmark.

The Legion collaborated with what was then known as the Scarborough Arts Council and lead Karin Eaton to create a colourful mural by artist John Hood that helped mark the beginning of Scarborough’s Heritage Trail.

The mural depicts members of the Scarborough Rifle company marching along Kingston Road to the Niagara Frontier in 1866.

They were rushing to defend Ontario from the Fenians, Irish-Americans who staged a series of raids to try and conquer Canada in the hope of trading it for Irish independence.

Community membership drive

By 2019, dwindling membership in the Legion led to financial problems once again and developers started sniffing around in search of prime real estate for their next condo project.

In order to help the Legion remain viable, a community campaign was launched to recruit Birch Cliff residents as affiliate members.  Membership grew 20% in one year as a result and, despite the pandemic, membership has continued to grow by 10% in each of the last two years. 

Branch 13 membership is approaching is approaching 260 people, including 29 veterans.

Feb. 2019 membership swearing in ceremony, the largest ever held at Branch 13 of the Royal Canadian Legion. Photo: Sandy Robitaille

The community responded yet again during Covid lockdowns by participating in bottle drives to help the Legion raise $12,000 to pay its monthly bills.

“There is a growing groundswell of local pride and support for Scarboro #13 for both its support of veterans and non-profit organizations, as well as its rental hall increasingly becoming a destination for events and celebrations,” said Membership Chair, Dr. Gerard Arbour.

“We hope for the hall to remain a vital community hub and to hold off the condo developers for another 100 years.”

What’s next?

There are almost 618,000 veterans in Canada today.  Fewer than 25,000 served in the Second World War and the Korean War and the average age of Second World War vets is 96.

Not surprisingly, Branch 13 President Dan Burri said one of his immediate goals is to find more young veterans in Scarborough to pass the torch to the next generation.

Josh Makuch, 38, is one of those young veterans who became a member of Branch 13 just before the pandemic.

Makuch spent 13 years in the military and served as a rifle platoon commander in Afghanistan as part of Charlie Company in the Royal 22nd Regiment battle group.

Makuch hasn’t visited Branch 13 as much as he would like because of Covid and the fact that he has a young child. 

He noted that he’s unlikely to run into anyone he served with at the Legion because modern recruitment is different than it was during WWII when large numbers of young men from the same communities shipped out together and fought in the same regiments.

Nonetheless, Makuch said the Legion is a vital organization.

 “I think it’s important that soldiers and veterans always have a place that they can call home, whether they know they need it or not. Politically, for instance, it’s not always top of mind for the government of the day to be thinking about the needs of veterans, especially the further you get from a conflict. To know that there’s an organization out there that has got its eyes on the ball a little bit, even if it’s not doing it perfectly, is a comfort, I think because we never know what people are going to need at various points in their lives,” Makuch said.

Meanwhile, John White who is now 89 years old, plans to do his best to mark the centennial of Branch 13 on June 4th, even though he’s a bit under the weather.

“I’m very proud that the building is still there and hasn’t been demolished, like the rest of the area, with a condominium in its place. I don’t know what steps to go through to make it a heritage building, but I’m sure that would protect it from further development,” White said.

Celebrations will begin at 1:00 pm on June 4th at 1577 Kingston Road, east of Kildonan Drive, with the barbecue open as well as the patio and upstairs bar.

The official ceremony will take place at 2:30 pm with music to follow.

~~~~

Hedy Korbee is a Birch Cliff journalist.

The post Onward Birch Cliff soldiers: Legion celebrates 100th anniversary appeared first on Birch Cliff News.

Birch Cliff took another step in the march towards intensification on Tuesday with a community consultation meeting to discuss a proposed new eight-storey condominium on Kingston Road between Eastwood and Kalmar Avenues.

The development is located on a derelict block that includes five empty commercial buildings and a vacant lot, a stretch of road devoid of any redeeming activity ever since the Win-A-Mart variety store moved out about eight years ago.

Areas like this were top of mind more than a decade ago when Birch Cliff residents participated in a lengthy process to help the city plan the revitalization of Kingston Road.

Details on the design

About 30 people attended the virtual consultation meeting where the developer’s plan was presented by Aidan Pereira, a consultant with KLM Planning Partners.

The proposed condo by Hammersmith Corporation tops out at 27.3 metres in height and includes seven residential storeys in addition to a mechanical penthouse and indoor amenity space on the roof.  

The developer is seeking a Zoning Bylaw Amendment because the building is 7.3 metres taller than the current zoning of 6 storeys and 20 metres, along with other areas of non-compliance.

Pereira said the building will contain 93 units including seven at street level facing Kingston Road. There will be 56 1 bedroom + den units, eleven 1-bedroom units, 19 2-bedroom units, two 3-bedroom + den units, and two 3-bedroom units.

The plans call for four levels of underground parking for 115 cars and 49 bicycle parking spots. Underground parking access will be from Kalmar Avenue. Garbage trucks will enter a below-ground pick-up area from Eastwood and exit onto Kalmar.

Loading dock facing Eastwood Avenue. Image: KLM Planning Partners.

Street view from Kalmar Avenue. Image: KLM Planning Partners.

Periera said the proposed development is expected to generate low traffic volumes. He said the condo would generate about 23 trips in the morning peak hour and 28 trips in the afternoon peak hour, working out to about one car every two minutes during peak periods.

Michael Marmoreo, who lives on Kildonan Avenue, told the meeting he’s pleased that something is finally being done about the ugly block but wants the building reduced to seven storeys from eight.

“I look up the street at what is currently there and I’m happy to see this development come in in place of all those abandoned old buildings. I think it’s pretty good. Knock it down a story so it’s not bulking up and overlooking the neighborhood, and put in some more two and three-bedroom units. This is a family neighbourhood,” Marmoreo said during the question and answer period.

However, Pereira revealed that the building is already one storey smaller than the developer’s original nine-storey design. He told the meeting the condo was reduced in height after city planners asked for reduced density at a Pre-Application Consultation meeting in November 2020.

The condo is relatively modest in size and density compared to the 12-storey Altree development further east on Kingston Road that has raised the ire of many in the Birch Cliff community.

But concerns persist about the cumulative impact of densification, with one questioner named Luke simply asking, “Why isn’t this a six-storey building?”

Rob Carmichael, Chair of the Birch Cliff Village Community Residents Association pointed out that eight-storey condo is 40% higher than the as-of-right 20-metre zoning on Kingston Road.  

“It sort of feels like a very large wall on Kingston Road. And I think if you brought the building down to a level, which was appropriate and planned for and carefully thought out, which is 20 meters, I think you’d have a very different feeling building and one in which the community would really embrace. But there seems to be this consistent striving to go to heights which are 30, 40, 50, 60, 100%, more than what is appropriate and planned for.”

Ground-level view of 1552-1572 from Kingston Road. Image: KLM Planning Ltd.

Possible addition of brick, ground-floor retail

The design of the condo is attractive but the generic steel and glass box aesthetic clashes with the vision of the Kingston Road Revitalization Study that calls for architecture to support the heritage of Birch Cliff.

When asked by Birch Cliff News if the developer would consider using brick at street level, architect Don Iafrate said it was a “great consideration” and they are working with the city on “some softer materials that can tie a little bit more literally in some of the neighbouring context.”

There was a similar amenable response to a request regarding the possibility of ground-floor retail to improve walkability on Kingston Road, even though it’s not required on the site and retail spaces are sometimes difficult to fill.

“It’s something that we will take into consideration as a part of our second submission,” Pereira said.

“The sense I’m getting is they’re trying to work with the system, trying to work with the city, work with the community for something ultimately that will benefit the community in the long run. But again, let’s let the process play out and see what happens,” said Ward 20 Councillor Gary Crawford.

Impact on local schools

Meeting attendees also raised concerns about the impact of the development on local schools.

Rory MacNeil, a planner with the City of Toronto, said the Toronto District School Board has flagged local school capacity as a concern in light of all the recent development in Birch Cliff.  This could mean that residents of the new condo receive warning clauses that their children may not be able to attend local schools.

In an email, Ward 18 TDSB Trustee Parthi Kandavel provided the 2025 capacity projections for local elementary schools as follows: Birch Cliff: 129%, Blantyre: 107%, Courcelette: 132%.

Kandavel said the capacity number for Courcelette will change because he was able to secure a six-classroom addition that will be constructed starting this fall.

Christian Ventresca, Scarborough’s community planning manager, also told the meeting that the TDSB is in early-stage conversations about a pupil accommodation review that could lead to the adjustment of school boundaries and catchment areas.

Next steps

The developer will make a resubmission to the city that reflects the comments it received from planning staff, other city departments and agencies, and the community.

The new submission will be reviewed again by the city and it’s likely another meeting will be held with the community before the proposal goes to Scarborough Community Council for a vote.

The post Details on the latest 8-storey condo proposed for Birch Cliff appeared first on Birch Cliff News.

The long-anticipated community park slated for the Quarry Lands will be larger than originally envisioned and include a splash pad, children’s playground, unprogrammed green space, and naturalized areas.

Plans for the proposed six-acre park east of Victoria Park at Gerrard St. East were unveiled at a virtual community meeting on Tuesday, March 8.

The meeting was hosted by Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation as well as Diamond Kilmer, the developers of the 19-acre mid-rise, mixed-use subdivision with a total of 1,052 new housing units.

Quarry park master plan. Image: Diamond Kilmer

The size of the park has increased approximately 34% from previous iterations dating back to 2012, in part because funding has fallen through for a proposed elementary school in the centre of the development.

In the above image, the school would have been located in the green space that now says “North Park”.

Leorah Klein, development manager at Diamond Corp, told the meeting that plans may change if the school gets funded but they’re going ahead with the park.

“Our plans that were approved in December were approved to include either a residential mid-rise and a park or a school. So both options are still feasible. But based on the information that we have today and the fact that funding isn’t available at this point in time, we are moving forward with the north park as part of the park design process,” Klein said.

Land use breakdown

In addition to amenities geared to children, the park will include open lawns, naturalized buffer areas, an outdoor fitness area, picnic tables, and sculptural lighting.

The land use breakdown is approximately 33% for naturalized plantings, 33% for open green spaces, and 33% for programmed activity areas, according to an estimate by Gus Maurano, a landscape architect with The MBTW Group.

Examples of the park’s features can be seen in the two images below.

Community consultation

Mark Lowe, project coordinator and landscape architect with Parks, Forestry & Recreation, said the design relied heavily on two community consultations.

The first was a neighbourhood meeting in 2014 attended by about 50 people and the second was an extensive consultation process with students from Blantyre Public School, described by Lowe as a “very important and often under-utilized user group”.

The students were asked to design their ultimate park and Lowe said many of their ideas were very similar to the priorities identified by the adults in 2014.

“A lot of that was to make sure that we maintained and integrated the natural elements that were present on the site, to be able to create some water-based features, whether that be a play space, whether it be engaging water into the environment….as well as being able to provide for some cultural interpretation. And some built features things like gazebos, and picnic tables and shade structures and patios, were important to them,” Lowe said.

Question and answer session

The purpose of the meeting was to present the design concept and receive community feedback in order to refine the design and inform future iterations of the park.

Bernadette Warren, a local resident and long-time advocate for a naturalized space, proposed the elimination of the paved walkway on the east side of the park in favour of a “tiny forest of naturalized plantings”. 

That was immediately endorsed as an excellent idea by Lowe, who noted that the Quarry, at one time, had one of the last remnants of an oak savannah in the GTA.

“I think the idea of creating a forested edge is worth looking at, from our perspective,” Lowe said. “We would still be able to integrate a pathway…that would be a little more natural in surfacing. And could meander through, you know, a treed area, that would be an extension of both the naturalized buffer that we’re proposing just north of that, but it would also act as a buffer up against the existing open space. For all intents and purposes, that little swamp area is is always going to stay. It’s a registered wetland space with the Conservation Authority so I don’t think that that’s going to be able to be developed at anytime soon.”

Site of future Quarry park. Photo: John Smee/Bluffs Monitor

No off-leash dog park yet

There were several questions at the meeting about the lack of an off-leash dog area in the park, which is not surprising because local residents have been running their dogs in the Quarry for decades.

Photo: John Smee/Bluffs Monitor

Lowe explained that the city no longer designs new parks with off-leash dog areas.  He said they have to be installed in existing parks through a community application process and public sponsorship.

Diana Gakov, who represents a large group of Blantyre area dog owners, said in an interview with Birch Cliff News that she’s disappointed and confused.

Gakov’s group has participated in formal consultations with the city since 2019 about creating an off-leash dog area at Blantyre Park.

Despite two public meetings, a petition with almost 600 signatures, and a private meeting with Councillor Gary Crawford, the off-leash area was not approved by the time discussions were temporarily halted due to Covid.

Gakov said Crawford told them in March 2021 that an off-leash area would be going into the Quarry instead.

Crawford said in an email that he was caught off guard as well.

“I was both surprised and disappointed that an off-leash dog park was not included as part of these preliminary designs.  After meeting with City staff and the Blantyre Park Dog Owner’s Association, this site was identified as an alternate space for a new dog park. I have followed up with City staff and hope to meet with the association to discuss next steps,” Crawford said.

Despite reassurances that an off-leash area could be installed later, Gakov is worried there’s no room now.

“On the east side of the Quarry, they’re building all those townhouses. So it can’t be there. There are wetlands to be preserved, we have to make sure that not disturbed. The splash pad, or whatever. And at the time, curiously he (Crawford) said that there was a splash pad going in at Blantyre. It’s just really interesting is all,” Gakov said.

Dangerous street crossing?

Another thorny issue that’s still outstanding involves access to the park from the Blantyre and Hunt Club neighbourhoods south of the new development.

The stretch of road from Victoria Park to Warden along Gerrard St. E. and Clonmore Drive has been plagued with speeding problems, car crashes, and a tragic fatality that you can read about here, here, and here.

The speed limit has been reduced to 40 kph but there’s currently only a crosswalk at Blantyre and Gerrard and crossing can be tricky even at the best of times, confirmed by the aerial video below that was not shot during rush hour.  

Crawford told the meeting that it’s a “very dangerous crossover” 

Attempts by the city to improve the crosswalk have been tied up in legal wrangling with RioCan Holdings, the owners of the shopping mall at the corner of Victoria Park and Gerrard.

The matter is under appeal at the Ontario Land Tribunal and a win by the city could allow for a signalized intersection.

In the meantime, Crawford said he will be instructing Transportation Services at the next Scarborough Community Council meeting to report back on implementing improved safety measures.

Timeline and next steps

Local residents who would like to participate in the community engagement and design development process are being encouraged to fill out a survey about the park that can be found here.

The detailed design phase of the project will begin this spring. Construction of the project is anticipated to begin in the fall of 2023 with the park opening scheduled for Fall 2024.

Hedy Korbee is a Birch Cliff journalist.

The post Quarry park plan unveiled appeared first on Birch Cliff News.

Mediation appears to be the next likely step in a dispute over a proposed ten-storey condominium project in the heart of Birch Cliff.

The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) convened on Monday for its first meeting regarding the controversial condo proposed by Altree Developments at 1615-1641 Kingston Road, between Birchcliff and Lakeside Avenues.  

The online meeting was a designated Case Management Conference, a largely procedural session used to set dates for hearings, identify parties and participants and discuss the possibility of alternate dispute resolution.

Led by OLT member, Blair Taylor, a consensus emerged among lawyers representing the various parties that mediation would be an appropriate next step in the process. 

This means that the parties would have confidential discussions to try to come to a mutually acceptable settlement and preclude the need for a formal hearing.

The mediation could be facilitated by an OLT member or an alternate appointed by both the Chair of the OLT and the Ministry of the Attorney General.

“Possibility for a settled outcome”

Ian Flett, the lawyer for the Birch Cliff Village Community Residents Association, said disputes such as this one lend themselves to mediation because policies in Ontario generally support intensification.

“The application as it exists is very problematic. But I think most reasonable people could acknowledge that a mid-rise building could be built on that site at some point,” Flett said in an interview.

“There’s no question that my client is prepared to take this all the way through to a contested hearing, they’ve already hired a land use planner, they’ve identified issues to do with transportation planning, and the development in its current form, just won’t cut it. So if it’s needed, we go to a contested hearing for 10 days, and we hammer the table, we cross examine the other side’s witnesses, and we will do that. If on the other hand, there’s a willingness by the applicant, to have a candid conversation, to make some concessions, and of course, it’ll require concessions on our part and concessions on the part of the city and perhaps other parties, then there is the possibility for a settled outcome.”

The Ontario Land Tribunal case was initiated by an appeal from Altree Developments after it failed to get a decision on its planning application from the City of Toronto after the requisite 120 days.

With Altree as the appellant and the City of Toronto as the respondent, one of the goals of Monday’s meeting was to determine the other official parties in the proceedings.

The community association was successful in its bid for official party status as was the Toronto District School Board through its subsidiary, the Toronto Lands Corporation.

Birch Cliff resident John Hartley was granted party status in a personal capacity by the OLT because he lives adjacent to the proposed ten-storey condo.

However, Taylor reserved a decision on whether Hartley could obtain party status for two tenant organizations that he represents: Tenants Have No Rights Association and SOS Save Our City Association. 

Both organizations were incorporated in the last week and claim Hartley as the sole director.

He was told to submit in writing the reasons for his party status request as well as letters of patent, and a list of officers and directors.

Participant status was granted to all 89 residents who applied, which means their written statements will be considered by the OLT  but they don’t have the right to speak at the hearings.

Notably, TDSB trustee Parthi Kandavel was granted participant status with the caveat that he must speak as an individual and not in his capacity as a trustee or as a representative of parents.

The next one-day Case Management Conference will take place on May 18 to allow time for city staff to submit a report to Toronto City Council, which will take a vote on the city’s position.

Hedy Korbee is a Birch Cliff journalist.

The post Mediation appears likely in Altree development fight appeared first on Birch Cliff News.

The battle over a proposed ten-storey condominium project covering most of a city block on Kingston Road in Birch Cliff enters a new phase on Monday with a hearing before the Ontario Land Tribunal, formerly known as the Ontario Municipal Board.

At stake is the future of a prime piece of real estate located south of Birch Cliff Public School at 1615-1641 Kingston Road, currently occupied by affordable low-rise apartment buildings known as Lenmore Court.

The fate of two single-family homes at 50 and 52 Birchcliff Avenue also hangs in the balance.

On one side of the dispute are the Birch Cliff Village Community Residents Association and almost 100 individual community members who are seeking status from the tribunal to oppose the current iteration of the development at formal hearings. 

They argue, among other things, that the proposed condo is too tall and dense, encroaches on a single-family neighbourhood, and is a danger to the Scarborough Bluffs.

On the other side is Altree Developments, a powerful residential and commercial real estate builder that is investing heavily in Scarborough properties, and says the scale of the project is not unique on Kingston Road. 

Lenmore Court apartments. Photo: John Smee/Bluffs Monitor.

Meeting will be procedural

Monday’s Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) meeting is called a Case Management Conference.  It will be largely procedural to establish dates for future hearings, consider requests for party and participant status and explore the option of mediation.

The Birch Cliff Village Community Residents Association is seeking party status and has received $28,000 in local donations to hire a lawyer and a professional planner to represent the community at the hearings.

“When you go to the OLT process, it’s not realistic, in my opinion, that an association can represent itself well and really do it justice,” said Rob Carmichael, chair of the community association. “It’s a quasi-judicial process… you need a lawyer who can represent you appropriately in that scenario, who’s skilled in municipal planning.  And then you can’t expect to go to a hearing with just a lawyer, you’re going to need some evidence, you’re going to need expert witnesses. So we’ve hired a planner as well, to represent us throughout the process, but particularly at the hearing to provide the evidence.” 

Brian McConnell of Kildonan Drive is one of 89 local residents who’ve applied for participant status, which means he submitted a written statement but doesn’t have the right to speak at the hearings.

In an interview, McConnell said he’s in favour of development on Kingston Road but he’s upset that the new projects don’t adhere to the principles of the Kingston Road Revitalization study.

“The city spent good money on the study and the planners recommended four to six storeys. But six goes to seven, goes to eight, goes to 10. It’s frustrating,” McConnell said. “This one crosses a line. Is Altree going to build something there? Absolutely. And that’s fine. Just keep it reasonable. But they’re not. It’s too big, it’s too dense. The encroachment on Birchcliff Avenue, in my mind, is just crazy.”

Anti-development signs on Birchcliff Avenue.

Who else is seeking status?

The primary parties in the Ontario Land Tribunal process are Altree Developments and the City of Toronto.  

Monday’s meeting was triggered by an appeal the developer filed in August, based on timelines established under the Planning Act. 

Under those rules, municipalities have 120 days to make a decision on proposed Toronto Official Plan amendments such as the one that Altree is requesting. 

It’s not unusual for negotiations between developers and city planning staff to take longer than 120 days, which is what happened in this case.

In addition to the community association, the Toronto District School Board is also requesting party status to fully participate in the process.  

This comes after TDSB Trustee Parthi Kandavel told a community consultation meeting last March that the height of the building will eliminate sunlight and cast shadows over Birch Cliff Public School, affecting the health and safety of students.

One person who is not requesting participant status is Ward 20 Councillor Gary Crawford even though he was asked to do so by the community association.

Crawford has stated on many occasions that he opposes the development in its current form but said he’s received strong legal advice from the city that his participation could hurt the community’s case.

“The OLT or the tribunal does not look too kindly when you have what they would deem political influence. Because I’m still a decision maker, I’m still part of the decision-making process, and to have me put my name in as a participant in fact would probably hurt the process. So I made the decision not to do that. I didn’t want to put politics into this.”

Crawford will have an opportunity to voice his opinion when the matter comes to city council, which can happen in several ways.  

At some point after Monday’s OLT meeting, the city planning department will prepare a Directions Report for city council. 

Crawford said the report will consist of advice to the politicians from the professional planning and legal staff on how to move forward with the OLT process. The Directions Report will be brought to a vote at council, according to Crawford.

Latest proposal includes some changes

The development proposal under consideration by the OLT is slightly different than the version discussed at the public consultation meeting in March 2021 because the developer updated its submission in August.

The proposed condo is still ten storeys tall at the back, reaching a total height of 35.5 metres if you include the two-floor mechanical penthouse.

From the front, it’s nine storeys high and 32 metres with the mechanicals.

The land is currently zoned for a total height of 20 metres.

The overall number of units in the development has increased from 264 to 279.

Top: Current home at 50 Birchcliff Ave.
Bottom: Altree proposal.

Significantly, the developer is now proposing a separate four-storey apartment building on the deep lot at 50 Birchcliff Ave., where a single family house now stands. 

Altree’s last submission to the city also indicated the building will contain 32 affordable rental replacement units for existing tenants who are being displaced by the new condo. 

The tenants were previously told they would be rehoused in the ten-storey building.

The Toronto Official Plan doesn’t permit the construction of an apartment building on the footprint of a single-family dwelling because the land is designated as “neighbourhoods”.  

This is why Altree is seeking an amendment to the Official Plan in addition to rezoning for the ten-storey building facing Kingston Road.

Early in the process, the developer scrapped a plan that would have required the tenants at Lenmore Court as well as 50 and 52 Birchcliff to be rehoused about 1.5 miles outside of the community in Cliffside.

As he prepared for Monday’s OLT hearing, Rob Carmichael said he’s optimistic and hoping that common sense will prevail.

“The reality is that any reasonable viewer of this situation, anybody stepping back and looking at what the Official Plan says, looking at what the existing zoning is, looking at what the existing guidelines are for mid-rise developments, and looking at the existing character of the neighborhood, any reasonable individual would look this proposal and conclude that it is too big.”

The OLT Case Management Conference starts at 10 AM on Mon. Jan. 24 and can be watched here.

Hedy Korbee is Birch Cliff journalist.

The post Birch Cliff fights at Ontario Land Tribunal appeared first on Birch Cliff News.

The expansion is an exciting change for fans of chef Corbin Tomaszeski who’ve been ordering delicious takeout and delivery from cramped quarters on the south side of Kingston Road since the beginning of the pandemic.

The refresh places Corbin squarely in the middle of the trendiest block in Birch Cliff, anchored on one end by the elegant House and Garden Co. and on the other by the popular Birchcliff Coffee Bar.

In the near future, Grayson’s Rustic Bakery will be opening on the same block, enhancing the “go-to” vibe of that stretch of Kingston Road.

Tomaszeski said the expansion has been possible thanks to an “incredibly supportive” community that’s demonstrated a demand for high-quality food. 

“Between catering events and doing our takeout and delivery and filling the void of gourmet food in the neighbourhood, it’s time to move into a bigger space,” Tomaszeski said. “The joy is I get two birds with one stone. I get to keep the space I rent to use for production and make all our delicious food and offerings. And then 1670 [Kingston Road] will be the hub for offering incredible foods, gifts, and gourmet.”

Interior of Corbin Catering & Foods

“People don’t want to go downtown anymore”

When the store opens on Wednesday, Nov. 10, customers will notice a stunning transformation, especially since the space is beautifully decorated for the holidays.

Corbin will continue its line of gourmet takeout and delivery items including everything from soups, salads, entrees, side dishes, charcuterie boards, and share platters.  

The new shop will also feature a much wider assortment of packaged foods and pantry items.  

With the holidays around the corner, Corbin will be selling mincemeat tarts, sticky toffee pudding, brandy butter, and biscuits from the UK.

There will also be Italian panettone and pasta, truffles from Paris, Greek olive oil, and much more.

In addition, customers can purchase tableware and gift items such as candles, napkins, and serving pieces to add that special touch to their tablescapes.

“The idea is is people don’t want to go downtown anymore,” Tomaszeski said “They don’t want to try to fight the traffic and they don’t want to pay for parking. And our neighbourhood has got such an eclectic group of people that use these products and there’s nowhere for them to get them in our neighbourhood.”

“The Boardroom”

One of the highlights of the new space is “The Boardroom” — a beautiful exposed brick wall decorated with dozens of cheese and charcuterie boards of different textures, shapes and sizes.

Customers can choose a board and Corbin Catering will fill it with a tasty array of imported and domestic cheese and meats. And then they can bring the board back and do it again.

“It’s a showstopper on the table and people love it,” Tomaszeski said. “But now they’re part of the process. Now they get to personalize it. And no different than when you go to Starbucks and give them your favorite coffee mug to refill with coffee, now you’ll be able to take one of the boards that you purchased and bring it to me over and over again and say, “Okay, can you fill it with cheese and charcuterie?”

In 2022, once Corbin gets its liquor license,  the brick wall will also serve as a backdrop for a chef’s table experience for private bookings of up to 12 people. 

Pandemic pivot

It’s been a difficult couple of years for the retail sector and Tomaszeski has become a master of the pandemic pivot.

The former executive chef at Holt Renfrew, also well known for his appearances on Food Network, launched his catering business in the fall of 2019.

When catering gigs dried up due to the pandemic, Tomaszeski shifted to comfort food takeout and delivery. Next came special holiday meals, a small storefront with specialty items, and “ready to grill” foods for the summer.

He said he feels lucky to still be making a go of it at a time when many businesses have closed.

“Well, listen, we’re not making incredible money, but we’re making enough that we can expand the business and I can have more people work for me and we can service the community better. Am I getting two days off a week and going on vacation? No. I still buy my Lotto Max tickets.”

An assortment of products at Corbin Catering and Foods.

A step on the road to revitalization

The Corbin expansion represents another step in the rejuvenation of Birch Cliff that started more than a decade ago with the Kingston Road Revitalization Study and a shared vision for a “…vibrant, animated, and pedestrian-oriented main street, with new mid-rise, mixed-use buildings, and parks, squares and open spaces that reflect the arts, cultural and heritage attributes of the Birch Cliff community.”

Neglected storefronts that once blighted the neighbourhood are slowly being transformed into successful businesses by people like Daniel and Liana Narraine at the newly opened City Cottage Market, Mike Beck at The Kingston Social House, Matthew Kennedy at Kennedy Catering, Jennifer Narraine at Little Bugs Nursery, Caroline Pius at Luxe Home Decor, Karen Azucar at Salon O, and Olivia Peters at The Birchcliff.

There have been major bumps along the way including the furious ongoing debate over condominiums, but the community has benefitted from higher foot traffic, infrastructure improvements, streetscape enhancements, and rezoning to phase out legacy automotive industries.

Corbin Catering & Foods is now open Tuesday – Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM. Sundays from 10 AM to 4 PM. Closed on Mondays.

You can follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

The post Stylish expansion for Corbin Foods appeared first on Birch Cliff News.

Two more affordable apartment buildings in Birch Cliff have been targeted for redevelopment, which means there are now four proposed “demovictions” in the neighbourhood affecting tenants in a total of 155 rental units.

The latest buildings facing demolition are both four-storey walk-up apartments located at 1711 Kingston Rd.,at the southeast corner of Harding Boulevard, as well as 1336 Kingston Rd, west of Queensbury Avenue.

If the applications are approved, it means tenants in both of the buildings will have to find somewhere else to live for two or three years while the buildings are constructed before moving back into apartments of similar size and rent. Some of the costs are expected to be subsidized by the developer.

1711 and 1336 Kingston Rd. Photo: John Smee/Bluffs Monitor.

Peter Stanfield* has lived at 1711 Kingston Rd. for 13 years and pays about $1,000 a month for his two-bedroom apartment. He doesn’t relish the prospect of being forced out of his home in the midst of a pandemic.

“This whole ordeal just adds to the COVID stress,” Stanfield said. “Nobody’s really been able to work that much during the last year-and-a-half or more. The government money that they’ve been helping us out with is coming to an end as well. Then there’s the stress of having to face demoviction and nobody knows how long that could be.”

Rob Carmichael, chair of the Birch Cliff Village Community Association, said the city needs to do more to help tenants who are being demovicted into a market where rents are skyrocketing.

The association has been waging a robust fight on behalf of tenants at Lenmore Court and is paying close attention to the demolition of 54, 58, and 62 Glen Everest Rd. in Cliffside.

“To get equivalent space in Toronto today, they’re gonna be looking at paying 50% to 70% more than current,” Carmichael said. “They’re just picking off these buildings. And there is absolutely no plan. The plan is basically to give them some money, which is completely inadequate and then let them find something else. That’s not a plan. If we knew that development was going to happen on Kingston Road, and there’s a lot of affordable housing on Kingston Road, then why didn’t we plan for this? 

Properties such as 1336 Kingston Rd. are attracting developers because of the views of the golf course and Lake Ontario. Photo: John Smee/Bluffs Monitor.

Details of the applications

The site plan control applications filed with the City of Toronto for 1711 and 1336 Kingston Rd. indicate that both addresses will be redeveloped as purpose-built apartment buildings as opposed to condominiums.  

At seven and eight storeys respectively, they would exceed the current zoning, which permits a minimum height of two storeys and a maximum height of six storeys, not exceeding an overall height of 20 metres excluding rooftop mechanical penthouses.

According to City of Toronto planner, Kelsey Taylor, a proposal that does not comply with the current zoning but is consistent with the general spirit and intent of the zoning by-law is allowed to proceed as a minor variance provided it’s approved by the Committee of Adjustment.

This means that neither development requires approval from Scarborough Community Council or the full Toronto City Council.

Owned by a real estate asset management company

The owner of both buildings is NJS Capital, which is not a developer but a real estate asset management company that touts itself as “the new model for private equity real estate investment.”

The company described its philosophy as follows in a submission to the CondoNow website:

“We scour the market to find opportunities where our value-add strategy can generate superior risk-adjusted returns. We acquire mismanaged properties that occupy the best dirt in the city — all within 30 minutes of the downtown core.”

Tenants of 1711 Kingston Rd. said NJS Capital has owned their building for several years and they have their own complaints about mismanagement. They said they’ve had to fight with the company for routine maintenance, including repairs, hallway cleaning, and lawn mowing.

“This is not a developer coming in with a strong development mindset or vision… as to how they’re building a community. This is somebody literally wanting to turn a profit, a quick profit on real estate. The problem is that real estate is occupied by people paying affordable rent. I don’t think we should prioritize sort of what I’ll call real estate flipping over people’s homes,” Carmichael said.

Birch Cliff News contacted Ari Nemetz, principal and managing director at NJS Capital, to discuss development plans for the two buildings. He said he was not available for an interview before Sept. 10.

Councillor Crawford is “alarmed”

In an interview, Ward 20 Councillor Gary Crawford said he’s concerned about the growing number of low and middle-income tenants facing “demoviction” in Birch Cliff and all along the Kingston Road strip.

“I am very alarmed that this is taking place not only one or two [buildings], but it seems to be a pattern that is now taking place along Kingston Road with regard to rental replacement. I’m very alarmed and very concerned about this. And I now need to really look at this seriously and figure out the next steps, Crawford said.”

Crawford is organizing a meeting with the City of Toronto’s Housing Secretariat, which has a mandate to “create and maintain safe, affordable, rental and ownership housing for lower-income residents.”

The secretariat is expected to release a report this fall on “renovictions”, the practice whereby landlords illegitimately evict tenants under the guise of renovations but then don’t follow through, raise the rent anyway, and refuse to allow the tenants to return.

Crawford said he wants the city to explore a similar study of “demovictions”, like those happening in Birch Cliff.

Crawford also plans to meet with the city’s planning and legal departments to discuss several issues, including requiring development applications to include local rental replacement plans to reduce the impact on neighbourhoods.

By way of example, Crawford points to 2380 Kingston Rd., where a developer has purchased two properties. The developer is constructing a new apartment on a vacant lot and will use it to house tenants displaced from a pre-existing building while their building is under construction.

In the meantime, Crawford said the best opportunity for action is to negotiate strong tenant protection provisions on a site-by-site basis.

Instead of tenants being offered relocation money on a sliding scale based on their tenure in a building, Crawford said they should demand “rent gap payments” that cover all of their costs during temporary displacements.

Crawford said he also wants to explore the possibility of slowing down applications for the redevelopment of existing rental apartment buildings in order to allow further study on how to protect low and moderate-income tenants.

Densification debate

The plight of low and middle-income tenants is front and centre right now but bubbling under the surface is the overall densification of Birch Cliff, which has some people referring to Kingston Road as “Condo Canyon”.  

Development in the neighbourhood has been guided by the Kingston Road Revitalization (Birch Cliff) Study that was approved in 2010 after years of consultation with a community growing weary of its tawdry main thoroughfare.

Edward Nixon, a Birch Cliff resident and consultant with extensive community development experience in the St. Lawrence Market district, said what we’re witnessing now is a natural progression in the revitalization process.

He’s in favour of six to nine-storey mid-rise buildings on Kingston Road to improve walkability and the vibrancy of the community.

“A lot of people want the village feel and they want little local shops, but they don’t want any change and they don’t want any new people moving in. Emotionally, I get it. But practically, that kind of logic just falls apart because it just doesn’t actually work. The reason we’ve had empty storefronts in Birch Cliff is because no one’s patronizing the businesses,” Nixon said.

However, Rob Carmichael said the shared community vision that emerged more than a decade ago didn’t call for buildings this tall or the widespread displacement of tenants.

“It seems to us that affordable housing is being targeted, while the more obvious redevelopment spots are still there,” Carmichael said. “So the focus was meant to be on the businesses that haven’t existed for 20 years, or the awkward automotive used car sales or old garages. But the reality is that many of those still exist, along Kingston Road. And it’s been the affordable housing that’s been targeted. That wasn’t the intent of revitalization of Kingston Road.”

Crawford described what’s happening now as an unintended consequence that needs to be balanced to protect vulnerable tenants but also respect the rights of private developers.

“Can we have that balance between the desires and the needs of a growing city to have more people living there, but also acknowledging that there are people who still need to have affordable housing? We need to figure out how do we balance that out,” Crawford said.

* Peter Stanfield is a pseudonym. He is a tenant who asked that his name not be included in the story.

The post Two more apartment buildings face demolition appeared first on Birch Cliff News.

Birch Cliff is buzzing about the Aug. 1 opening of City Cottage Market, a small grocery/convenience store stocking all of the essentials plus an impressive list of locally sourced products from small-batch producers.

The store is located at 81 Haig Ave, west of Warden, just steps around the corner from Kingston Road.

The shelves will be filled with fresh fruit, vegetables, bread, eggs, butter, milk, pasta, sauces, frozen entrees, meal kits, condiments tea, coffee, snacks, and more.

It’s a dream come true for owners Daniel and Liana Naraine who live on Haig and jumped at the opportunity to open a curated local convenience store when a space came open at the top of their street.

“Our goal was always to focus on smaller brands that are local, especially, in light of the pandemic, we found that these people were struggling the most.  But we also found that that’s what people want. They want to support local, just as much as we do. The main premise is that everything is sourced within 100 kilometers of here. So, we’ll be selling Ontario produce from Ontario farms, Ontario dairy, and then all of our pantry goods are sourced from local companies, mainly small businesses in the GTA,” said Liana Narraine.

In addition to fresh produce, baked goods and dairy, Liana and Daniel have sourced a delicious array of mostly local pantry items:

• Comeback Snacks – flavoured popcorn made by Emily O’Brien, a woman who crafted her business plan in prison and now supports second chances for people transitioning back into society.
• Spade & Spoon –  a line of quality jams and preserves produced by third-generation farmers in Mount Forest.
• Neal Brothers – tortilla chips and salsa produced by brothers Chris and Peter Neal, who started their business in their mother’s kitchen 30 years ago.
• Stellar Eats –  grain-free, gluten-free, paleo-friendly baking mixes developed by a holistic nutritionist who struggled with disordered eating for many years.
• Kozlik’s Mustards – a perennial Canadian favourite, still family owned and operated after 74 years.
• Grinning Face – non-dairy gelato made in small batches from scratch in Cabbagetown.
• Elmhurst – a line of almond milk and oat milk that’s perfect for frothing and steaming.

Aiming for a “bodega” vibe

City Cottage Market coffee nook.

The atmosphere of City Cottage Market is stylish and a step beyond a convenience store.

There’s bespoke shelving, a cozy coffee nook next to a bay window, as well as a newly constructed balcony.

Daniel and Liana are hoping to achieve the vibe of a New York City “bodega”, where you can pick up that missing pantry staple, grab a latte at the same time, and have a chat with your neighbours.

“When you walk into a City Cottage Market, we want you to feel like walking into your house,” Daniel said. We want it to feel like you’re going home. And we want you to find everything that you need in a pinch, or things that you may not have tried before that might be fun to experience.”

Investing in themselves and their neighbourhood

Both Daniel and Liana are in their mid-thirties and work in high-powered jobs. Daniel sells software to large media companies for a firm based in New York and Liana manages a team of commercial underwriters at a large insurance company.

They say they feel fortunate to have full-time jobs that allow them to work remotely and invest some of their savings in a sustainable business.

“Luckily, we had some money in the bank, thankfully,” Daniel said.  “We decided, instead of investing in stocks, or anything else, we were truly going to invest in ourselves and our neighborhood and our future.”

“I think COVID really highlighted the fact that we’re both kind of tired of the grind, the high-pressure work for someone that is not us, like we don’t own the business. We wanted something that was our own that was more in line with our interests and that we’re just more passionate about, Liana added”

Entrepreneurship clearly runs in the family as Daniel’s sister, Jennifer, is the owner of the recently established Little Bugs Nursery, at the northeast corner of Kingston Road and Warden.

Daniel’s mother, Elaine, who also lives locally, will be helping behind the counter at City Cottage Market.

Banking on the future of Birch Cliff

Liana and Daniel are optimistic that their new business will succeed with the support of Birch Cliff residents who’ve been striving to improve walkability in the neighbourhood.

They’re not worried about the fruit and vegetable store that closed a few years back at Kingston and Warden because they say the demographic in Birch Cliff is changing along with the streetscape, in part because of the new condos.

They’re also not worried about Covid.

“I don’t think that’s been a part of our thought process. To be perfectly honest. We’re not trying to open it at a safe time. We’re not trying to beat a pandemic or work around it. I think we’re opening it out of pure necessity from what we’ve heard from the streets around us. There’s nowhere to walk. That, honestly, is just the whole reason we are opening it,” Daniel said.

City Cottage Market opens Sunday from 10 am – 4 pm.

During the week, their hours are 8:00 am – 6:00 pm. 

Order online from their website for pick up within 20 minutes.

You can follow City Cottage Market on Instagram and Facebook. 

The post City Cottage Market opens Sunday appeared first on Birch Cliff News.