Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Interesting and unusual - Keelesdale Drive

[caption id="attachment_1827" align="alignnone" width="444" caption=""]Keelesdale Drive sat with tgis one house on it for many years next to the Kodac Plant[/caption]

Keelesdale Drive has sat on it -  this one house on it for many years next to the Kodac Plant, now with the plant gone and the site is to be developed by commercial developer Metrus Properties who purchased the land in 2006 for $19.5 million. Plans for the site have  not yet been released by the company.

This house is a sweet anomaly in the area, being the one and only residential building on the block. The area is not like the Mulock/Hirons area where industry and houses have co-existed for decades -  on Mulock Ave  some sites are part house and part factory with in the same building.

In addition The Loblaw Companies are seeking the right to place a car wash and gas bar of the opposite SW corner of this house - on the site of their No Frills Store {city file on this  - opens in new window}

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Toronto Star Article -Dundas West businesses between Dovercourt Rd. and Lansdowne Ave. fight to save parking spots

from the story...

Businesses on Dundas St. West say they will consider their legal options if Toronto City Council votes this week to eliminate rush-hour parking and cut other round-the-clock spots on their street between Dovercourt Rd. and Lansdowne Ave.

The city plan, which would also put pay-and-display parking on side streets and eliminate 51 permit-parking spots will devastate some small businesses, according to the Dundas West Business Improvement Area.

"It's difficult enough to run a live music venue – we're just worried this will put us over the edge," said Tracy Jenkins, general manager of Lula Lounge. "I really don't know if we could survive. We're already struggling with the economic downturn."

The city has justified its decision based on a TTC study that compared traffic flow in March 2006 to the same month in 2008, said Sylvia Fernandez, head of the BIA

complete story at the Toronto Star, {opens in new window}

wtjhs.ca - fall fund raiser, Wild, Wild, Junction, a Historical Mystery Tour

fall fund raiser, Wild, Wild,

Junction, a Historical Mystery Tour will tackle some of the great mysteries

of the Junction. Chief of Police Josiah Royce (Ron Clark) will lead a group

of adventurous souls from tavern to saloon as the Legends of the Junction

return to regale us with tales of the wide open railway town that was.

Perhaps the most intriguing mystery we’ll be following is what led the

Junction to ban the sale of alcohol for almost a hundred years.

We’ll begin with the suspicious death that led the town to its appointment

with abstinence. Once again, Chief Royce will investigate and ask Who

Killed Joe Curley? that night outside the Subway Hotel just north of Keele

and Dundas.

WWJ_webWild, Wild,

Junction, a Historical Mystery Tour will tackle some of the great mysteries

of the Junction. Chief of Police Josiah Royce (Ron Clark) will lead a group

of adventurous souls from tavern to saloon as the Legends of the Junction

return to regale us with tales of the wide open railway town that was.

Perhaps the most intriguing mystery we’ll be following is what led the

Junction to ban the sale of alcohol for almost a hundred years.

We’ll begin with the suspicious death that led the town to its appointment

with abstinence. Once again, Chief Royce will investigate and ask Who

Killed Joe Curley? that night outside the Subway Hotel just north of Keele

and Dundas.

Wild, Wild Junction, an Historical Mystery Tour. 2PM, Sunday, Oct. 25,

beginning at the Troubadour, 3071 Dundas West (south side just east of

Quebec.)

Full details see  this PDF WILD. WILD, JUNCTION

Long lived neigbourhood wall mural going

sept 29 040

At Keele St. and Rogers Rd. there has been for many years a wall mural on the side on building that contained a bar. The bar owner used the wall mural to communicate various items of interest about the bar and just stuff that aroused his interest.

The building was sold a few months ago and the new owner is applying stucco over the wall.

Monday, September 28, 2009

High Park Ave and Dundas St West traffic lights so unusual or not?

[caption id="attachment_5306" align="aligncenter" width="266" caption="The single light standard to stop the north bound traffic on High Park Ave at Dundas St West"]The single light standard to stop the north bound traffic on high park Ave at Dundas St West[/caption]

The configuration of the new light standards  comprising the new installation  of the traffic lights at High Park Ave and Dundas St West appears to be unusual to the writer of this post. The setup appears to have just one stop light standard to stop the north bound traffic on High Park Ave at Dundas St West. Is this an unusual design or not? anyone have an idea?

DSC00085

West Toronto Collegiate Institute to be closed and the land sold?

from the saveourschoolsTO@gmail.com flyer

SAVE OUR SCHOOLS!


Is West Toronto C.I. CLOSING?



What will this mean to our community?

neighbourhood school and community meeting   place- GONE! pool, excellent track and gym facilities- GONE! building fully accessible to the disabled- GONE! 8.5 acre urban green space- GONE! important public resource paid for by the Toronto taxpayers- GONE!

Once gone, the land and building will never come back!

Two Public Meetings:


330 Lansdowne Ave


one block north of College St.


Tues., Sept. 29th and  Thurs., Oct. 15th


7:00 to 9:00 p.m.


West Toronto Collegiate Institute                                                                cafeteria


.


Some of the many reasons why this school building is special can be found in the history section og the schools' Wikipedia page


The school was constructed and opened in 1972. The school was built on the former southern section of MacGregor Park. The football field is the former location of a lumber yard. The construction of the school necessitated the closing of the section alongside the school of St. Helen's Avenue. The siding of the building on the east and west sides of the building is unique. It was installed as "raw" steel and allowed to rust to reach the intended brown colour, then preserved. The school was originally named in 1972, by its students as West Toronto Secondary School.


The Junction Represents at Clean Train Coalition's Human Train

its-your-junction-with-jra-portal

The Junction Whistle stop at the Junction City Square on Saturday was a big success.  Thanks to Bill Heffernan and friends, who kept the crowd of over 100 entertained with their rousing and original train songs.  Thanks also to Neil Ross of the Junction Historical Society for theatrically educating those present about the history of the Junction and trains, Videoscope for donating the PA system and Agora Cafe for providing great and organic coffee, tea and cookies.  The Clean Train Coalition organized a great walk that culminated in a powerful rally at Sorauren Park, where over 1000 people attended and where politicians from every level as well as community organizers, including the Junction Residents Association, addressed the crowd.  The Junction banner stole the show, and may be on display in our neighbourhood doon for those who didn't get a chance to sign it.

[caption id="attachment_5305" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Junction Banner at Sorauren Rally"]Junction Banner at Sorauren Rally[/caption]

Here are some links to Tweets and news from that day:




Friday, September 25, 2009

start of construction event this morning for the The Village by High Park

Images from the  start of construction event this morning for the The Village by High Park, an Options for Homes' new affordable homeownership condominium project in the Junction.

The Options for Homes' people stated the project was the largest affordable home ownership project in Canada.

DSC04782

...above a view of the building from the normally fenced off.

[caption id="attachment_5301" align="aligncenter" width="473" caption="The concrete and digs "]DSC04801[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_5302" align="aligncenter" width="473" caption="The construction crew watches the action"]The construction crew watches the action[/caption]

3077 Dundas St West - the old handy man shop has a lot of work occuring

[caption id="attachment_5295" align="aligncenter" width="473" caption="Removal of old fire escape this week"]Removal of old fire escape this week[/caption]

DSC00063
h 001

basement lowering?



3077 Dundas St West the old handy man shop has a lot of work occurring. Working from a Decemeber 2008 building permit, the ground floor interior has been gutted and the east side fire escape removed, and now some excavation work is being done in the basement.

The building also has a number of  variances approved by the Ontario Municipal Board Committee are as follows:

1.

To provide two on-site parking spaces whereas the Zoning By-law requires four on-site spaces;

2.

To permit an entrance to a second commercial ground floor unit from a flanking street (Quebec Avenue) whereas the Zoning By-law does not permit commercial uses to gain entrance from a flanking street;

3.

To permit a commercial use depth of 6.5 metres, measured from the front wall, whereas the Zoning By-law requires a commercial use on the main floor to have a depth of 7.5 metres; and

4.

To permit a setback of four metres from the south abutting residential lot (457 Quebec Avenue) whereas the Zoning By-law requires that a mixed use building should be set back 7.5 metres from a lot in a residential or park district.

The Committee’s approval of the variances was subject to the following condition:

Prior to the issuance of a building permit, the applicant shall enter into a boulevard parking agreement with the City to use the boulevard for parking purposes, to the satisfaction of the Manager, Traffic Planning and R.O.W. Management, Transportation Services, Etobicoke York District.
The variances approved by the Committee are as follows:

1.

To provide two on-site parking spaces whereas the Zoning By-law requires four on-site spaces;

- 2 - PL060706

2.

To permit an entrance to a second commercial ground floor unit from a flanking street (Quebec Avenue) whereas the Zoning By-law does not permit commercial uses to gain entrance from a flanking street;

3.

To permit a commercial use depth of 6.5 metres, measured from the front wall, whereas the Zoning By-law requires a commercial use on the main floor to have a depth of 7.5 metres; and

4.

To permit a setback of four metres from the south abutting residential lot (457 Quebec Avenue) whereas the Zoning By-law requires that a mixed use building should be set back 7.5 metres from a lot in a residential or park district.

The Committee’s approval of the variances was subject to the following condition:

Prior to the issuance of a building permit, the applicant shall enter into a boulevard parking agreement with the City to use the boulevard for parking purposes, to the satisfaction of the Manager, Traffic Planning and R.O.W. Management, Transportation Services, Etobicoke York District.

The Proposal

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Enterprise Rent-A-Car building wants a third party income producing sign.

Huge GROUND sign possibly on the way...

The Enterprise Rent-A-Car building at 3441 DUNDAS ST. WEST has applied to the city for the right to place a 10' x 40' illuminated, third party ground sign on site.

from the cities status site...










































































Application:Zoning ReviewStatus:Not Started
Location:3441 DUNDAS ST W
TORONTO  ON  M6S 2S5
Ward 13: Parkdale-High Park
Application#:09 166400 ZPR 00 ZRAccepted Date:Sep 8, 2009
Project:Non-Residential BuildingSign
Description:PUBLIC - PRELIMINARY PROJECT REVIEW, Due Date is 06-OCT-09, >>Proposed 10' x 40' illuminated, third party ground sign on site of existing commercial building.
Back to Search Results page

Village by High Park - Start of Construction event this morning at 10 am

...well construction started a while ago, but getting all these people together at a time when the building in peeking up above the ground is great.

...from the Media Advisory


TORONTO, Sept. 24 /CNW/ - Members of the media are invited to attend an event to celebrate the start of construction of The Village by High Park, an Options for Homes' new affordable homeownership condominium project in Toronto.


Lois Brown, Member of Parliament for Newmarket-Aurora, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; Mario Sergio, Member of Provincial Parliament for York West and Parliamentary Assistant to the Honourable Jim Watson, Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; and Councillor Gord Perks, Ward 14 Parkdale-High Park, on behalf of Mayor David Miller, will attend the ceremony.




    Date:     September 25, 2009
Time: 10 a.m.

Location: 403 Keele Street (Dundas Street West and Keele Street)
Ceremony will be held at the North end of Indian Grove
Toronto, Ontario

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

West End Food Co-op's final public map-making, Wednesday September 23rd

West End Food Co-op's final public map-making
workshop!

This wrap-up workshop will be taking place Wednesday September 23rd
from 5:30-8:00pm at the Japanese Paper Place, 77 Brock Street (just south of
the train tracks).

We have held more than 10 community food mapping workshops and sessions in
Parkdale this summer and are excited and inspired by everyone's interest in
improving our community food system. To see reports and maps from all of these
events, please visit: http://westendfood.coop/map-your-food#attachments

This final workshop will be a fun and important opportunity to look at all of
the maps created this summer, talk about next steps, and create a shared
picture of food in Parkdale.

Whether you have attended past mapping events or not, your voice and ideas are
important for building a better food community! I have attached a flyer for
this event, and hope you can share it with others who might be interested or
whose voice should be heard.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Want to be involved in the planning & execution of the 2010 Junction Arts Festival???

arts fest logo junction

Come to the Junction Forum for Art and Culture's Annual General Meeting:

October 1, 2009
7 - 8 pm
Corner of Dundas & Pacific Aves
Train Station platform


We will be accepting applications from interested people to join the board of directors. A sign up sheet will be available at the AGM, however, it is a competitive application process and we currently have a limited amount of vacancies.

The Junction Forum for Art and Culture (JFAC) is an incorporated, non-profit organization whose main project is the development and presentation of the annual Junction Arts Festival. The JFAC Board is made up of cultural producers, artists, residents, business owners and politicians all of whom are connected in some way to the Junction.

JFAC is supported by the Toronto Arts Council, the Department of Canadian Heritage and private sponsors.

www.jfac.org
www.junctionartsfest.com

Soil testing at site near St Clair Ave. West and Runnymede Rd.. this past Friday

sept 18th 2009 047sept 18th 2009 037

Friday September 18th there was a considerable effort being made drilling to test the soil conditions on the auto center site at St Clair Ave. west and  Runnymede Road.

Two different drilling rigs worked on the site. Testing the site at this time when St Clair Ave. west is being revamped and upgraded has the blog wondering... is the site being sold as a development site ?, or simply being sold or tested for some form of  financing.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Railpath 30-Minute Clean-up

Blog reader Kevin sent in this post.

 

 

Railpath 30-Minute Clean-up –


A group of volunteers is meeting on Wednesday evening (Sept. 23) at 6:45 p.m. at the foot of the Wallace Street bridge to clean-up the garbage on the West Toronto Railpath.

If you would like to join us, just bring a pair of work gloves and we will provide the bags. It’s a great opportunity to do something nice for the hood, meet a few neighbours, get a little exercise and make the place look better for the hundreds of people who are using the trail everyday.

Junction Houses Continue to Sell

[caption id="attachment_5278" align="alignnone" width="150" caption="453 Pacific Ave"]453 Pacific Ave[/caption]

There were actually multiple offers for this newly renovated house at Vine and Pacific, proving that the Junction is still a hot spot.  The agent did well to schedule the open house during the Junction Arts Festival.  The house has been in constant reno status since it was bought, and the sellers made a good investment.  It just kind of sucks for the proud buyers when they have their photo taken with the 'Sold' sign and it also says 'Over Asking'.

Friday, September 18, 2009

2803 DUNDAS St West to be carwash with the communites consent

[caption id="attachment_5272" align="aligncenter" width="473" caption="Robert Chang speaking to the group"]sept 16th 2009 Mcbride meeting 009[/caption]

While the proposed car wash at 2803 DUNDAS St West – which is the old McBride’s store site, was a right of use application, the developer of the site met with the community Wednesday Sept 16th .

The overall result of the meeting was the community’s acceptance of the development of the car wash. Many questions were asked about safety, noise and traffic flow, with the answers deemed acceptable by the members of the community who attended.

The developer stated the car wash was only temporary use of the land during recessionary period we are now having, His chosen architect Robert Chang spoke about the need to maximize the value of the property lot for his client in the future, he clearly did not say the final building with the present owner on the site would be a condominium building.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Today the day the big yellow traffic lights go up at High Park and Dundas St west.

sept 16th 2009 Mcbride meeting 030

Beacon contracting has two workers attaching the yellow traffic lights to poles today. Signalling the ever moving forward installation of the light system. At this time they have run the wires under the road and placed the poles.

Uncomplimentary elements of the Railpath

post submitted by blog  reader SP



As a daily rider of the new rail path I'm left with one question:

Where are the garbage bins?  Garbage has begun to pile up in the form of
Mcdonalds trash, dog poop in bags and endless bottles.  Is there no
maintenance of the path?

uncomplimentary elements of the Railpath

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Reminder: Junction Residents Association Public Meeting this Thursday

After hosting a very successful booth at the Arts Festival, the JRA is expecting a big turn-out at our next meeting at the West Toronto Baptist Church, 3049 Dundas West.

Agenda will include:

  • Reports from our sub-committees: Urban Development, Parks, Safety and Green

  • Summary of our upcoming November elections and accompanying events

  • The Sept 26th Clean Train Coalition's Human Train stop in the Junction

  • And Open Forum, of course.


Remember, if you can't make it in person, you can attend our meeting via webcast, by visiting our website.

Thanks,

Junction Residents Association

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Mom to Mom sale Sat, 19 Sep 2009 9:30 am to 12 pm

[caption id="attachment_5264" align="aligncenter" width="309" caption="click image to go to the Junction Parents blog fro details"]click image to go to the Junction Parents blog fro details[/caption]

The amazing new Parkdale Village Business Improvement Area Capital Design Strategy

The 97 page report about the Parkdale Village Business Improvement comprehensive streetscape audit and strategy is an interesting read for people concerned with a strategy for community development.

The Junction also requires such a study, getting one started which has been spoken about for a lot of people needs to happen if the community is to have input into the "development" of the community.

from the report...


In 2008, the BIA Board of Management agreed to undertake a comprehensive streetscape audit and strategy in order to develop a framework for consistent treatment to the public realm within their boundary. A Steering Committee of the Board oversaw the development of the strategy that included input from the BIA general membership and other local stakeholders. The BIA Board subsequently adopted the Parkdale BIA Capital Design Strategy, as prepared by Urban Strategies and Victor Ford and Associates, at its February 2, 2009, meeting.

DECBEMBER 2008 report - opens PDF in new window

Staff report opens PDF in new window

Mavety Milk Mart and Junction Gentrification

Post submitted by Martin L. the Junction Residents Assoc.  development group leader

2881 to 2887 Dundas Street West which is better known as the Mavety Milk Mart to locals and The William Rowntree Building to historians is undergoing a Zoning Review.  The building application proposes to convert 3 offices on the 2nd floor to a yoga studio and convert two apartments on the same level into one. The 1st floor and partial 3rd floor will not be renovated under this proposal.

Originally built in 1901 this historic building is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.  The renovation of the site continues a trend in the Junction of creating new employment space along with combining smaller apartments into one large unit.

The employment and new business is always welcome but the larger apartments are a sure sign of gentrification.  While these new apartments are a great place to live they have the unfortunate side effect of displacing the former tenants who inevitable leave their community for cheaper accommodations.

This Thursday at the JRA meeting I’m leading a discussion on urban development in the Junction.  The focus will be on stabilizing development and creating a plan for our ever evolving community. Come out and voice your opinion and help shape the Junction.

JRA Community Meeting

September 17th 2009, 7pm to 9pm

West Toronto Baptist Church (across from Axis)

3049 Dundas Street West

Sunday, September 13, 2009

61, 63 and 67 Vine a new townhouse lot cleanup started over the weekend

DSC04307

People were removed the furniture, and just plain junk that is in one of houses on this now development site. Yet why not place all this directly in the dumpster?

One gone... :-( one up :-) ... residents groups in the community

after receiving an email about the

Mulock Avenue Residents’ Association recently new blog at

http://mulockresidents.blogspot.com/

the blog went and read the posts, all great with a real rate payers association feel.

stuff on simple and important things - like parks waste cans and real useful contact info..

take a look .


SOUTH JUNCTION TRIANGLE RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION - DEFUNCT

Sad yet somehow telling as many RA's in the community have very few people attend their meetings, always the blog wonders, why?

from the notice...

The SJTRA has not met for well over 1 year and has basically come to
an end.  After the May 2008 public meeting, there was only a small bit
of action among the committees, but everything has been quiet since.
Several attempts were made to spur the group back into action, but
nothing has proceeded.


Although the association has come to an end,  the website (will keep) going as a community resource so that everyone can still
communicate online.


This leaves a gap in the neighbourhood, as there is no "residents
association" that encompasses the entire area.  There are still some
other very worthy groups in the area though, and you can still get
involved with them.  For example, the South Perth and Sterling
Residents Association, DIGIN, Fuzzy Boundaries


emailed by Vic Gedris - www.southjunctiontriangle.ca webmaster

Thursday, September 10, 2009

30 Weston Rd. demos some of the last Junction industry process tanks

fall halifax di nh 2008 234



fall halifax di nh 2008 235


The process tanks at 30 Weston Rd have been dropped to the ground using a machine to demo the concrete structure of the building - literally and the contractor is cutting them apart. These process tanks stopped being used just over a year ago and the only other large process tanks in a plant off Symes Rd. stopping being used in the past 60 days.


We now have the sad opportunity of see the last remnants of a Junction industry type fade away - the process industry.



Dunking Dignitaries for Art at the Arts festival this weekend

why not ?


Dunking Dignitaries just doesn't go far enough in the simple opinion of this post author. Dunk_Tank_June_2002

It would be alot more fun to dunk various "involved types" in the Junction with Neil Ross providing the comedic commentary. Although comment  for the elected members would pale  with the batter  that will fly with their constituents.

So why not dunk,

Neill of Pandemonium books

Fernando Freitas of The Academy of Realist Art

Janet DiBernardo of Latitude 44 Gallery

Martin Short of Forever Interiors

?


Outside West Toronto Paint Saturday and Sunday


their press release

WEST TORONTO PAINT & WALLPAPER


CELEBRATING 100 YEARS


DUNKING DIGNATARIES FOR ART AND YOUTH IN THE JUNCTION



West Toronto Paint and Wallpaper will be the site of an exercise in watery democracy at the Junction Arts Festival on Saturday Sept. 12 , 11am-4pm at the company’s Dundas and Pacific location (2975 Dundas Street West.)

Splash a politician or a local luminary into the drink to beautify the Junction and support young artists.

THE JUNCTION DUNK TANK @ WEST TORONTO PAINT & WALLPAPER



One ball for $2. Two balls for $5.

Proceeds go the Junction Residents Association, who with the West Toronto Junction Historical Society and Boom Times Cabaret are producing Boom Times Spring Fling in 2010.

B00M TIMES SPRING FLING



This project will employ professional artists to work with Junction students to create original art and theatre based on Junction history for display and performance next June.   The program will enhance a greater sense of Junction identity and provide creative positive outlets for local youth, as leave lasting artistic monuments in visual art, theatre, and music.

West Toronto Paint and Wallpaper is celebrating the 100th anniversary of this unique Junction family business, which has served and beautified the Junction since 1909.

For more information on West Toronto Paint and Wallpaper at the Junction Arts Festival or other info, please email: tara@westtorontopaint.ca

To find out more about the Boom Times Spring Fling and artists in the schools: please email culture@junctionra.ca.

Street level articles about in the city publications concerning the Junction

Two great and thought depth articles about the Junction

upside of being on the downside Eye Weekly by Shawn Micallef

excerpt....

... this is housed in a remarkable stretch of some of the finest buildings in Toronto. The upside of being down for so long is that development was slow here, preserving these buildings. Many shop windows seem like they haven’t changed since the 1970s and have a film-set quality. Change, though, is inevitable as The Junction increasingly becomes the place to be. What will happen to these shops and some of the long-time residents is unclear, but perhaps the best thing the neighbourhood has going for it is the slow speed of its change. There is still time to think in The Junction

Getting caught in a Junction

the varsity by Rae Matthews

excerpt....

“But the Junction is still uncool, too far west, gritty, dysfunctional,” she remarks. “They haven’t figured out how to market ‘detention centre’ condos yet, but when they do...”

and get the Junction smeared (not good in the blogs opinion to high light the junction in this manner) all over network television


CTV show W5 tapping in Junction tonight

the CTV show W5 is inviting residents to discuss the Scala's and their bullying of the neighbourhood tonight at 5:30pm sharp at MP Autobody parking lot, 490 Quebec Ave.

They want to hear comments about what people experienced and the fight to reclaim the neighbourhood. They will be video taping the meeting for a segment.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Junction Arts Festival opening lastnight

sept 8th 2009 017

The image above is a pre peak at the juried art at the festival in the Academy of Realist Art (ARA). The open fest of the festival is tonight at the train station at Pacific and Dundas St West.

Also, could please highlight the Official Opening of the Festival and Reception/Party taking place on Wed, Sept 9th at 7 pm at the Junction City Square, the The mayor may be attending this event as well with Bill Saundercook Ward 13 Parkdale-High Park Councillor.

The festival runs for five days; from opening night celebrations on Wednesday, September 9 (09/09/09) to closing day on Sunday, September 13, along Dundas Street West, from Keele Street to Quebec Avenue.

61, 63 and 67 Vine a new townhouse lot

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="444" caption="The majestic eves line of 67 Vine Ave, which will be lost in the redevelopment of the three lot sites the buildings sit on, and the waste that was common on all three lots of the site"]The majestic eves line of 67 Vine Ave, which may be lost in the redevelopment of the three lot site the building sits on, and the waste that was common on all three lots of the site[/caption]

61, 63 and 67 Vine were sold recently and reader SP has just sent in this update with information on what currently in the works for the site and his opinion of the state of affairs that will occur with this change.

Post submitted by SP.

The row of shanty houses on Vine that were recently sold.  The two leaning houses and the one that was on fire last year have all been boarded up and some men who were cleaning up the
property recently said that the structures would be torn down and 6 townhomes going up in their place.  That only leaves 2 shanty houses to go.  The residents of Vine are happy to welcome this change to what has been an eyesore for many years now.  Our street will look nicer and the riff raff that hung out in these abandoned houses will hopefully be replaced by families both young and old.  Sadly the brick house could not be saved but there are a lot of other structures in the area that have been restored in recent months and I hope that is enough to please the naysayers of development.

Shoppers footfall wear marks the floor

sept 8th 2009 012

sept 8th 2009 014

The impact of thousands of  footfalls on the floor of the building that once held the local Shoppers Drug Mart are quite evident in the now cleared out space.

Empty ever since the drug store moved out, the store is one of largest in the core Junction retail strip.  A disused store in the Junction is rather simple when compared to the disused factories which are now being demoed in  the greater Junction area. Simple plumping fixtures piping is still in place in the dispensing area, and a small business office hidden behind the east wall of the old store section. And  that’s  about it.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

30 Weston Road – Public Meeting - Monday September 14

[caption id="attachment_5197" align="aligncenter" width="473" caption="Removal of the last parts of the Bunge Plant on the site where the new mall will be built"]Removal of the last parts of the Bunge Plan on the site where the new mall will be built[/caption]

Submitted by Martin L.

The developer of the proposed shopping centre on the NW corner of Weston Road and Keele Street are hosting the first public open house for this fifty-two thousand square meeting development.



Come and see the plans for one of the largest current developments in west Toronto.  City staff and the developers will be on hand to answer questions and listen to concerns.



The meeting is Monday September 14, 2009, 7:00 pm at the York Civic Centre, 2700 Eglinton Avenue West (Council Chambers)

Wise Daughters Craft Market Junction Arts Festival events

About_top

Don’t miss the opening of Lisa Pijuan-Nomura’s exhibition Sleeping Cats and Other Stories this Wed 6:30 – 8:30 with storytelling, dance and spoken word performances based on her spectacular collages.  Free.

from her site...

Lisa Pijuan-Nomura is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Toronto. She has performed theatre, dance, comedy, song and puppetry in Canada, Czech Republic, Austria, Mexico, and Ireland for the past 12 years. She is currently focused on combining storytelling, dance, sound and visual art to create dynamic performance pieces.



On Thurs at 8:00 Greg Thomas performs his uniquely hilarious I Never Cared for Swimming: The Effects of Swiss Timekeeping on Global Water Levels.  Please reserve as space is limited.  Pay what you can.



All day Sat and Sun (rain or shine) you can design and make your own buttons at the shop

Royal Meat Bbq - local west BBQ restaurant 710 Kipling Ave

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Royal Meats  BBQ at 710  Kipling Ave caught the eye of this post author simply because of it's stylish revamping of what once was a coffee shop. This place appeared  so well designed  seemed from the roadway and y wanting find a new place to eat in locally in the west end, while making a left hand turn it was decided to have dinner there.

The service was great, and the menu choices designed in  manner that you choose a from a front counter set up like a butcher shop.  In addition to the unique menu, the place has custom designed chairs and possibly tables, which are a interesting blend of water of laser cut thin aluminium sheet and steel, with the steel being powder coated a grey black smooth finish. The restaurant has a smooth colour palate   that blends everything wonderfully together.

Royal Meats Goggle Image search

Link to their ad video - it is worth the look as they provide their farm to restaurant model

link to menu open web page of a PDF

Review at Chowhound

Saturday, September 5, 2009

upcoming West Toronto Junction Historical Society Events

Thursday September 10  at Annette Street Public Library

7:30 p.m. Business Meeting

8:15 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.“Library Service in West Toronto Junction, 1887-2009”  An illustrated presentation by Barbara Myrvold, Toronto Public Library, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Western/Annette Street Branch.

September 9 – 13

Junction Arts Festival

Come join in the fun.  The WTJHS will be there with its historical display and membership details.

September 12

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Celebrate One Hundred Years of the Annette Street Library on Saturday September 12 beginning at 9:00 a.m.

September 13

2:00 p.m.

On the Sunday of the Junction Arts Festival join Neil Ross who will lead an Arts and Letters tour of the Junction leaving from the WTJHS booth.  Meet  the swashbuckling poets and pioneer painters who gave the Junction its voice.

Thursday, October 1 at Annette Street Public Library

7:30 p.m. Business Meeting

8:15 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.“A Scenic Tour and Short History of Newfoundland”, an illustrated talk by Ruth Dobb.

Sunday October 25 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Wild Wild Junction, an historical Mystery Tour.  WTJHS fall fund raiser and pub crawl.  Chief Josiah Royce investigates the “Death of Joe Curly”; “Harlotry, Iniquity, and Vice”; the “Heydon House Brawl” and “Last Call in the Junction”.  Get your tickets for a fascinating glimpse of the other side of Junction history , beginning at the Troubadour Tavern, 3071 Dundas Street West at Quebec Avenue.  Route and times may vary please check wtjhs.ca for details.  To obtain tickets for this event send a cheque or money order to WTJHS, 145 Annette Street, Toronto,ON. M6P 1P3.  Tickets are $25.00 each.

Junction Arts Festival 2009 concerts

2009 festival headline



The Junction Arts Festival concerts for 2009 , taking place at the Junction City Square, on Thurs, Fri, and Sat evenings starting at 7 pm with the lead performer, This year Festival Director Michael Menegon worked with Justin Rutledge, to program the Saturday evening lineway, to provide a unique music evening.

link to the main stage page at the Junction Arts Festival Site

Friday, September 4, 2009

Concourse Restaurant / Galaxy Donuts Update

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Post by Martin L.

The scaffolding is still up around 2853 Dundas Street West but the new face of an old building is already visible and I like what I see.

The missing brickwork has been restored, the facade is retuned to its original brick and the Thompson Block looks to be on its way to being one of the best buildings in the Junction and a great example of building restoration.2853 Dundas Street West - Sept 1 -02

According to their website the restoration company, Micro Clean is also responsible for other restoration projects in the Junction including the West Toronto Paint building on the corner of Pacific and Dundas.

Hopefully the building owner on the North West corner of Keele and Dundas will take notice and schedule his building soon.

During this project much has been said about the street level tenants and the cliental of the Concourse Restaurant.  Hopefully this project will motivate the restaurant owners to match the building exterior and cleanup the inside up for the enjoyment of its existing customers and the rest of the community.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

orange telephone a call for attention to the issue?

[caption id="attachment_5144" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="photo credit http://www.thedetroiter.com"]photo credit http://www.thedetroiter.com[/caption]

Commenter A.R pointed out the possibility  and commenter Liz provided in the comments section this most probable reason for the orange telephone.

The practice started in Detroit by painting the abandoned houses bright orange so that people would notice and have them removed before they collapsed and hurt someone. Someone must have learned about it, and is using the same tactic for: “Look at this! It’s abandoned and doesn’t work, don’t ignore it get Rid of it.” (usually works too)  Liz

the blog Googled it and hers an article at the thedetroiter [link]

So whoever did this ......keep going, (and send the blog the location so we can get a picture), hopefully this will cause action to have the non working telephones  removed

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The Village by High Park, digs south west corner

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The Village by High Park condo development is digging the south west corner - readying to place footings and  place the 1st walls in this area. With this dig and the footings the development will have concrete on their entire footprint.

Currently the site has about three floors of concrete poured in most areas. From the south view the project has already started to block out the grain silos from the view.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Junction building repair and building update for the area around Pacific Ave.

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Facade improvement activities in the Junction continue with the building located on the southwest Dundas St. West and Pacific Ave which houses the local candy shop having the paint removed from the brick.

The back of the building looks wonderful with the paint removed; now we have to wait and see to what degree the repair to actual damaged bricks will take place.

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This image of the rear of the old Stereo King store location at 2989 Dundas St west. While detailing the progress of the project., the image also signals a question of why they choose add a third floor rather than extend the second floor out to the back of the 1st floor building. The staircase to the 3rd floor will eat up a lot of floor space at the 3rd floor level for such a small floor plate addition.

Orange telephone - could not whatever statemnet been attempted be made elsewhere with this paint

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The public telephone at the south west corner of Dundas St. West and Pacific Ave. has been painted orange recently; while it looks nice as an orange patch it does nothing for the perceived value of the community towards itself.

This does not appear to be a Bell Canada pay telephone, which causes wonder how long it will stay this way.