"street wall" original sample in the Junction (1890)

....2856 Dundas Street West no word really needed, it is beautiful

2989 Dundas St W - rooftop warehouse addition

The renovation of facades of contributing buildings should

respect the original architectural style

The addition placed on top of 2989 Dundas St west; in the opinion of this author, whole fully disfigures the  Dundas St West and Pacific Ave street intersection.

Standing on any corner other than the south west corner provides the viewer with a massive warehouse type box sitting on top of historic building.

The larger question, however, surfaces again with this type of development renovation: Is this type of building change better or worse for the neighborhood than stronger rules at the municipal level to protect the historical core street scape of the Junction.

The City of Toronto has rules about renovations of new and renovated buildings stating they shall be designed  sympathetic to the district heritage attributes, through massing, rhythm of solids and voids, significant design features, and high quality materials [1. http://www.toronto.ca/heritagepreservation/pdf/hcd_queenwest_draft_guidelines.pdf]

Further the city guidelines state...

The renovation of facades of contributing buildings should respect the original architectural style.

Also the city states is values "street walls"

A “street wall” is a condition where buildings consistently line or front to the edge of a street.

This building renovation simply does not meet the guidelines, nor considers the character of the Junction

395 Weston Rd fire repairs (corrected post)

The automotive repair business at  393 Old Weston Rd was heavy damaged by fire in summer 2009, now extensive repairs have started.

30 Weston Rd. requires Tree Preservation and Archaeological Assessment

Informational post 2 on the 30 Weston Rd development

The creation of the retail power centre at the old Bunge Plant at St Clair west and Old Weston Rd has stated a city requirement to...

From city staff reports..

Tree Preservation

This application is subject to the provisions of By-law 780-2004, regarding tree

protection. The applicant has submitted an Arborist Report/Tree Preservation Plan, which

is currently being reviewed by staff.

Archaeological Assessment

The site is within the Interim Screening Areas for Archaeological Potential identified in

the Archaeological Master Plan of the City. The applicant has submitted a Stage 1 and 2

Archaeological Assessment Report. The submitted report indicates that there were no

archaeological resources found on site.

Tree Preservation

This application is subject to the provisions of By-law 780-2004, regarding tree protection. The applicant has submitted an Arborist Report/Tree Preservation Plan, which is currently being reviewed by staff.

Archaeological Assessment

The site is within the Interim Screening Areas for Archaeological Potential identified in the Archaeological Master Plan of the City. The applicant has submitted a Stage 1 and 2 Archaeological Assessment Report. The submitted report indicates that there were no archaeological resources found on site.

A 25 inch water main has broken,on Hillary Avenue in the Keele Street and Rogers Road

[caption id="attachment_5704" align="aligncenter" width="473" caption="The location this afternoon - looking south from Rogers Rd"][/caption]



The west end of Toronto water system has shown it's  age once again with the break of a pipe and the resultant flooding of a number of homes causing considerable structural damage to a number of homes.

Toronto Star article link

An oral history project dedicated to Toronto's first mosque

The  launch of    http://mosqueone.com/ ...an oral history project dedicated to Toronto's first mosque, which was located in a Junction storefront at 3047 Dundas West.

This is a most interesting site to visit, both for the written text and the photo gallery. the homepage has image of    Malcolm X visiting the mosque. 

Toronto Star article :

Submitted by David (some time ago sorry for getting it up so late)

30 Weston Rd. zoning approval some highlights

(v) that the non-residential gross floor area permitted for all individual retail stores

less than 232 square metres in size shall not exceed 10 per cent of the total

non-residential gross floor area on the lands;

(vi) that medical offices or a medical clinic having a minimum of 500 square metres

of non-residential gross floor area shall be provided and maintained on the lands

for the development having a minimum non-residential gross floor area of

40,000 square metre;

(vii) that vehicular access and pedestrian access to and from the development must be

provided from Weston Road (for clarity additional vehicular and pedestrian

access may also be provided from St. Clair Ave West and Gunns Road);

(viii) a minimum of 3.2 parking spaces per 100 square metres of non-residential gross

floor area shall be provided and maintained on the lands;

(ix) a minimum of 0.13 long-term bicycle parking spaces for each 100 square metres

of non-residential gross floor area shall be required, up to a maximum

requirement of 40 long-term bicycle parking spaces, shall be provided and

maintained on the lands (for clarity this clause does not limit the number of

long-term bicycle parking spaces that can be provided);

(x) a minimum of 0.25 short-term bicycle parking spaces for each

This is the 1st information post on the rezoning of

30 Weston Rd, detailing the conditions of the smaller stores  and some of the access details. The core of the rezoning is the deleting

the existing Industrial (I3) Zone and replacing it with the Industrial Commercial (IC).

from the staff report....

smaller stores of less than 232 meters not to exceed 10 percent

that the non-residential gross floor area permitted for all individual retail stores less than 232 square metres in size shall not exceed 10 per cent of the total non-residential gross floor area on the lands;

that medical offices or a medical clinic having a minimum of 500 square metres of non-residential gross floor area shall be provided and maintained on the lands for the development having a minimum non-residential gross floor area of 40,000 square metre;

that vehicular access and pedestrian access to and from the development must be provided from Weston Road (for clarity additional vehicular and pedestrian access may also be provided from St. Clair Ave West and Gunns Road);

a minimum of 3.2 parking spaces per 100 square metres of non-residential gross floor area shall be provided and maintained on the lands;

a minimum of 0.13 long-term bicycle parking spaces for each 100 square metres of non-residential gross floor area shall be required, up to a maximum requirement of 40 long-term bicycle parking spaces, shall be provided and maintained on the lands (for clarity this clause does not limit the number of long-term bicycle parking spaces that can be provided);

also the developer shall provide



Link: To amend the General Zoning By-law No. 438-86 of the former City of Toronto with respect to the lands municipally known as 30 Weston Road.

Parks and Rec.. requirements of the developer.

Prior to the issuance of the first building permit for the development, the owner will pay by cash or certified cheque the amount of $350,000 to the City, indexed to the CPI index from the date of registration of the Section 37 Agreement, to be

4

City of Toronto By-law No. 1203-2009 used for improvements to local parks and recreation facilities at the discretion of the General Manager of Parks, Forestry and Recreation in consultation with the local Councillor. Priority consideration will be given

Junction Meatpacking District on new year eve

Both meat plants on Ryding Ave had some activity on December 31 2009, during the mid evening.

It was just 12 years ago that people began talking about the transformation of the Junction into a trendy community.   At the same time most of the meatpacking district along St Clair disappeared. The Meat plants, replaced by townhouses on the north side and the  Maple Leaf/ Canada Packers meats research labs on the south side of St Clair Ave were taken down and retail stores built (Parts source &  Phamra Plus). Home depots front facing the  Canadian Tire  store was a swine unloading area with the pens being where the store interior is now.

In one of the surest signs of successful gentrification, debate more recently has surged over what to call the area located north of CPR tracks is too be called, with the traditional appellation of the area being the "Stock Yards District"  being discarded by the new residential residents, but not the retail interests such the The Home depot company which named their Junction store "stockyards store"

One name which may become common place because of the Toronto Parks department renaming on a local parkette  is "Upper Junction park"  the name they propose for the park. as a substitute for "the Stockyards  District" parkette. The Staff person at the city propsoing this name - Brenda Patterson, General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, maybe? has not visited the Junction to gain some understanding of  our culture both north and south of tracks - it's much the same.

Did Toronto Parks miss the thriving current meat packing industry, with Maple Leaf Foods back on the lot just south of their old research facility, the reuse for packing operations of the old Canadian dressed meats plant.

Shallow thoughts on what the Junction is and the allowing degeneration of the history and the benefits of that history to the present will surely destroy what the Junction is and  why the the revitalization is  occurring.

have an opinion on this  the parks contact person is...

CONTACT

Andrew Koropeski, Director, Parks, Tel: 416-392-7911, Fax: 416-397-4007,

Email: akoropes@toronto.ca

Andrew Koropeski, Director, Parks, Tel: 416-392-7911, Fax: 416-397-4007,

Email: akoropes@toronto.ca

and "the Meat Market".

...to remember the reason you did the beautiful, to bind up the awry, to cherish each leaf of memory to create knots of certainty which loop into unity with those you closely love