Old Canada Bread factory photo grouping of opening up of formerly bricked up back windows.

1st much thanks to reader Jimi Fir alerting the blog to this.

The factory now being converted into artist studios has a wonderful transformation at its rear.

The windowed bricked up
For so long are being shod of their bricks.


Inside the northern most space.


Inside looking towards the CPR tracks at doors that once held the opening for the waste doors for the bakery.


Track side view

Toronto Park Summit this coming Saturday May 12th, the junctioneer blog will be posting updates from the event all day

Organized by Park People, on Saturday, May 12 at the Brickworks, starting at 1 p.m. Keynote speaker is Robert Hammond, co-founder of the famed High Line elevated park in Manhattan.

You can attend - Registration is free (and/or PWYC) but space is limited.

Click here to register







Pls remember to uses www.junctioneer.ca to visit this blog.

Good save of beautiful oriel window building front by building owner

This building housing Scandinavia and I hear now Japanese furniture and designer maker objects has won a coup with its present owners. After an extended period fronted with scaffolding, now removed the wonderfully designed front outcrop is still there.

This architectural feature on this building has long been a prize in the facade treatments of the Junction.

Great to see it remain.

Mjölk (Milk) pure, honest, and essential. Mjölk represents designers from ... Located in the Junction neighborhood of Toronto. Mjölk. 2959 Dundas St W; Toronto Canada. 416-551-9853 ...

Location:The Queensway,Toronto,Canada

1844 Bloor St. W. Bloor Street condo development focus meeting

 



 

Bloor Street condo development focus of meeting

Councillor Sarah Doucette is arranging a community consultation meeting to discuss the condominium development proposed for 1844 Bloor St. W. on Thursday, March 1 at Humberside Collegiate Institute's Lismar Hall from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The purpose of the meeting is to initiate a consultation process. City of Toronto planning staff will be seeking a small group of community volunteers to participate in a design working group.

House flippers and multi tenant landlords please leave the Junction.

The Junction in the news has not been so faltering lately, with the ongoing and seemingly endless episodes of the father and son harassment series, which must be leaving some reality TV exec, thinking show. (we do have one living in the Junction)

Add to this the article this past weekend in The Toronto Star about the house flipping ring of a lawyer and associates, we just are not looking good.

Throw in the cities I'll will to stop people from converting the houses to illegal multi unit apartments , and simply raise the taxes on the properties rather than enforce second suite law.

This does little to make the community more livable.

Images and link about the house flippers - Link to Star Article

Junction retail locations being snapped fast. A new shortage?

 

[caption id="attachment_9415" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="A new look and use for the rear of Junction retail buildings, the image above glimpses how buildings rear facades can be reconfigured to become ''fronts''"][/caption]

 

More retailers in the Toronto area are opting for Junction locations.   The ongoing decades of recovery is sustaining, primarily from the influx of new residents and the higher density buildings being built. Moving this renewal along are new and exciting stores have cropped up in various sectors such as the furniture trade and an excellent range of full service restaurants and coffee houses.

Amid a tight supply of adequate retail space, new retailers and building owners are going to have to seek alternative locations such as expanding the strip to the east and west, areas that at one time were just as busy as what is now considered the core retail area.   Building density uses and converting some buildings to both front and back retail uses, with a shop fronting on the street and another fronting  the lane-ways.

Despite carrying greater growth now, however, Junction high-street retail must adapt to demand while facing competition from the new mall at St Clair and Weston Rd. which will offer multiple shopping options, more accessibility and easier car parking.

Recent retail studies have stated that high streets such as the Junction strip are increasing their power of attraction and more and more retail chains and well-known national and international brands are choosing this format. Starbucks is one in the Junction, but where are the others that have appeared in areas such as Leaside and Bloor West Village.  A strong Junction for the residents needs both independent retailers with a few nationals throw in can complete the shopping destination for non Junction residents and local residents.

 

Green 13 requested post about Greensaver.org

[caption id="attachment_9385" align="aligncenter" width="453" caption="click image for full size PDF"][/caption]

 

2797-2803 Dundas St. W., Mc Brides Development overview

 

Here are some images and text captures  from the development proposal for the lot at 2797 Dundas Street West, and 2803 Dundas Street West, commonly referred to as the old Mc Brides bike building lot.

Thanks to Martin of the Junction Residents Association for sending the blog the PDF of the proposal and the meeting minutes from Wednesday night.

The lot is on the south west corner of Indian Road and Dundas St. West.



 



 



 



 



 

Gord Perks office minutes

Meeting Minutes:

Pre-Application Proposed Development

2797/2803 Dundas St. West – Community Information Meeting

Wednesday, October, 19, 2011

Indian Road Crescent Junior Public School, Gymnasium, 285 Indian Road Crescent

 

Hello,

 

I would like to thank everyone who attended last night's community meeting regarding the proposed development at 2797/2803 Dundas St. West.  I would also like to thank the representatives from TAS Design Build, their project architect (Richard), and planning consultant (Anne) who came out and engaged with the community. Despite the rain and cold, there was a great turn out with approximately 45 residents sharing their knowledge and concerns.  Finally, thank you city planning staff in attendance and to the members West Bend Residents Association who took time out their meeting to attend this event.

 

For those of you who could not attend the meeting, Councillor Perks began the meeting by introducing the parties present and explaining the process for development applications.  This was followed by Anne (the planning consultant) and Rich (the project architect) providing a presentation outlining the proposed development. I have attached a .pdf of this presentation.

 

The Q&A period generated significant discussions and I will try to highlight -from my understanding- what was said regarding some of the major issues and concerns voiced by residents:

 

• A question was raised regarding what types of units are being proposed, their cost, the general timeline, what material selection would be used to fit the neighbourhood and the maintenance of the site as it currently sits.  Mazyar from TAS Design Build outlined that the units will be priced on retail value (so no affordable home ownership programs or co-op untis), and the prices tend to fluctuate according to the market so it is too early to say.  Further, if all goes well he hopes to start marketing the units in roughly 6-9 months and start construction in 18-24 months.  With regards to site maintenance, Mazyar stated he took ownership of the site only 10 days ago, but will commit to maintaining the site, repairing the fence so it doesn't fall down, and speak with councillor Perks' office about possible uses before construction.


• Numerous concerns were raised regarding the height of the proposed development, terracing, incursions on the angular plane, and privacy.  Anne stated that the development is identified as a soft site and spoke about the midrize guidelines.  The current planes outline a 6 story building with the 7^th story being a mechanical penthouse wrapped in residential units (so depending on how you judge it, 6 or 7 storeys). Richard stated he understood residents concerns about privacy and will think about starting terracing on the 3^rd story as opposed to the 4^th.  Finally, Dan noted that the current plans do go over the angular plane and Anne remarked they wanted to do this for more space in the residential units.


• There were concerns about site construction regarding noise, vibrations, pile driving, and pumping excess water.  Councillor Perks explained that once the proposal is further along a construction management plan will occur.  Anne stated that they will work with residents to minimize any disturbances that could occur and Mazyar explained that bore holes had been sunk on the property and that they do not anticipate any underground streams being a problem at this point.


• Another of the major concerns raised by residents was regarding the laneway traffic.  Questions ranged from concerns about commercial traffic, speeding through the laneway, truck loading (both in regards to air quality and blocking traffic), traffic from the roughly 45 underground parking units proposed, snow removal, and the widening of the laneway.  Richard outlined that there will be a loading area designated beside the down ramp for parking (see page 16 of the .pdf), which should prevent the laneway being blocked.  He also explained that with the amount of underground parking spots, the traffic increase from the residents will be minimal.  Dan from planning staff spoke to the widening of the laneway, explaining that the city will widen the laneway on the new applicant's property, but not on the resident's side.  Further, even with the widening of the laneway, it will still be quite narrow so two-way traffic would not occur. Finally planning staff will look into if turning restrictions would be appropriate to keep traffic flowing and examine the impact of traffic on surrounding streets.


• A question was raised regarding greenspace and residents praised the planters in place in the plans.  Councillor Perks explained about the green roof by-law in effect.  Further, Dan from city planning staff spoke about how it is his understanding that the site is not an area that is below the parkland dedication requirement so there will be no cash-in-lieu.

Overall, the meeting was very successful and many important insights were shared.  I will continue to keep sending you updates as I receive them regarding this proposed development.  Please feel free to share any information with your neighbours.

 

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who attended the meeting last evening.

 

 Farm:Shop, a new project in Dalston, east London. is A former shelter for domestic abuse victims has been renovated to create the venue, showcasing the potential of hi-tech urban farming techniques.

See all about it here

 

 

Toronto’s core losing jobs to condos, catches up with the Junction terms of commercial loss?

 

This is a rather interesting article, although it focuses  on the issue as related to office space and not the loss  light engineering, food processing and manufacturing that has devastated the the Junction for 3 decades. The loss of the manuservise corein teh Junction decimated the retail strip of Dundas St. west from which it has not recovered as of yet. Yes its interesting and local now the strip but its not the crowded bustling strip it was from the turn of the century to the late 70's.

Interesting though the loss of the manuservise core really did little to affect the residential societal styles and modes of home ownership, still cannot figure that out.

 (Toronto Star article)

Toronto’s core losing jobs to condos

 

When Iain Dobson sees another condo or condo-hotel springing up on prime downtown land just steps from the subway, he becomes more convinced than ever that Toronto is risking its own future by trading off jobs for people.

Toronto is reaching a tipping point — a shortage of development-ready land for new office towers at the same time thousands of new financial services jobs are projected for downtown and more companies are looking to return to the city core from the suburbs, says Dobson.

The former commercial brokerage executive and co-author of a report for the Canadian Urban Institute warns that Toronto has allowed construction of so many condo towers on what were meant to be office building sites, there is only enough development-ready land for about 4 million square feet of new office space left in the downtown.

Even the old converted “brick-and-beam” buildings to the west and east of the core, now home to some 18 million square feet of commercial development, are close to being full, says Dobson.

“The area within 500 metres of the subway is prime get yourself to work and back again space and when it gets eaten up by a lot of residential development, you have to wonder where will the new offices go?,” says Dobson.

He points to buildings like the 70-storey Trump Tower and 65-storey Shangri-La Hotel, both hotel and condo developments on land once slated for offices. They are among twelve new highrise condos, with 5,707 new units, under construction in the downtown core right now.

One-third of all jobs in the GTA are office jobs, notes the report, The New Geography of Office Location and the Consequences of Business as Usual in the GTA.

Thirty years ago, 63 per cent of office space was located in the downtown financial district or directly along subway lines. But so many businesses have flocked to the suburbs, as of 2010, 54 per cent of office space was located in the road-dependent 905 regions.

That dramatic shift, thanks to plentiful land and cheap taxes, not only clogged major roads, it turned the core into a one-horse town dominated by the financial services sector.

“The 416 region has become the bedroom community for the 905 regions,” says Dobson.

There is some evidence that’s starting to shift as environmentally conscious companies such as Coke and Telus consolidate suburban operations in the core to ease long commutes and be close to where employees live.

But governments need to do more to ease commercial taxes, integrate transit to growth areas and review land use policies for any developable land within a five-minute walk of subways with a focus on office rather than more condo development.

Commercial realtors say they are managing to find sufficient office space for companies that are looking. Colliers International says, in fact, a number of financial district tenants are moving into new offices on the Railways Lands, which is freeing up hundreds of thousands of feet of prime space in the financial district.

Realtor Cushman & Wakefield notes that almost 4 million square feet of office space has come on stream downtown since 2009 and 5.2 million more is planned. It estimates that’s enough, given current demand, for about nine more years of growth.

 

source

Kitchen Nano Garden garden perfect Junction farming entry

 



 

The Kitchen Nano Garden is real and has wonderful benefits. Because it uses hydroponics to grow your garden, there is no need for dirt, harmful fertilizers or pesticides. The unit is a natural air purifier -- a fragrant bonus and always a welcome addition to a kitchen or small space.

Its stacked, vertical design allows more growing space per square foot of floor space. The glass-walled refrigeratorlike appliance has movable shelves and hooks up to your plumbing. Recycling the used water and leftovers from your sink provide water and nutrients to the hydroponics. The LED lighting promotes plant growth.

"Light, water and nutrient supply is controllable, so users can decide the growth speed. It also lets users know when to provide water or nutrients to the plants," states the company.

A touch panel makes it convenient for today's busy lifestyles.

Hydroponic growing has been around for a long time. However, much of it comes with laborious setup and awkward equipment strewn about. When I saw this modern and convenient way to keep all the muss and fuss in one place, in the kitchen, I was excited about the possibilities. Although there is no news as to when the Kitchen Nano Garden will be made available to homeowners, I for one will be watching for opportunities to incorporate this technology into future kitchen designs.

 

Pull out - a post from another local blog that you can sink into

 

 

Over at the http://imaginingtoronto.com/ blog this article from April of 2011 provides an insight into that area rarely given in text about Toronto.  When visiting jump down to  A brief overview: text - a bit is re-posted here.



 



 

A brief overview:

Contemporary Yorkville, a gentrified district of expensive boutiques and luxury condominiums whose spiritual epicentre is the intersection of Bloor Street and Avenue Road, owes the bulk of its literary reputation to a brief bohemian period that lasted less than a decade but has inspired at least two generations of writers eager to pay homage to the memory of a neighbourhood once known as Toronto’s very own Haight- Ashbury.

One of the most interesting Animal Architecture Awards for this year.

[caption id="attachment_8514" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="click on image to see all the winners"][/caption]

Window Unit

by Crooked Works

from the sites text...

In 1943, more than 80 percent of American households harvested food from their own Victory Gardens.” Today, the food consumed in most American households follows a much more circuitous path, resulting in increased preservatives, transportation costs and cultural uniformity. This disconnect particularly penalizes the poor, who are both more likely to live in “food deserts” and can’t afford to pay the high price of imported perishables.

Animal-populated Window Units enable the resurrection of household-based urban food production. This bottom-up agricultural strategy enlists urban dwellers who elect to stock their window space with chickens, bees, or fish in creating a new urban food system. Working at a very small scale, with eminently replicable technologies, these wall projections have the potential to link on-site agricultural production to vast numbers of independent households.

Dekalb Market Brooklyn great use of vacant lot

[caption id="attachment_8357" align="aligncenter" width="298" caption="Click on image to go to the market web site"][/caption]

 

Reposted from http://www.archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=5544

Low-price, low-rise, low-impact, the new DeKalb Market in Brooklyn is far from low-key. The modular market opened on July 23 and sits on the site of the planned second phase of the CityPoint development in Downtown Brooklyn. The market is made up of a lego-like fortress of shipping containers re-appropriated by 22 local companies as cafes, restaurants, retail outlets, and even an internet radio station. The repurposing of both the site and rectangular storage units is the brainchild of UK-based Urban Space developed with Young Woo & Associates. Urban Space has been championing container constructions for 30 years and is behind successful public spaces and temporary markets including the famous Camden Lock in North London and Union Square Holiday Market in Manhattan, as well as retail, leisure and residential developments. “This is the first of its kind in the US,” said Urban Space's Jessica Tolliver. “We really focus on going into areas that are not being used to full potential and putting something there for the community to enjoy.”



On the former site of the Albee Square shopping center between Willoughby and Fulton Streets, the containers are stacked two-high to form a gateway, and they drop to one story along the perimeter of the one-acre lot, which also accommodates a temporary weekend fair. The container vendors include a diverse mix of established and start-up companies, like Robicelli's cupcakes and Cuzin's Duzin doughnuts. The vendors each leased their new hubs for one year and could individualize the container interiors. Due to delayed permits, they spent the past two weeks frantically painting, cladding, and soundproofing their cabins to meet the grand opening deadline. Anticipating a warm reception, the partners of Urban Space aim to extend and expand the container community. “This is the big intro,” said Tolliver, and, she hopes, the beginning of a rectangular revolution.

Developer continues lot cleanup on old paint plant site

Vine ave demolition happening Tuesday Morning

61 63 67 Vine ave coming down Tuesday, these images about 9:15

Design Workshop for the “Sorauren Square” Wednesday, June 29, starting at 6:30 p.m.

 

Help take Sorauren Park to the “next level”...

Design Workshop for the “Sorauren Square”

Wednesday, June 29, starting at 6:30 p.m.


Food and drinks provided


Help plan — and name — the new “Sorauren Square” proposed for the “dead zone” of derelict land between the Sorauren Fieldhouse and the old linseed oil factory.

At this public design workshop, we’ll look at town squares in other cities and countries, review the existing Sorauren Master Plan concepts, and get drawing!

Sorauren Square is envisioned as a place for markets, festivals, concerts, shows, events and meeting neighbours on warm summer evenings.

If you like to draw and dream, or have ideas for this new public space, please come to our Design Workshop. RSVP to dbennet@sympatico.ca so we can plan our numbers.

“Sorauren Square” Design Workshop

Wednesday, June 29

6:30 p.m. at the Sorauren Fieldhouse


50 Wabash Avenue


Light dinner and refreshments provided

Sponsored by the Wabash Building Society

http://www.soraurenpark.com

 

Vine Ave Parkette to get $100.000 in improvements

[caption id="attachment_7410" align="aligncenter" width="489" caption="Mounted Traverse Wall "][/caption]

The Toronto parks department has identified approx. $100.000 in funding improvements for the parkette. If the city approves the budget in March the funds will be secured.

The parks thinks that the communities priority is a senior playground installed and improved lighting in the park.

The park departments is in contact with the local residents association.

The parks department wants now to have a clear sign of what the community wants.

To express your opinion this author thinks its best to contact both the Junction residents association and possibly the person managing the project for the parks department Helen Sousa 416 392 6599.

Post Victorian rear

Just look what can done with similar types of housing buildings that bare common in the Junction.

An addition type that really builds out and creates wonderful living space.

...and does not attack the historic fabric of the building.

The above image is in Italy


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iPad

West End Food Co-op will be running another canning workshop

Someone recently commented on the Junction needing a framers market, what i really wish we had was a food co-op like the West End Food Co-op

The West End Food Co-op will be running another canning workshop onTuesday September 28th in the Parkdale Neighbourhood Church at 201 Cowan Avenue!

The workshop will be led by Heather Kilner, an expert preserver with many years of experience.

You will learn about the theory and practice of preserving, gain hands-on experience using a hot water bath canner, and leave with a jar of delicious preserves to take home with you. We will also take time to reflect on the meaning and significance of learning to preserve our own food, and our experiences of preserved food.

The workshop will run from 6:00-8:30 with registration starting at 5:30. The total cost for the workshop is $30 for West End Food Co-op members or $35 for non-members (which includes the cost of a lifetime membership). Payment can be made in person at the workshop.

Please register online by visiting our website at westendfood.coop. (If the hotlink does not work please paste the following link into your browser address bar: http://westendfood.coop/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=40 or follow the link entitled Community Cannery Workshop on the left-hand side of the main page of our website at http://westendfood.coop).

Spaces are limited and previous workshops have filled very quickly so don't delay!

If you have any questions about the workshop please don't hesitate to contact me atkatie@westendfood.coop

Happy Canning!