Junction Residents Assoc. meeting held Tuesday evening short report

Junction Residents Assoc. meeting held Tuesday evening, elected 3 chairs who will decide among themselves how to divide the responsibly of running the assoc.

The names being, Louis Morrone, Linda Clements, Viola Varga

Solways Metals & South Junction Triangle Residents Association

Solway’s metals is a metal recycler and medium size provider of steel products to industry and artists on Ernest Ave. If you are not an artist or crafts person or metal scavenger you probably have not been there. If you are an artist you probably know of their importance to the arts community.

It appears Solways is having a hard time with it’s neighbours, some of which is probably their fault, they do end up having some of their business take place on the public street, usually parked loading purchases of small amounts of metal, and small metal scavengers and collectors waiting their turn in line to set their load to the company. This is evidenced by the dirty condition of the street. Yet businesses such as Solway’s are important to the Junction communities providing not only needed recycling and sourcing services but in maintaining the character and industrial jobs in the community. Hopefully the gentlemen who run Solway’s and the community can come to some agreeable understanding. And a note to the gentleman at Solway’s the last time I visited Ontario Iron and Metal they were very interested in how your metal sales business was going.

Update: 12:52 pm Wednesday - 1st thanks to Scott for his comment - bumped into post below  update follows

scott d on September 10th, 2008 12:15 pm

Thank you for posting about Solways Metals. I would like to make a few points though.

Problems with Solways go back over 30 years and many hearings.

Solways originally did most of its shipping by rail but now it is all vehicle traffic. The portrayal of the business as being “small amounts of metal” is not accurate; there are as many large trucks as there are small trucks using the site. Recently a photo was taken that showed 18 large trucks using the street to unload. The blocked use of the road and fire access and dangerous backing up of tractor trailers across school crossings and a future park entrance are just some of the issues.

Solways is one of the last industrial businesses in the area and relies on servicing the scrap industry which is not really a local industry as it draws trucks from all over the city. There are many small buyers and sellers but the majority is from large haulers such as Arizon.

In a nutshell, most of the issues would go away if Solways would conduct its business on it’s property like all other law abiding businesses. Solways problem is that people just dont want to put up with it anymore.

Update: 12:52 pm Wednesday: I was not clear enough about the trucks and Scott was right, there are many trailer type trucks using the site, but it seems there is also a lot of small metal collector trucks and small purchases of metal loading occurring too.

Solways uses the street when setting down trailers as it’s trailer loading docks do have the length to set a trailer down completely on there own property and this is a problem. This problem occurs in a few places in the Junction communities, one example being the Air Heat Supply company located at 13 Mc Murray Ave, they only have a small right of way to access their warehouse situated in a lane. Sometimes trucks delivering too them block the Ave completely.

Yet Solways is a messy business by nature and probably a growing one with the increased value of metals. Other businesses such as NRI on Junction Rd and Ontario Iron and Metal on Dundas St all use the road too. Once again the community has the right for a clean, safe environment in all aspects such as, noise, pollutants and safety. Which should come 1^st, yet reasonably. Yet Solways is a service you will find in the core of every major city that’s working. The community has a right to be up in arms and Solways has the right to stay if they maintain and accrue to their licence and move with the times implementing better and more careful controls and maybe some changed loading structures to run their business , such as The CPR has done in many Junction situations. Maybe it’s time for a really forward looking solution that benefits all, the city understanding the special needs of urban industry better and Solway’s understanding it may need to change its practices

South Junction Triangle Residents Association Solways article

Posted by Robert

Parc Novo condo project ongoing costs

Parc Novo is a condo development in Etobicoke across from the Kipling Subway Station. Located in a park like setting [designed by the developer] with about 6 other buildings, it is a nice building – completely planned to be built green. A good lot of comforts and services are built in, which will be needed as the surrounding streetscape is weak in comfort once you leave the condos property. Yet quite possibly this condo could bring change to that same streetscape as others rebuild in fill around the development.

The chart above from the developers site details the fees on top and any purchase price and mortgage costs. These costs can serve to illustrate some of the plot build house and condo home ownership differences in cost and responsibility. Condo ownership provides a clean one off monthly fee to maintain the building – in effect the all the nasty repairs are handled by someone else, with a watching board to ensure it’s done right. But in a standalone house taxes – (approx 2400.00 in an average Junction house and more in the Parc Novo area) and the repair costs and the choice/worry of how to do them are all left to the homeowner. We looked for the maintenance costs for Triumphal Developments Inc Victoria Lofts on Annette Street, but could not find them on the developers site.

Junction Residents Meeting someone to hear you out

The next Junction Residents Assoc. Meeting is Tuesday, September 9th, 7:00 pm  could possibly be as important as to the junction as when Ben Grys started in the Junction, when, with the community and as an alderman he DOUBLED the size of Vine parkette. That all started with a small residents meeting, the big difference between then and now, is the number of people who care enough to attend the RA meeting, back then just about everyone did.

This meeting is to get some co-chairs set up give then the task of getting it running though assisting others in the group in their actions.

The RA can work - with just a small amount of support by everyone, just attending a meeting is so much help as shows your support.

West Toronto Baptist Church 3049 Dundas St West (south side of Dundas St, at McMurray Ave)

Victoria-Royce Presbyterian Church on Annette

Picture credit - R English 2008

The Victoria-Royce Presbyterian Church Lofts on Annette Street in the Junction will soon become 35 residential lofts, hopefully with as much of the church left as the developer can leave without annoying his buyers, with just too much history. It must be a struggle for the developer who probably wants to use the character of the building to sell the units but also provide the prospective buyers with spacious public areas. A 70% sold sign is outside the building now so maybe they are nearing the that magic number where the funding providers and the developer feel safe enough to start.

High Rise developer tops sales list with 400 units for July

emerald park condos marketing image

Realnet (Real estate research firm) is reporting today that Bazis International Inc topped the list of most sales of condo units, 400 unit for July among their current projects. The numbers were helped  by the launch of their Emerald Park Condos located south of Sheppard Avenue West and west of Yonge Street.

It's no wonder people like living in Condos

Of course there are disadvantages to Condo living but not hearing a litany of street noise is one advantage.

The new contraption attached to garbage trucks so they need only employ one operator per truck has increased the amount of noise garbage pickup creates. Now, when the truck is coming, the street sounds like the loading dock of a commercial building.
Posted By David

Enwave

Enwave continues to enlarge it's WTO deep lake water energy source, with continued work tunneling pipework. Their website home page has a great video explaining whats happening with the deep lake water [link] they use  to air-condition many large buildings in the downtown core

from their site

Enwave distributes steam and chilled water to over 140 buildings via a 40km underground pipe network that covers most of the city's downtown core. The company's innovative Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC) business has been recognized world wide and has cemented Enwave's leadership role in the renewable energy sector.

Sunrise Propane - Fire equipment list

The Sunrise Propane Fire recently required the call out of all of the fire rucks listed below.  111 vehicles

MURRAY RD, NY   Cross street SPALDING RD / PLEWES RD, F08097323  Area 145

Truck numbers in green are water carrying pump trucks

P413, CMD10, R112, P211, A131, P433, P325, A324, P145, HZ145, A142, C14, LA114, P135, P234, LA114, DE145, P333, P445, P113, P233, P342, R411, P145, P143, A222, P433, C14, HZ145, P145, HZ145, C11, A324, LA114, R112, R411, P415, P142, P114, P113, P232, R321, A222, C10, C14, LA114, HZ145, P145, DE145, P341CR, P345CR, P345CR, HZ332, P143, A133, A142, P226, P233, HZ145, C14, P313, A411, P142, P315, P135CA, P131, P423CR, P145, DE145, HZ145, P145, HZ332, R235, A133, C21, P242, P215, T333, LA114, A213, P212, P244, P132, LA114, R112, C14, P211, P324, P433, P123, P233, P345CR, A324, C14, P142, HZ332, HZ145, P145, P135CA, P135CA, LA114, P135, P146