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TRIDEL DEVELOPING OLD MILL CAR DEALER SITE
site (updated Aug. 13/08)
Updated Aug. 12:
Tridel will be developing the large site currently occupied by
the Old Mill car dealership and the office building between the two car
lots. They have not revealed details of any of their plans yet, but have
initiated some community consultation involving area organizations: world19,
Bloor West Village Residents Associations, Swansea Area Residents
Association, Old Millside Residents Association and the Bloor West
Village BIA.
Their plans now are to submit an official application
this fall; there will be at least two city-required public meetings.
Tridel has created a
website has
that will document the proposal and process; you can
also sign up for email or RSS updates. The website currently includes
the document provided at the initial working group meeting (July 28),
with extensive background on the application process, relevant
development and zoning issues, notes about the site as it relates to the
City's Official Plan and the 2005 BWV Urban Design Study.
The document is a 7mb PDF file.
Download here.
New Aug. 13: As well,
a discussion
thread has been created regarding this site on the Urban Toronto
discussion board. (You need to register in order to post comments).
NOTE TO RESIDENTS NORTH OF BLOOR, BETWEEN JANE &
THE HUMBER RIVER:
The following letter is being distributed in
that area; if you live there and are interested in becoming
involved, see below for contact information. This letter is
available here for
download as a WORD document.
Tridel is consulting with local residents groups regarding a new
condo development to replace the Old Mill car
dealership, but we don’t have a residents group!
In 2009, Old Mill Pontiac-Buick will be leaving Bloor Street and
Tridel will be redeveloping the property, which includes the new and
used car lots, and the office building in the middle.
Tridel hopes to submit an official application to the city this fall,
although no details of their plans have been announced yet.
In an effort to initiate meaningful consultation with the community
at an early stage, Tridel has assembled a working group comprised
largely of representatives from local residents-based organizations.
Broader public consultation will occur following Tridel’s submission of
the application to the city, as required by the city.
Unfortunately, those of us living on the north side of Bloor, in
closest proximity to the site, are without a residents group to
represent us.
We’d like to think it’s not too late to change this situation by
coming together and forming a residents group around this issue.
If you are interested in the development of this site and would like
to be part of a local residents group and/or a communication network to
exchange information and ideas as the process unfolds please email:
bloorjane@world19.com.
As a group, we can then seek representation on the working group
which is scheduled to meet on September 4th, so time is of the essence.
Please respond ASAP.
For more information, visit Tridel’s project site at
www.2500Bloor.ca or
www.world19.com
This notice was prepared by local residents in association with
world19, a community group committed to supporting community
engagement on issues of public importance
Meanwhile, the "Odeon Humber" block looks sadder
and sadder. Empty businesses (including the theatre itself) all
sport "Fantastic Space Available" signs; that message
seems contradicted by
the shabby appearance of some of the properties being touted. Billy Bob's main door has been
covered in egg splatter for weeks now, and the theatre continues to
collect dirt and grime.
BLOOR DEVELOPMENTS (Newsletter #186, June
17/08)
Earlier this year, we noted that the "Humber Odeon block" of Bloor had
been acquired by a single buyer. The still-mysterious new owner, Claude
Bitton, was a former partner with the Wynn family (as Wynn Bitton Inc.)
in the original development proposal for the theatre site. Since then,
he has apparently taken sole possession not only of the former Odeon
site and all the properties west to Riverview Gardens, but he's also
active on the east side of the Village as well.
The two story medical building at 2150 Bloor St. W. (immediately east of
the Runnymede Library) was recently purchased by the same Mr. Bitton. At
this point, we don't know the ownership or sales status of properties
constituting the remainder of that block that runs east to Kennedy Park
Rd, but it also appears ripe for redevelopment.
Mr. Bitton's plans for the Humber block and for 2150 remain unknown - as
do his background and development history. Enquiries made to Councillor
Saundercook about Mr. Bitton and these properties have revealed nothing.
Despite the fact that it was the Councillor's office who first informed
us of the buyer's name, the response we recently received from Mr.
Saundercook was that "All of the information currently available was
conveyed at the community meeting which my staff attended on April
30th." [The reference is to the
BWVRA public meeting; see
links below] However, no information at all about the buyer or his
potential plans in fact were conveyed at that meeting. The
Councillor knows more than he seems willing to pass on.
(It should be noted that to this point, no new development application
has been filed; the only proposal with the City is the original
condominium plan for the Odeon Humber site).
In the short term, the prospects for Bitton-on-Bloor are not
encouraging. The Humber block remains half-closed. Billy Bob's and the
Fan have now both closed their doors, although as we had expected, it
appears that a new tenant will be leasing the location - at least until
the block is torn down. To the west, the Old Mill car dealership will be
moving to Jane/St. Clair in early 2009; the fate of its large property
is still unknown, as is the future of the tenants of the office building
located at 2490 Bloor, who have been told they MAY have to vacate by the
end of the year.
Meanwhile, the medical future of 2150 appears shaky. Although there are
banners advertising space for lease, some existing medical practices
have had to leave, and we have heard that potential new tenants who have
responded to the advertised availability have declined, based on quoted
rental charges. A medical building without medical tenants is not
feasible. The ground floor pharmacy's viability depends on those medical
tenants, and the residents of the Grenadier retirement home a block to
the east, depend on both the pharmacy and the medical offices in the
building. This is not an encouraging scenario.
What will be happening along Bloor and when, and how can the
community be involved? Those were some of the questions we asked in our
April 27 newsletter (see below), and ones which were raised in the 2005
Bloor West Village Urban Design Study, which world19 participated in.
(The study is available here, but note that
it is a 9mb PDF file).
In February, Etobicoke-York Community Council (EYCC) requested city
staff to review that Study, and report back to EYCC regarding "how the
study may be applied by City staff to redevelopment projects in the
area, including the car dealership site west of Jane Street on Bloor
Street West."
At the June 10th EYCC meeting the Information Report was received for
information purposes only.
We will continue to pursue this issue, and promote public information
and involvement in what may become major changes along Bloor Street.
HUMBER-ODEON BLOCK:
What’s happening, who knows,
and why don’t we know?
(Newsletter 183, Apr. 27/08)
Many questions
hang over the not-yet-announced development of the “Humber block” on
Bloor St. As first noted by world19 (see
later on this page), and little discussed elsewhere, the
original development plan for the site of the old Humber Theatre (a 10
story condo) is likely off the table, as a new, and still unidentified
owner has bought that property from the notorious Wynn family, as well
as the entire block from the theatre west to Riverview Gardens.
We have heard
new rumours about the purchaser/developer, but
have not been able to confirm information. Meanwhile, retail and other
businesses on that block whose continuation there is obviously
temporary, are languishing. (The large, former Blockbuster / Fabricland
outlet still stands empty; Billy Bob’s remains dark, although the
basement sports bar is still open, and of course, the old movie theatre
continues to look shabby).
At the same time,
rumours that the Old Mill car dealership property
has been sold for development appear to be true: they
are moving to Jane & St. Clair in early 2009.
Clearly something is happening but nobody knows what or when. The
situation raises many questions including:
-
What are the responsibilities of a developer to the community? And
when do they kick in?
-
What is the role of the city in managing the relationship? Are
existing city policies effective in this regard?
-
How can communities partner with developers and help to steer the
change process?
Some
food for thought… Perhaps these are some of things that could be
discussed at the upcoming BWVRA meeting (see the Events listing below,
April 30)
An update to our
previous newsletter which noted that the entire block from the old Odeon
Humber west had been purchased for development. We have subsequently
spoken with members of the Bloor West Village BIA, Councillor Saundercook's
office, and the owner of Billy Bob's/The Fan, as well as other business
owners and operators in the area. Interestingly, while we had been hearing
stories of the large purchase for a few weeks, a number of parties "in the
know" seemed to have just then learned about the deal.
We now
know that the Wynns are no longer in the picture. Councillor Saundercook's
office identified the new owner as Claude Bitton. He is still a bit of a
mystery; even the Councillor's office professed little knowledge about him
or his background.
Those we spoke to
agreed with our assumptions: that the developer will likely scrap plans for
the already approved condominium on the Humber site, and instead prepare an
application for a development using the entire block. Interestingly,
everyone we spoke with suggested it might take "five years" before any
construction started. The unanimity of the estimate puzzled us, and made us
wonder: Does that mean five more years of the now shabby
frontage of the old theatre?
In
fact we wonder what it means for the state of that stretch of Bloor for
the next five years. There's
lots of talk on the street of businesses carrying on - of five year
leases and so on. But we wonder if it will all get worse before it gets
better.
What does it all mean? In the long run, it's all about
change. The Humber Odeon site was always particularly problematic in terms
of access and traffic flow. What will the new bigger (and better?) proposal
bring? Only time will tell. But it's coming soon to a theatre
near you...
A correction:
In our last
newsletter, we noted that we had been hearing from various sources that
Billy Bob's/The Fan would be closing last week. The upstairs (Billy Bob's)
did close the next day, but The Fan (the sports bar in the basement) remains
open and the owner, Danny Smardenka said he expects the upstairs (Billy
Bob's) to re-open soon.
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