| Update Nov. 6/04 See our newsletter #156 for:
- updates on the recently modified proposal (a new architect,
new design, scaled-down size from 13 to 10 stories and 92 to 50 units).
- A report on the October public meeting which unveiled the new
design
- A reader's comments on the meeting and the new design
- News on the Wynns: they've been voted "NOT" the
worst landlord in Parkdale (this year)
The City's preliminary planning report for the initial
design
in PDF format from the city website: http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/legdocs/2004/agendas/committees/tw/tw040407/it005.pdf
Or WORD
format on our website
world19News #146, Apr 22/04
HUMBER THEATRE DEVELOPMENT
The Preliminary report by City Planning department was accepted by Community &
City Council this month. As a result, Councillor Saundercook will be organizing a public
meeting on the development, probably in May. Public notification, at the request of the
Swansea Ratepayers will be in a much wider area than City staff originally recommended.
For details:
- for info on the Council decision, see: http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/legdocs/2004/agendas/council/cc040415/tw3rpt/cl038.pdf
We will report more on the development, the meeting -- and
the potential Bloor West Village "Visioning Study" (see our newsletter #145).
world19News #140 - feb 13/04
HUMBER THEATRE SITE: A Wynn-family high
rise?
There may be big changes coming to the corner of Jane & Bloor.
We have reported in several newsletters (#129, 130, & 134) about the
fate of the Humber Theatre, and about the property's new owner, the infamous Wynn family
(nominees for the Parkdale Tenants' Association's 2003 "Golden Cockroach
Award"). They have now made an application to amend the Official Plan & Zoning
bylaw to build a 13-story tower on the site.
It would involve ground-floor retail, a 2-story
health club above, and 92 apartment residences on the upper floors. Residential density
will be 5.4, total density 8.0)
Initial discussion will be at the Feb. 17
Community Council. For details on the application, click either of the links below:
- (PDF format from the City's website)
- WORD format on our website
Update Note: A world19 subscriber has
informed us that at the February Community Council, the Humber Theatre development item
was deferred to the next Council meeting, April 7.
world19News #134 - Nov. 6/03
WYNNS AND LOSSES
We have made reference before to the notorious Wynn family having purchased the
Humber Theatre. They have also been back in the news lately. Last Saturday's (Nov. 1) Star
carried a front-page story about some of the city's worst housing and the properties'
owners -- including the Wynns. http://makeashorterlink.com/?T24D12476.
The story reported that, "The Wynns were issued a total of 118 notices and work
orders for a string of property deficiencies at 13 of their 18 apartment buildings in
Toronto, according to the city's data”.
So, it's not surprising to read that two of the Wynn family
residential properties are finalists in the "Golden Cockroach Award", organized
by the Parkdale Tenants Association for the worst residential building in Parkdale. See www.goldencockroach.org for details.
We don't know what the future holds for the former Humber
Theatre property, which the community has lost to the whims of the Wynns (say it fast 10
times). It's certainly not likely we'll see a repeat of their Parkdale residential
properties, but surely there must be some concern, based on their reputation.
We also wonder about how the building has been used since
they purchased it. Soon after the sale, it became campaign HQ for the provincial Tory
candidate. It would be surprising if any provincial candidate could afford the rent of
such a prime property; we have to wonder if Mr. Snell was treated more kindly than some of
the Wynn’s other tenants. (And most recently, the entire front of the theatre has
been given over to one candidate’s election signs…)
world19News #130 - aug 8/03
HUMBER THEATRE - BOUGHT BY THE WYNN FAMILY
As first reported in our previous newsletter, the Humber Theatre closed quietly
without public announcment, although we've since heard that the fitness centre plan for
the site has fallen through. However, we were very interested to learn who has bought the
property: Wynn Family Properties. The Wynn family -- Phil and his sons -- established a
notorious reputation in the 60's and 70's, and were identified by many as among Toronto's
worst landlords. (In the 1980's, inspired by the Wynns, some tenant activists created an
award, the "Golden Cockroach" to be awarded annually to the worst landlord in
the City). It appears that the Wynn sons may have improved the level of service recently,
however the family does still own the infamous apartments at 103 and 105 West Lodge Ave.
in Parkdale. See the eye weekly story from 1999 and the West Lodge tenant site links below
for more info.
Besides the 3500 residential units they own, they have a
number of commercial properties as well, including the Silver Dollar tavern at Spadina
& College and the neighbouring Waverly Hotel (best described as "seedy") --
and now the Humber Theatre site.
For more info on the Wynns, you can visit:
-- Their website: http://www.wynn.ca
--Two articles from eye weekly:
a) "Landlords from Hell" (Jan. 1999) - see "Wynn some, lose
some" near the bottom of the page:
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_01.28.99/news_views/landlords.html
b) "Bad landlords free to gouge", an
editorial from Aug. 1999):
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_08.19.99/news/editorial.html
-- The West Lodge Tenants' website (complete with cockroaches
crawling across the page):
http://ca.geocities.com/wltenants/
world19News #129 - July 14/03
world19 is the first to report on the closing of the theatre:
Thanks to one of our readers who passed on this unconfirmed,
but credible notice that the Humber Cinema is scheduled to close on Sunday July 20th. It
was reported to us that this will not be publicly announced until the next day (July 21).
The new owner is reported to be planning a health and fitness
club on the site.
The news will come as little surprise to most (except perhaps
for the apparent stealth of the plan): neighbourhood movie theatres, like neighbourhood
book stores, service stations, pharmacies, and neighbourhood anything are endangered
species. Anyone who enjoys films, and who has had the "pleasure" of going to the
Queensway mega-plex on a weekend will be especially disappointed. At least in this
neighbourhood, we're lucky to have 2 Festival Cinemas (Revue & Kingsway) nearby.
|
Humber theatre, summer 2003: closed for movies, open for a local political
candidate's campaign office.