Toronto city council approves new affordable housing project at 777 Victoria Park Ave. – Beach Metro Community News

By AMARACHI AMADIKE

During its last regular session until October, Toronto city council greenlit a new affordable housing project at 777 Victoria Park Ave late last month. The site, currently home to a TTC bus terminal and parking lot adjacent to Victoria Park subway station, will undergo transformation to address housing needs in the city.

The developer, 2501882 Ontario Limited, proposes 705 rental homes comprising 256 affordable rental units and 449 rent-controlled market homes that will create a mixed-use transit-oriented hub that connects Victoria Park station to the Danforth.

The project includes retail spaces, a community area, and a much-needed childcare facility for Scarborough. It’s part of the Housing Now Initiative, which develops affordable housing within mixed-income communities by using city-owned lands .

Scarborough Southwest Councillor Parthi Kandavel told Beach Metro Community News that he believes the development will be a major benefit to the community “if done correctly.”

“(This) means that affordable housing is built, and existing commuter parking infrastructure is preserved,” said Kandavel. “This is not a binary decision. We can have both. The development is an issue of balancing two key community assets: affordable housing and commuter parking.”

During a council meeting this past June, Kandavel addressed the loss of commuter parking by requesting that staff ensure there is a “minimum of 50 offsite public Green P parking spots” in the surrounding area.

Kandavel says that he is working with staff to find additional offsite parking in the area. One of the solutions currently being explored is to reserve a portion of the Dentonia Park Golf Course parking lot for Victoria Park Station commuters.

“We are also pushing for more on-site parking,” he said. “In the current plans, there are 56 shared parking spots on site, but we would like to see at least 70 to offset the loss of the 173 existing spots.”

Considering the many apartments on the west side of Victoria Park Avenue in Crescent Town, this development is expected to garner a lot of attention from concerned residents as the developer will be adding density to an already high-density area.

But with community concerns also comes a large number of advocates as the development application attracted nine letters of support from respected community groups such as Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness (TAEH) and Community Living Toronto.

“Community Living Toronto strongly advocates for the creation of affordable, inclusive housing and endorses the proposal for developing new residential spaces at 777 Victoria Park Avenue through the City of Toronto’s Housing Now Initiative to promote diverse, mixed-use neighborhoods,” read a letter of support from Community Living Toronto CEO Brad Saunders.

In his letter to the City, Saunders highlighted the project’s close proximity to the Victoria Park subway station which “ensures that residents will have convenient access to public transit”.

Although this project is set to replace the parking lot that’s currently on site, Saunders says that its “strategic location” has reduced the need for “extensive parking facilities.”

“We believe this project will significantly benefit our community by providing accessible, transit-oriented housing solutions that meet the needs of those we support,” he wrote.

But, some residents in the surrounding neighbourhood and commuters who frequent Victoria Park Station are not as enthusiastic about the project, according to Kandavel.

“There are feelings of uncertainty about how this project might impact the community,” said Kandavel. “It’s understandable that people feel this way when a major change is coming to their community. But I’m excited to see this project go forward and deliver much-needed affordable housing to the community, especially in close proximity to transit.”

There has not yet been a date set for public consultation, but Kandavel says that his office is in communication with city staff as they plan for a community meeting this fall.

There are several renderings of the 777 Victoria Park Avenue project, here. 

For more information about 777 Victoria Park Ave, contact senior planner at the City of Toronto Ashley Varajao at ashley.Varajao@toronto.ca, or Scarborough Southwest Councillor Parthi Kandavel at Councillor_Kandavel@toronto.ca.