Two houses on Fern were recently demolished as part of the ongoing rail construction.
Metrolinx’s plans to expropriate houses were very controversial when they were announced in 2010.
Only the footings of 29 and 32 Fern now remain.
Thanks to Chris for the tip.
The sales office at 10 Wilby.
There was a packed house on Sunday 17th March for the first sales presentation by Neighbourhood Concepts Non Profit Corporation (NCNPC). There is a sales office in the current building at 10 Wilby which will be demolished in August and a ten-storey, 131 unit condominium is planned to open at the end of 2014. The building pays homage to the famous Frank Lloyd Wright ‘Fallingwater‘ house in Western Pennsylvania. Homage is also paid to Humber River stone in the name Riverstone and parts of the building will actually be faced in stone. To keep costs down, amenities such as swimming pools and saunas are not part of the design while geothermal heating will save on energy. There will be a yoga/exercise room on the top floor and a sky terrace with barbecue facilities for residents.
NCNCP President Nancy Hawley maintains that the site choice is a vote of confidence in the many area amenities that Weston has to offer, not least the proximity to the Weston stores, GO station and recreational facilities offered by the Humber trail, parks and the sports complex in Lions Park. NCNCP can offer purchasers a better deal because they are a non-profit corporation and spend little on advertising, preferring flyers and word of mouth. They can also arrange an interest-free loan (up to $48,000) for qualified purchasers to be paid off when the unit is sold.
At the meeting, Hawley mentioned that NCNCP got its start a few years ago with two condos in the Distillery District. At the time, people thought they were crazy to build there but original purchasers have seen their units double in value. Since then, successful projects have been build across the city.
You be the judge:
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater designed in 1935.
The Riverstone (artist’s concept) designed in 2012.
Construction will begin in August or when the project is 75% sold.
An application for 10-storey, 131-unit residential building has been submitted to the city. If it all goes ahead, the building will be constructed at 10 Wilby Crescent, currently home to an auto repair shop.
Wilby Crescent runs off of Hickory Tree Road, near Raymore Park.
According to an article in the York Guardian, the currently derelict Kodak building has the potential of becoming (amongst other things) an LRT station serving Mount Dennis. Metrolinx consultant Joe Berridge stated that the station could actually be under the landmark building which would be renovated to provide a variety of facilities. Read the story here.
On September 17, 2012, the Etobicoke York Community Council received applications for two permits to demolish a 1.5 storey home at 1677 Weston Road, plus two vacant structures at 1681 Weston Road. The 1681 Weston Road property, north of Victoria Avenue East, is a two-storey commercial building, formerly operated as a butcher shop in the front with a metal workshop at the back. More recently, the shop was used for automotive repair and painting businesses.
The land recently sold for close to a million dollars.
On April 26, 2012, a community meeting was held to discuss the application submitted to the City to construct a row of seven townhouses fronting onto Weston Road and a four-unit townhouse on Victoria Avenue East, with laneway access off of Victoria. The plan propses the construction of tall, narrow, four-storey buildings.
Before certain demolition permits can be refused or granted, the owner is asked if he or she would like to enter into a beautification agreement. Apparently beautification agreements are only done when there is not a planning application, which essentially means the land would be vacant for a long period of time. Because there was a planning application in this case, the land will not be vacant.
City staff are currently considering the plan.
Humberview Housing Co-op; 2100 Weston Road
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has released a comprehensive listing of affordable housing along the length of Weston Road. Many of the landmark high-rise buildings in Weston are included along with their history, focus and occupancy numbers. Among the interesting facts contained in the document are:
You can read the full report here.
Chris Tonks, the school trustee for our district, opposes the sale of land around Pelmo Park school. He says, however, that the possible sale of school land around Toronto is because the the Ministry of Education is drying up capital funding for schools, and there is “some immediate need” for capital funding.
Tonks said that the schools in Weston are “very well enrolled” right now, and that HJ Alexander is “bursting at the seams” because of an influx of former St John the Evangelist students. He said that he wants to keep the green space around Pelmo Park intact to accommodate future students, since the redevelopment in Weston may lead to increased enrollment. “Pelmo Park is really the only site we have capacity to expand. I don’t think we should sacrifice that capacity. If we sever and we lose that, where are we going to get that greenspace to build?” he said.
Responding to readers’ questions about merging schools in Weston, I asked Vince Baglione, the Principal of Weston Memorial, about the state of his building. He said that the school is fine condition, though they will need a new roof and to work with a few building “quirks”. Both men said that the board is moving to a K–8 model, but that this will be several years away; according to Tonks “there’s no money for expansion right now.”
I tried to get Laura Albanese’s response, but she and I played phone tag over the past few days. I missed two of her calls because I was out. She was in a meeting when I called her back.