City
Weston Bakery plans to leave Leslieville
The familiar sights and smells from the Weston Bakery at Logan and Eastern Avenue look to have their days numbered. A development proposal has been submitted to the City aiming to turn the site into a seven story mixed use building containing 266 residential units and 1,432 square meters of "retail and service commercial uses at-grade". The development would include seven 3 1/2 storey townhouses and an underground garage containing 288 parking spaces. The bakery would move elsewhere leaving local residents content with what emanates out of Brick Street just up the street.
As someone who frequents the corner of Eastern and Logan, I won't miss the hassle of dealing with massive trucks coming in and out of the bakery. But I have to say I somehow like the idea of having this massive bakery in the area, if only because it's a local landmark and seemingly adds more character to a neighbourhood than a series of cookie-cutter townhouses might.
But I can't deny that the rejuvenation of Eastern Avenue probably means the Weston Bakery needs to go. Let's hope that if and when the re-zoning is approved the developers bring a progressive vision for what can become of the area. Some stores or restaurants incorporated into the mix would also likely do wonders helping to bring some foot traffic down from the bustling stretch a block north on Queen.
Fur further reading the Toronto Star has more details on the redevelopment application.
Discussion
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City Hall can't seem to figure out how to deal with the massive gridlock that has been crippling our city for the lat 10 years, imagine how this kind of density is going to add to it. We are going to spend all of our non working hours in our cars. Don't get me started on water and sewers which any Leslieviller knows is a huge issue due to aging infrastructure.
We need a moratorium on these new developments. Let greed take a backseat for awhile and lets try improving the health of what we have.
Any bit of redevelopment there will only help the entire stretch of Eastern.
They need to widen it to two lanes first and foremost.
Then, throw in the current administration that chooses to focus on vehicles over public transit of all kinds (LRT, Subways, cycling and even walking - i.e. moving people through intersections with scramble crossings) and it makes it worse.
To add to this, no level of government is investing in crumbling infrastructure anywhere because they either have no money or no interest because infrastructure isn't 'sexy' or vote-getting like a subway is, or property taxes, jails, jet fighters, minority budgets (depending on the level of government) and you get the growing potential of a lot of bad things happening.
This is all to say, in a long-winded way, the government (at all levels) is distracting us from what really needs to happen and we all go along with it because we don't have the critical mass to effectively fix Toronto. We get lost in left-right arguments and nothing gets done.
In two years, Leslieville will be choked with people and cars. Crappy retail (along with their McJobs) will dominate at street level. I'm sad as I enjoy this neighbourhood very much but will be climbing to higher ground hopefully away from the greedy developers reach.
why do you live downtown and then complain that there are too many people.
ridiculous!
As a 'neighbour', not a hipster neighbour, I can't see anything positive about this except for the RE agent's promise of an increased property value. This will be the only positive as I plan to sell the moment the crowds jam in and choke up our streets.
enjoy your move, the city shall survive without you.
" Do the 18-wheelers trying to get in and out bother you? Does the idea of city trucks and other city vehicles, i.e. fire trucks, hydro, etc. parked illegally on the street so they can shop for bread bother you?
Does the large Garbage truck that slams down large dumpsters at 7.00 AM,SHAKING & ROCKING your house bother you? Does the garbage from peoples cars parked at the Bakery parking lot drifting on to your yard everyday? Or is it the view of weeds unattended bother you?
The only people who have a right to say anything are "us who live on the same streets as the Bakery.
If you can get up on your anti-condo/hipster high-horse about it you likely don't live close enough to hear truck drivers hitting their tankers with rubber mallets in the middle of the night, to shake every grain loose. Or have had to endure that stink for days and have it be the reason you can't open your windows when its' nice outside.
Plus, isn't their product what is making us all fat anyway?