Mayor John Tory is asking Toronto’s Green P parking agency to stop their plans to replace apartments on Eglinton Ave. West with a parking lot.

“Our priority should be building more [affordable] housing close to transit — especially when we are making investments in new transit construction,” Tory said in a letter to Toronto Parking Authority chair Hartley Lefton yesterday.

I have serious concerns about @GreenPParking proceeding with the construction of a parking lot at 2204-2212 Eglinton Avenue W. I am committed to building more affordable housing & I have made it clear that our priority should be building more of that housing close to transit. pic.twitter.com/2dV8nHki3M

— John Tory (@JohnTory) July 23, 2019

At 2204-2212 Eglinton Ave. West there are four two-storey apartment and commercial buildings owned by the city, which Green P wants to knock down and create a 24-spot parking lot.

The agency says the area is in need of parking because the number of spots has been reduced by the Eglinton Crosstown LRT construction.

Since the LRT is scheduled to be completed by 2021, Tory said this is a prime location for “transit-oriented development” and hopes that the TPA will pivot their plans toward affordable housing, instead of parking.

At the moment, the TPA has postponed Green P’s plans to construct a parking lot on this property and intends to discuss the future of this land with CreateTO, a new program that works to create affordable housing on available city properties.

I hope that CreateTO and the TPA both use this time to find a better plan for this site that will address the need to build more housing in the city.

— John Tory (@JohnTory) July 23, 2019

Tory said he hopes that this situation will act as an example for future projects and that public benefit is always the priority.