City of Toronto Community Consultation Meeting for the Revitalization of Regent Park Phases 3-5

City of Toronto Community Consultation Meeting for the Revitalization of Regent Park Phases 3-5

Tuesday, September 17, 2013, 7-9 pm

Daniels Spectrum, 585 Dundas Street East

Come and make your voice heard!  As a follow-up to the revitalization plans presented on June 10, 2013, this consultation will present revisions made in response to community concerns.  For example, the 40-storey tower planned for Gerrard and Parliament will now be only 20 storeys!   Obviously, it’s worthwhile to speak out.     

Although good changes have been made to the June 10^th proposal, two issues may still be of concern to the community: (1) the decision not to demolish 14 Blevins (because it is listed as historical), and (2) the plan to keep the density increase at 36%.  Here are some arguments to consider as you make up your own mind.

1. Why should 14 Blevins be torn down?

·        The building will be difficult and expensive to retrofit

o   Water pipes and other major elements have not been kept in repair.

o   The elevator does not go down to the basement.

o   There is no provision for underground parking.

·        Costly renovations will mean less money for good social housing.

o   The Historical Board provides no funds to preserve the buildings it lists.

·        The building will look out of place.

o   Situated at an angle, it will not follow the grid of the streets as will all other buildings.

o   In an entirely new neighbourhood, it will be the only old building.

·        Regent Park is about people, not buildings.  Their stories are what need to be remembered.

Please take a moment to sign the petition to advocate for the demolition of 14 Blevins Place.

2.  Why should the density not be raised by 36%?

(Before any redevelopment, Regent Park had a population of roughly 7,500.  The original revitalization plan projected a population of 12,500.  Then the June 10^th amendment shot that projection up to 17,000 – a 36% increase.)

·        With more people, services will be under strain.

o   Parks and streets will be more crowded.

o   If mothers currently line up at 4:00 am to enlist their children in swimming lessons, imagine how early they must rise in the future.

·        The voices of those who live in social housing will not be heard.

o   Since all the additional units will be market-value, social housing units will, in future, comprise only 25% of the total.

·        The need for money should not jeopardize the health of the neighbourhood. 

o   TCHC says it needs more condo sales to offset the cost of replacing social housing.  If so, why was the initial revitalization plan so flawed that a 36% increase in density is now needed?  And will the new business plan require even more density if the condo market falls?  TCHC needs to plan cautiously, for increased densities come at a cost to the social health of the neighbourhood.

These are ideas to think about.  Please come to the September 17^th meeting to express your own views.

Regent Park Legacy Funds

What would you do with $600,000 for the community?

During the early 1980s, Regent Park residents had a vision for a community centre run by residents. To support this vision, Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) households voluntarily committed $2 per month for three years, adding up to $10,000.

However, during the fundraising period, the South Community Centre was built without using any of the funds raised. And so the money was then designated to create opportunities for training and employment for people to take over the management of the Community Centre. Unfortunately, this never happened, and in the late 1990s the management of the Centre was turned over to the City of Toronto, thus leaving the funds untouched. 

In addition to the contributions from the residents, various levels of governments provided an additional $160,000 of funding to match the $160,000 generated by residents. Interest on these funds has continued to accumulate over the years, resulting in the funds totalling $600,000. The funds we now refer to as “Legacy Funds.”

Residents have always been mindful of the funds and have entrusted the City of Toronto and TCHC to keep the interest-generating funds, ensuring that the money remained available to the community.

As Regent Park continues to undergo a tremendous amount of change, we now have a good sense of what the community amenities will be, and we are in a better position to determine how the Legacy Funds can be used.

So, what would you do with $600,000 for the community?

What types of ideas can be funded with this money?

The Legacy Funds can be spent on ideas that benefit the Regent Park community in a way that honours local capacity building and leaves and a lasting community legacy.

Possible ideas include:

Scholarship fund for the Regent Park Community;

A community microloan project;

A capital addition to an existing or planned building in the community.

What types of ideas cannot be funded?

The following ideas cannot be funded with the Legacy Funds:

Ideas that require additional funding from the  City or TCHC;

Purchasing real estate;

Gifting money to individuals or groups (excludes scholarships);

Using the money for religious groups or ideas that only service one portion of the population. 

As we move forward as a new, revitalized community, we need to ensure that we are inclusive of everyone. New and existing members of the Regent Park Community will have an opportunity to articulate how the Legacy Funds are used for the benefit of the whole community. This is a unique opportunity to really shape the future success of the Regent Park community. Let’s get talking, Regent Park!

A final decision about how the Legacy Funds will be used will be made by October 2013 and will be communicated to Regent Park residents. The final use of the funds has to be approved by City Council and the TCHC Board of Directors.

If you want more information or to offer feedback contact Julio Rigores at Julio.rigores@torontohousing.ca or at 416-981-4271, or Leah Ross at lross2@toronto.ca at 416-932-8492.

14 Blevins Place: A Heritage Site to Remember or Forget?

What’s so special about 14 Blevins Place?

The high-rise apartment building in South Regent looks exactly like the others surrounding it – red-brick, poorly maintained, poor lighting around entrances to the building, quite like most of the housing in Regent Park slated for redevelopment. Why then, when phase 3 of the Regent Park Redevelopment rolls around, will 14 Blevins Place remain standing while surrounding others are demolished and rebuilt to higher standards of living and beauty? **Update: Since this blog entry was published, the Preservation Board met and determined to not designate the building as a Heritage property -- thanks to active engagement from our Regent Park residents.**

During the original planning of the Revitalization in 2004, City staff proposed that one of the low-rise residential buildings characteristic of North Regent, and one of the high-rise residential buildings characteristic of South Regent, be retained. They were to be “preserved and adaptively reused so that the use of the property as a public housing project for over 50 years would be commemorated” (Toronto Staff Report 2*). Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) agreed to the preservation of one of the high-rise apartment buildings in South Regent only, and so 14 Blevins Place was recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties, exempt from demolition and slated for preservative repurposing.

Why then were the buildings in North Regent determined unfit for preservation, while not so for the high-rises of South Regent? The preservation of 14 Blevins Place has been attributed to the fact that at the time of building, in the late 1950s, the Blevins high-rises were considered “a major advancement in public housing” (Toronto Staff Report 3*), designed by renowned architect Peter Dickinson, and winner of the Massey Medal for Architecture. The design featured “two-storey apartments that separated the bedrooms from the living space and enabled units to front onto both sides of the building” (Toronto Staff Report 3*). At the time of City consultation with the community there was support for the preservation of this building and none for preserving the town houses in the north. However, it has been nearly a decade since these consultations and support from the community for the preservation of 14 Blevins Place is hard to find.

We have been hearing from the community that they want 14 Blevins Place demolished as part of phase 3 of the Redevelopment of Regent Park. I spoke with one 14 Blevins Place resident who gave us a clearer understanding of why it must go.

Our interviewee immigrated to Canada in 1986 and has been living in Regent Park nearly ever since. She currently lives in 14 Blevins Place in Regent Park, and has been there for 12 years. I spoke with her about her experience living in 14 Blevins and whether she was aware of development plans to keep the building as a heritage site.

Though she says she likes living in the building, she has several frustrations around the living conditions. As we have heard already expressed from others, our interviewee noted serious issues of leaks, and building maintenance. The elevator, she says, is frequently soiled with urine and smoke (which we have heard from others including that the elevator frequently doesn’t work). Many neighbours complain of mice and cockroaches, and some even have issues with bedbugs.

Our interviewee illustrates her frustrations with an anecdote about her fridge. When she first moved into the building she noticed that the fridge was not in good shape – food was spoiling because it was not cool enough. She filed complaints with housing management,but nothing was done until it completely broke down 10 years later on Christmas Eve. In a rush, she had to prepare her Christmas feast at her friend’s place,desperate to salvage the food already starting to go bad in the broken refrigerator. The fridge was not replaced until the third week of January,leaving her to cope without the appliance for a month. The hesitance on the part of building management to replace the malfunctioning appliance is a trending frustration, no doubt compelled by the lack of incentive to invest in a building that will be either demolished or become City property.

Though a resident of the building for over a decade, our interviewee was unaware of the plans to keep 14 Blevins Place as a heritage building. When I asked her whether she was in support of this plan she immediately responded that she was not, and expressed confusion over the desire to maintain a building that was so neglected. She further noted the potential risk involved in maintaining a building with health risks such as insect and rodent infestation, expressing concern that these infestations, if allowed to fester, might just spread to the new buildings and recreate the problem.

At the most recent City consultation with the community on June 10th (see our June Newsletter or blog entry for a recap of this event), two 14 Blevins Place residents addressed City Planners to request the demolition of the building to audience applause. City Planner, Angela Stea, was receptive to this feedback but informed us that in order for there to be a change in the Development Plan, others need to speak up – so we have taken to the streets! We have been out in the community, talking with residents and finding that they echo our interviewee’s sentiments. Already, we have gathered many signatures on our petition for the building’s demolition. Additionally, we have started a petition that can be accessed at:

https://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-toronto-demolish-14-blevins-place-as-part-of-phase-3-of-regent-park-revitalization

If you, like many of your neighbours, feel 14 Blevins Place has no value in our Revitalized Regent Park, please sign the petition for its removal. To maintain the building as a heritage site is to maintain a reminder of the poor living conditions and neglect that residents have endured all these years. This simply does not fit with the theme of revitalization. 14 Blevins Place has well-served its usefulness, and as community members we do not want to see the preservation of this building for any use moving forward.

These kinds of decisions are important in maintaining the health of the community, and it is essential that residents participate in these decisions. Sign the petition, or email in your support for the plan, but make your voice heard. Our work at the Regent Park Neighbourhood Initiative is informed by you, and as such your engagement is critical. Currently, we are seeking to hear from the community on their feelings of social inclusion. Take the survey and help us to seek needed changes in the community and preserve what really matters to you.

* To read the Toronto Staff report visit  http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/2005/agendas/committees/te/te050118/it029.pdf

Our Regent Park Timeline

Regent Park has a very rich history, which is still being written. This is a community that has always demonstrated resilience and determination, exemplified in a culture of activism and artistic expression.

These media continue to express the diversity of the community. Regent Park’s true story is that of the many residents who have called this place home. We are therefore looking for your help to tell this community’s true history.

How has Regent Park changed throughout the years and how has it changed you? Who made up the community for you and what makes Regent Park feel like home?

We want to hear these stories: everything from the day you first arrived here, to your youthful shenanigans in Stinky’s park, to your dreams and hopes for the future.

Let’s not forget the great roots of this vastly evolving neighbourhood, where all this growth started.

Send us these stories and we will post them on our website. To see what sorts of stories your neighbours are already telling visit our history page.

Regent Park Relocation, Return, Resettle

We’ve been a part of many discussions lately concerning the Revitalization of Regent Park, and often the conversation ends up centring on the relocation processes, so we thought that we would try to help sort out the issues and challenges that folks have been living with, in hopes to provide some clarity.

Relocation (Temporary Unit)

Relocation is required in order to demolish the existing buildings in Regent Park. Families living in units slated for redevelopment will be directed to move from their current home to another Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) unit. This unit may be located in Regent Park, slated for later redevelopment, or in another community in the City. Residents will stay in their relocation unit until their new home is built, which can be anywhere between 2 and 5 years.

About a year before your move from your original location, you will receive a notice, called a Demolition Notice, from TCHC telling you that demolition of your existing home will happen in approximately one year.

Within 3-9 months after you receive that notice, you will be invited to attend a meeting where you will be assigned a number that is selected via a random draw. This number will be the order in which a relocation unit will be offered to you. After that   you will get a package indicating the available units in the unit size for which your household is eligible. You will then be asked to set a one-on-one meeting with a member of TCHC’s Relocation Office. 

Your family will have a few days to discuss the options for relocation, and you will then identify your top choices for relocation units by filling out a form at the one-on-one meeting with the Relocation Staff.  Once all the eligible residents’ one-on-one meetings are held, and everyone has made their relocation choices, TCHC will make offers of units to residents in the order of their random draw number. TCHC will continue to work with you to find a new home that meets your family’s needs through the “family composition” process (numbers and ages of family members in the dwelling determine how many rooms you are entitled to). If there are no suitable units available at the time of the first round of offers, TCHC will schedule additional meetings with you to find a unit that works for your family.

Once you’ve selected your new home, TCHC will work with you to ensure you have boxes available for packing. TCHC will also pay certain fees related to your move, including disconnect/reconnect fees with utility or cable companies,  postal fees for forwarding mail, as well as providing professional movers to move your belongings into your new home.

At the lease signing of your temporary new unit, you will also sign a “Relocation Agreement,” which means that when the new housing is built in Regent Park, you will have the right to come back. 

Return (Regent Park Unit)

If moving back to Regent Park doesn’t work for you when you receive notice that a new building is ready, you may waive the right to return to Regent Park and stay in your relocation unit instead. In some cases, you have the right to defer your return to a later date or the next phase.

When a new building is almost ready to have tenants move in, TCHC will hold another random draw meeting that you will be invited to attend. Your name will again be selected in another random draw along with other families’ names also waiting return. Your random number will assign the order in which your family will be offered a new unit in Regent Park. At the unit selection meeting, TCHC will provide floor plans of options for new units, and set up a one-on-one meeting with your family to determine your needs and which options of units you would like to select. Once everyone in this phase of return has had their one-on-one meeting, TCHC will offer units to residents based on the order of the random draw, and you will have an opportunity to accept or decline this offer.

What you should know is that during the return process, you will again go through the “family composition” processes to determine how many bedrooms your family requires, based on the number and ages of family members living with you. This is the same process you would have gone through when you first applied for housing, and again when you relocated to your temporary home.

You should also know that the architectural designs of today differ greatly from those used in the 1940s, which means that homes are smaller, but typically much more efficient in their layout, so you may not have the same amount of square footage in your new home as was in your old home.  Additionally, more high-rises are being built as opposed to townhouses or low-rises, so your new Regent Park home may be in a different building type than your old Regent Park home.

Once you have confirmed your offer of a new home and your return to Regent Park, TCHC will once again make sure that you have boxes, and a moving company to assist you in your move. TCHC will again reimburse you for any utility, cable, or postal fees related to your move.

Resettle

You’ll come back to a community that has changed and neighbours that you’ve never met before. It will take you some time to figure out what’s going on and where things are happening, so we encourage you to stay as connected as possible through the Regent Park Neighbourhood Initiative on our website, facebook or twitter account, so that you’re up to date with all things Regent Park.

If you have any questions or concerns about the process as described, please contact Debra at debra@rpni.ca.