North York condo proposal could push neighbourhood to its limits

By News Staff

A North York neighbourhood is fighting a condo development proposal that, they say, will push the area’s population to its limits.

A four-storey commercial office building and two four-storey residential rental buildings currently reside on the section of property at Wilson Avenue and Faywood Boulevard, just east of the Allen.

The proposal will see those buildings demolished to make way for a 13-storey condominium building (353 units), a 12-storey rental apartment building (158 units) and two stacked townhouse buildings (112 units).

Steve Gould lives in the neighbourhood and is concerned about the affect such a population increase will have on the area.

“Six-hundred and some odd units replacing 110, it’s quite massive. And the affect it will have on the neighbourhood, the traffic … We’re a quiet neighbourhood. We don’t need more traffic.”

Some of the other concerns raised about the project include the height of the buildings and where the residents who currently live in the rental units will move. Currently the bylaw permits eight-storey buildings.

City councillor for the area James Pasternak calls the project “overly ambitious” and “very intense.”

He noted that the neighbourhood is currently one in transition but population density has to be considered.

“Up to 3,000 condominium units will be built in the coming years, there’s about 1,000 occupied now,” he explained.

“That’s about all the area can handle at this point. So there’s a lot of discussion that we have to have before this application can be approved.”

It’s not just the height of the proposed buildings that area residents are concerned about. The stacked townhomes would be about 1.5 meters from the property line, encroaching on the backyards of several homes.

“That’s like having somebody always in your backyard. It’s invasive,” Gould said. “We’ve lived there 20 years. It’s not what we want to see for our neighbourhood.”

Pasternack agreed that it’s a serious issue they will be looking into.

“It will potentially negatively affect that quality of the single family detached homes to the north, so it’s a proposal we have to take a very strong look at and listen to what the community is saying” Pasternak explained.

“We want to preserve the integrity of the neighbourhood and the integrity of Wilson Avenue.”

Area residents will be allowed to voice their concerns on Wednesday night at an open house held by the developer Collecdev.

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