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‘They achieve nothing for people’: tenants challenge condo developments
When Rebecca Gimmi moved into her apartment located at 145 St. George St. in the Annex area of Toronto 17 years ago, she said it was because it provided safety, convenience, and affordability.
“As a single woman who worked in the arts and a lot of events late at night, I really needed to feel safe and be near transit,” she said. The building is Gimmi’s tenth apartment that she’s lived in. After living in basement apartments and several homes of friends, she decided to seek a purpose-built rental for more security, but now that security is being taken away. “It never even occurred to me that the workaround for getting rid of old tenants is to demolish the building and rebuild,” she said. At the July 19 Toronto City Council meeting, an application to demolish the building was approved. Tenblock development will now move forward with replacing the building with a 28-storey condo. Activists sound the alarm The building is one of many in the city of Toronto that is being targeted by developers to replace with condo units. As Toronto grows, the demand for an increase in housing supply continues to grow with it. But these projects have also caused anger, confusion, and resistance among tenants, activists, and those who are unhoused. For tenants such as those living in 25 St. Mary St., 55 Brownlow Ave, and 145 St. George St., the construction of condo towers to replace these buildings means the destruction of their own homes. For business owners and residents of predominantly racialized areas such as Little Jamaica, in the Oakwood and Eglinton Ave area, these developments mean a loss of community and cultural identity. Activists have been sounding the alarm and bringing attention to the negative impacts of the glass towers, and what it means for those in need of affordable housing. “Well, overwhelmingly the issue is one of affordability,” said John Clarke, former leader of Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). “It doesn't matter how much housing is built, you could have an endless supply of luxury condominiums and they achieve nothing for people.” Clarke is now a member of 230 Fightback, a group rallying to stop the development of condos on empty lots located at 214-230 Sherbourne Street in Toronto’s downtown east community. A proposed development by Kingsett Capital hopes to develop the empty lots into a 47-storey condo tower. Activists have been urging the city to turn the empty lots, located down the street from Allen Gardens where encampments currently reside, into affordable housing units. Clarke said the housing crisis continues to worsen for existing renters as well, because of the high rental costs. “It is the vast numbers of people who are paying ridiculously inflated rents and are only able to do that by going short on other basic necessities of life,” Clarke said. 230 Fightback organized a march and rally on June 10 to fight against the application and bring awareness to the project. The rally began at 230 Sherbourne St., and made its way south, marching past busy intersections such as Yonge and Dundas Streets and ending at the Royal York Hotel on Front Street. Outreach worker Lorraine Lam, told protesters that empty lots such as the ones located at 214-230 Sherbourne Street, will do more harm than good for the people who reside in the area if turned into condos.
“We know that this condo will displace vulnerable and poor people once again,” she said. “So where are people supposed to go? When condos go up and gentrification happens, poor and racialized people are increasingly criminalized and surveilled, they are targeted.” NDP-MPP Jessica Bell shared a report on April 5, 2023, which identified over 3,500 units in the city that are being threatened with “demovictions” to make way for condo units. Many of these units are under rent control guidelines. Since the report was released, a neighbourhood in southwest Toronto has been threatened with the largest development application. An application submitted to the city on April 25, 2023, details a plan to demolish five existing residential buildings at 220 Lake Promenade in the Kipling Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard area and replace them with five new buildings, three of them condos. While existing buildings and tenants are under pressure by condo developments, businesses and cultural hubs are also being impacted by the developments. Davpart Development applied to Toronto to build a massive development on the property of Malvern Town Centre in the Tapscott Rd. and Neilson Rd. area calling for it’s demolition to build 13 new residential buildings. In Toronto’s Little Jamaica neighbourhood, a proposed 38 storey condominium development project by Core development and Shannondale Development has raised concerns from residents and community leaders. Not enough affordable housing Although Toronto’s housing supply continues to increase, the affordable housing supply grows at a slower pace, with the demand exceeding supply, causing concerns for tenants. As of August 2023, there are currently more than 84,000 active applications on Toronto’s social housing waitlist according to the city of Toronto. Once approved applicants will be given a rent-geared-to-income unit. That means applicants have been given a minimum wait time of eight years for a studio apartment, and 15 years for a three bedroom. Greg Cook, outreach worker for the Shelter and Housing Justice Network Toronto, said although he encourages people to put their names on the list, there is still a good chance they will never get a unit. “The really sad part about my job is I work with people to get their name on the list, or I meet people who have had their name on the list for five, six, seven, eight years who die before their name comes up,” he said. Cook said that profits being made from development projects are one of the reasons why we are seeing less affordable housing units and more condo units. “So basically, it's kind of our current real estate system is designed this way, to ensure that a few people make an extraordinary amount of profit while more and more people are left without housing or spend most of their income on housing,” he said. Michael Whitehead, a tenant at 25 St Mary St. of 28 years, said developers are less to blame for the abundance of condos pushing tenants out of the city, and councils should be held accountable for the decisions they vote for. “You really can't blame developers for being greedy capitalists because that's what they are,” he said. “The surprise is why are our councillors supporting these proposals with so little compensation for tenants and not always what any reasonable tenant would consider robust and reasonable and fair.” Whitehead is a resident of 25 St Mary St. a rent-controlled apartment in downtown Toronto, that recently had a development application approved by council on May 10. The developer, Tenblock, will demolish the building and build two new condo towers in its place with a total of 1,024 new units. Whitehead, along with several tenant organizations currently being threatened by displacement due to condo developments, have called on city councillors to step in. Amber Morley has been one of many councillors being called on due to the largest development application, 220 Lake Promenade, being submitted in her ward. In response to the crisis many tenants are facing around the city due to condo developments, Sam McGarva, communications advisor for Morley, said condos can be a part of the solution. “Condos are not the key to solving the housing crisis, but they are a component of the solution,” he wrote in a statement. “Our city needs to expand a range of housing options to address the diverse needs of the residents of our city.” However, Ahmed Patel, Constituency Assistant for liberal MPP Dr. Adil Shamji, Don Valley East, said developments are an attempt to gentrify communities around the city.
“We need the right type of housing, what we don’t need is demovictions and the new units coming into replace affordable units,” he said. Transit expansion blamed for developments Patel attributes gentrification and recent condo developments to rapid transit projects taking place across the city, such as in Flemingdon park where he resides. “Of course, we want transit, but we don’t want the demovictions,” Patel said. “Now the transit is closer, they’ll move people out, they’ll bring in people who will pay about three, four thousand dollars a unit and that is not fair.” Flemingdon Park, a neighborhood located in Toronto’s Don Valley East community, will soon have two new rapid transit stops located at the current site of the Ontario Science Centre for the new Eglinton Crosstown LRT and Ontario Line. But with the creation of new transit opportunities in the area, many of the residents fear they won’t be able to make full use of these projects if they won’t be living in the area anymore. Tenblock Development applied to the city to demolish 48 Grenoble Drive located in Flemingdon Park and build a 43 and 41-storey condo on the lot. Residents of Flemingdon Park have spoken out against the proposed changes, and rallied to bring awareness to the development projects that they say is changing the cultural landscape within the neighborhood. One of the residents who worries about this is Marcella Thompson, a senior resident and breast cancer survivor who has been living at 48 Grenoble Drive for four decades. Thompson said the circumstances have even led to her grandchildren raising concerns. “The lowlight came a couple weeks ago when those same grandchildren now 9 and 7 asked me ‘grandma what will happen to the seniors who have lived here for years,” she said. “I do not want to be a statistic; I do not want to be homeless.” Like many, Thompson said she was thrilled when she heard of the new transit developments coming to the area but said “she never thought it would be costing us our homes, and in some cases our jobs.” The Ontario Science center, despite being a hub for two new transit lines and an important aspect of the neighborhood, has also recently been a talking point of redevelopment and relocation, Activists take aim at Ford
The Ford government proposed to move the Ontario Science Centre to the Ontario Place and build housing on the lot where it currently sits. The proposal created added stress for the residents of Flemingdon Park who are already going through significant changes due to the condo development projects. Martin Fischer, an employee of the Ontario Science Centre for 23 years, and member of OPSEU said it was a shock that the Ford government proposed to move the center without any consultation with community members. “We can’t go down to Ontario Place to work there, even if there is a subway to take us there, it will take too long,” he said. Fischer said that he does hope more Science Centers can be built, however redeveloping the lands on the site will have negative effects on employees and especially youth who visit most. Toronto city councillor, Josh Matlow, brought forth a motion in June to help protect the Science Centre and halt plans to move it. At a city council meeting on July 19, council voted 21-2 to carry the motion. The motion outlines a plan for the city to determine the feasibility of operating the Science Centre on its own. Although activists and community members have long called on the province to build more housing, many are concerned that this will do the opposite of providing stable living conditions. Doug Fords Bill 23, notably called ‘More Homes Built Faster’, helps remove red tape and lessen involvement from municipalities so that the province can develop housing faster. However, Coleen Houlder, Board Regional Vice-President for Toronto OPSEU, said that Bill 23 doesn’t recognize affordability as a necessary component of housing. “’More homes built faster’ that’s the memo, but what kind of homes? They left that part out,” Holder said. As governments make moves to increase the supply of housing, tenants in purpose-built rentals are still struggling to make ends meet. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a report on July 13 which said a worker in Toronto would need to make $33.62 an hour to afford a one-bedroom apartment, more than double minimum wage. The report also said workers in Toronto will need to make $40.03 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment in the city. “The reality for many people is that they are spending so much on rent that they don’t have a left over for other necessities,” Holder said. “Given that reality why are decision makers approving the demolition of a building such as 48 Grenoble Drive?” Tenants fight back
Tenants across the city, including those not facing demovictions, have been fighting back against their landlords, in attempt to change the housing market while they wait for decision makers to provide more protections. In Toronto’s Thorncliffe Park, over 500 tenants entered their fourth month of being on a rent strike to protest the above guideline rent increases their landlords have applied for. Tenants at 71, 75, and 79 Thorncliffe Park in East York stopped paying rent on May 1, 2023. The tenants were notified that the landlord, Starlight Investment, requested a nearly 10 per cent increase over the past two years. The rent strike started in May, and although several tenants have received eviction notices, the tenants are eager to continue fighting. “Not only do we want to stay in our homes, but we are going to stay in our homes, this is going to be a battle that we win,” said Bruno Dobrusin, member of York South-Weston Tenant union. Whitehead said it will take time before a change is made but it can only be done by the tenants themselves. “It really is going to take thousands of tenants demonstrating Queens Park until we actually see something closer to what would be fair and it's only going to happen with a huge public outcry,” Whitehead said. Tenants in buildings facing demolitions have organized groups and campaigns to bring awareness to an issue that is predominantly facing purpose-built rental units. Outreach workers continue to provide tents, food, and hygiene products to those who are unhoused. Toronto’s working class and most vulnerable have looked towards their own communities for aid during an affordability and housing crisis. But for people like Gimmi and thousands across the city, feelings of anxiety and doubt continue to stand in the way of living peacefully in Canada’s largest city. “What if I move into a place, but it’s also being demolished?” she said. “I don't know how many people have to be demovicted before this conversation changes.” |