City council recently passed the Lawrence Allen Secondary Plan, which guides redevelopment of the neighbourhood bounded by Highway 401, Bathurst Street, Lawrence Avenue West and Dufferin Street. Approval came despite continuing concerns over density, infrastructure and traffic expressed by some local residents. As adopted, the plan allows for the replacement of 1,208 social housing units as well as the addition of 4,400 residential market units over the next 20-plus years.
Coun. Josh Colle said that he appreciates the continuing concerns held by some local residents but pointed to steps taken to address them and added that the issues that have plagued the Lawrence Heights and surrounding neighbourhoods, such as safety, needed to be addressed, too.
“With this development, we put in place that, until the infrastructure that’s needed to support it is budgeted and paid for, development won’t proceed,” he said.
Replacement of the 1,208 social housing units will cost an estimated $350 million. Toronto Community Housing Corporation is responsible for funding this and plans to do so through the sale of land and land rights to private developers, who will build the market residential units. A further $205 million will have to be found to pay for infrastructure.
Marie McCutcheon of Save Our Streets said that her group is pleased to have seen measures taken to address some of the issues it’s raised. “A lot of development is being proposed on the streets along Dufferin and Lawrence into the north, so our big concern has always been the number of units and the density, and the impact to the existing neighbourhoods.”
Residents of the Lawrence Heights community, such as Marian Mohamud, urged the city to pass the plan.
“This plan will help erase the stigma Lawrence Heights suffers,” Mohamud said. “Most members of my community struggle to obtain employment because of our postal code.”