The Toronto Parking Authority (TPA)’s Green P lot on the corner of Spadina Road and Thelma Avenue has become the site of a development debate for the second time in just over 10 years.
Lorne Persiko, president of the TPA, said that the parking authority has had plans to expand the lot at 453 Spadina Rd. for several years.
The TPA purchased a house adjacent to the lot for $1,153,000 in 2010 with the intention of developing the entire space for a new and expanded parking facility.
“We’ve looked at development on the site before,” said Persiko, referring to a 2002 attempt to redevelop the lot. “Since that development failed, there’s been a need to add parking to the area.”
They are now co-ordinating with the Forest Hill Village Business Improvement Area (BIA) to determine the community’s parking needs.
A less costly option would be to expand the surface lot from 43 to 54 surface spaces. But according to the results of surveys distributed throughout the community, adding two levels of underground spaceswould be ideal.
But adding underground parking will require development on the surface, explained Coun. Joe Mihevc. “To finance [an underground lot], the parking revenue does not pay for it itself,” said Mihevc. “You need to build some commercial above that.”
A meeting was held June 18 to gauge the neighbourhood’s feelings on the issue.
“We are not of one mind in the community,” said Mihevc, who said a decision needs to be made soon. “We have the house sitting there, and we’ve already delayed the construction of the surface lot by several months. We were hoping to be in the ground.”
The 2002 debate over the lot is part of the reason why Mihevc is facilitating discussions on the matter despite the lot falling in the jurisdiction of Ward 22 councillor Josh Matlow.
Matlow declared a conflict of interest in the matter, as his father, Judge Ted Matlow, resides on the street. Judge Matlow had already fought commercial development by the Toronto Parking Authority in the area.
Between 2002 and 2004, Judge Matlow was president of the committee Friends of the Village, which fought to halt construction of a mixed-use commercial building on the same lot.
The project was eventually terminated, but the battle nearly resulted in Judge Matlow’s removal from office. A Canadian Judicial Council panel found the judge to be acting inappropriately by continuing to hear cases involving the city of Toronto while engaged in a battle against the city. However, the council granted the judge a reprieve in 2008.
Now the site is once again up for debate, and despite many members of the community opposing commercial development in the previous battle, Forest Hill Village BIA president Yvonne Bambrick says that a two-storey commercial development appears to be the preferred solution.
“There was enough support from the merchant community and the residential community to pursue with the underground parking,” said Bambrick. “Parking was the number one issue.”