The Green P parking lot just North of the Miller Tavern at Yonge Street and York Mills Road is currently being halved in size to make way for parkland.
The conversion was the result of a deal made over 15 years ago between the former City of North York and the Toronto Parking Authority. In 1997, the city wished to purchase the Miller Tavern (a designated heritage property) to ensure that its historical state was maintained. The city agreed to develop a 262-space lot in order to cover the cost of purchasing the historic tavern.
“Once the revenues have completely paid up the Miller Tavern, then 50 per cent of the lot must return to park,” said Remy Iamonaco, project engineer with Toronto Parking Authority. “The agreement came up, and we have no choice but to do what we’re doing.”
He says that there are no plans in the near future to replace the 133 spaces lost with a nearby lot.
Louise Sugar of the York Mills Valley Association is excited for the park, which will contain a relic of a historic mill. “There will be lots of green area, there will be wildflowers and it will be very nice,” she said. “That mill relic will be a place where people can sit in the windowsills and on the sides of the walls and enjoy spending time there.”
Construction began last month and is expected to be complete in October.