TORONTO – Residents of one of Toronto’s most densely-populated communities are growing weary of passing by vacant properties and are calling for politicians and developers to get to work.

Last week, someone spray-painted “Let this be a lovely park” on the fence in front of a piece of land on Wellesley Street between Yonge and Church that has sat unused since the demolition of an office building there five years ago.

A block west, numerous messages are painted on the wooden barrier surrounding land that has languished behind hoarding for more than a decade.

Four vacant properties dot the otherwise vibrant 1.1 km stretch of Wellesley Street between Bay and Sherbourne.

“It’s disheartening. I see [construction] cranes all over downtown yet nothing but empty lots in this neighbourhood,” says Alan Fisher. “Either build something or tear down the fences and put in temporary green spaces or parking lots.”

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City councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam says she sympathizes with her constituents. “I understand the frustration and I share the frustration,” she says. “I fully support them.”

Wong-Tam is leading the charge to turn a two-acre parcel of land on Wellesley between Bay and Yonge into an urban park. Owned by the Province of Ontario and once designated as the site of a new opera house, the property contained a skateboard park until it was surrounded by a wooden wall nearly 12 years ago.

The province has retained CBRE to sell the land, which it values at more than $58 million. According to a listing on the company’s website, the property is “positioned in one of the highest priced condo nodes in the city” and is ideally suited for multiple high-rises.

Wong-Tam says she would prefer to see recreational facilities and park space at the site. “It should not be sold strictly for condo development,” she says. “It is public land. We have the opportunity to produce a very special urban park.”

Although she has the backing of Toronto Centre MPP Glen Murray, Wong-Tam says she has not received “a meaningful reply from the province” and has asked Premier Dalton McGuinty for a meeting. “I continue to ask him not to shut the door on the community.”

Not all residents are opposed to condos on the site. “We don’t need another park there,” says Jennifer Caldwell, who lives in a nearby condo. “We’re a block away from Queen’s Park. I’d rather the province gets market value for it and someone builds something that will bring life to the street.”

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At 50 Wellesley Street East, a condo project by Plazacorp has been stalled by a dispute that is before the Ontario Municipal Board. The property has sat unused since the former home of St. John Ambulance was torn down in September 2007. The developer has proposed a 28-storey building with 320 units.

East of Church Street, a century-old building at 81 Wellesley Street East was demolished in January to make way for a condo, a demolition Wong-Tam calls “unfortunate.” The lot is likely to sit empty for awhile longer since no development application has been submitted to the city.





Wong-Tam says she has met with the property owner but is not permitted to reveal what kind of development it has in mind. “We’re not satisfied with the proposal,” she says.

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At the busy corner of Wellesley Street East and Sherbourne, hoarding enclosing a vacant lot has been covered with colourful artwork from local schoolchildren. The city is considering an application for a 38-storey condo tower with 326 units on the site, which has been empty since a gas station and donut shop were razed nearly 18 months ago.

Wong-Tam says the lot will remain vacant until a development plan is approved because soil contamination is an issue. “What else can you build?,” she says.

Dee Oloyo, who lives near the site, believes she knows why so many properties on Wellesley Street remain dormant for so long. “It’s a transient community and there are a lot of low-income people around,” she says. “You would never see so many boarded-up lots in Yorkville or Rosedale.”

Resident Michael Parkes agrees. “The city needs to speed up the approval process so things get built and property owners shouldn’t be allowed to tear buildings down until they’ve got the go-ahead to replace them with something new.”