Alexandra Park Becomes the Latest Toronto Neighbourhood Slated For Overhaul

Following in the footsteps of Regent Park, Alexandra Park will soon become Toronto's next social housing neighbourhood to be completely redeveloped. Constructed during the 1960s, a recent neighbourhood study conducted by Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) indicated that many residents were concerned about maintenance and community safety. As it currently stands, the neighbourhood consists primarily of social housing units in townhome and co-op format. While it borders the busy Queen Street and Kensington Market shopping districts, Alexandra Park is largely isolated from the wider urban fabric, with its units turned in on themselves to a central courtyard. Non-residents have little reason to enter the neighbourhood as it currently stands.

TCHC is hoping to address some of these resident concerns by completely redeveloping the neighbourhood. The existing 263 townhouses will be demolished and replaced by 333 new rent-geared-to-income townhomes with more modern architecture and a streetscape that invites outsiders into the neighbourhood. A new community centre will provide local residents with state-of-the-art facilities. The project is being funded in part by the sale of 1100 new condo units slated for the area during the redevelopment. The new buildings will include commercial opportunities, hoping to bring some of the shoppers and visitors that normally congregate along Queen Street West and Kensington Market down through the neighbourhood.

While the redevelopment is seen as being long overdue by many, some residents fear that the changes just aren't for them. One life-long resident expressed concerns about the influx of new residents to the neighbourhood, changing the shape and face of the community. As in Regent Park, the redevelopment will take place in several stages, meaning sections of the community will have to leave the neighbourhood as buildings are demolished and reconstructed. Residents fear that the community they have grown to rely on and call home will be forever changed, frayed, and destroyed.

The redevelopment has yet to be approved, and is expected to go to Council later this week. For more information on the redevelopment project, visit TCHC's website here: http://www.torontohousing.ca/investing_buildings/alexandra_park