The Mirvish Village Task Group (MVTG) was formed in 2014 to represent the interests of local residents with respect to the proposal by Westbank Corporation to redevelop Honest Ed’s and Mirvish Village. Although it is a committee of PARA, MVTG has representatives from the four Residents’ Associations that meet at the four corners of Bloor and Bathurst: the Palmerston Area (PARA), Harbord Village (HVRA), Annex (ARA), and Seaton Village (SVRA).
After three years, more than 100 meetings and 3 reiterations of Westbank’s development proposals — each of which were significantly altered and refined due to residents’ influence and insight — Toronto City Council unanimously approved it on April 28, 2017.
MVTG made official submissions regarding:
– the preservation of 27 heritage buildings, 24 of which were spared from demolition and slated for restoration
– public park allocation including design and maintenance
– re-planting of trees and greening of adjacent, municipally owned land such as Palmerston Lane, Lennox, Markham and Bloor streets
– public realm including streetscape, water retention, above ground planting and commercial patios on Markham Street
– commercial, private, underground and on-street parking of vehicles, bikes and strollers
– transportation including impacts upon the neighbourhood of commercial and private vehicles, bike and pedestrian traffic and access to mass transit
– built form including materials sympathetic to the historic context of the neighbourhood
– building use including affordable housing, not-for-profit day-care and accessible, not-for-profit community space
We also acted as an advisory group to Graig Uens, the City of Toronto’s planner for the site.
As of 2020, MVTG is still addressing issues such as construction management. Several members of the MVTG and PARA residents participate in meetings with the City Councillor’s Office, the property owner / developer, Westbank and the construction company, Ellis-Don to raise and resolve neighbourhood issues arising from the construction including noise, security, dust and mud, truck routing and road closures.
Project Details & Documentation
To see the archived documentation of this project, please visit our website: http://www.mirvishvillagetg.org
