East York-Old East York

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

Drove along Pape today and I caught two new restaurants. Unfortunately, I didn't get a long slow look. Just a quick glimpse.

East side, just south of Folia Grill: Pho Culture. At least that's what I think it's called. My memory ain't the best.

West side, opposite McD's: a former indie burger place (talk about a death wish) is now wings and ribs. It's just a hole in the wall but who knows? It may be good.

I think Pape is coming along, slowly.

 

[Geo21]

Drove along Pape today and I caught two new restaurants. Unfortunately, I didn't get a long slow look. Just a quick glimpse.

East side, just south of Folia Grill: Pho Culture. At least that's what I think it's called. My memory ain't the best.

West side, opposite McD's: a former indie burger place (talk about a death wish) is now wings and ribs. It's just a hole in the wall but who knows? It may be good.

I think Pape is coming along, slowly.

It's called Pho challenge I believe.

George's bbq chicken and ribs is the other place, had the Greek burger there a few weeks ago, pretty good, owner seems nice..guessing his name is George lol, Been there a couple of months.

 

[Skeezix]

Speaking of Pape, I see that the Eleven11 stores on the corner with Cosburn all have For Lease signs in the windows (have for a few weeks now). The smallest store on the south end has been leased by some crappy cell phone shop. So all the speculation on this thread (okay, mostly by me) that some other retailer/restaurant had swooped down to secure this large corner space has proven to be ... erm ... incorrect.

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

Ah yes. Pho Challenge. I prefer Pho Culture. But that's just me.

That's very disappointing re. the Eleven11 store. However there's much to be encouraged about. More restaurants. More services (Princess Perfect Upholstery is GREAT!) and the recent move of Workshop Gallery (she bought the building) from Pape and Danforth up to the NE corner of Westwood. I highly recommend her as well. All these changes will accelerate, I am sure.

When we moved into Riverdale in 1985, the Danforth, while loaded with old-style open-kitchen restaurants and produce places, was a little bleak and very Greek in the sense that there was little variety. There was a gas station I think where Shoppers now is near Broadview. A car dealer where the Big Carrot is. (It used to be where Second Cup now is.) The first non-Greek restaurant that I can remember is Ricky & Ricardo's where Auld Spot now is. The first "nice" store was the Design Zone which I LOVED. I used to buy all my gifts from there and still have many things from there on our walls and in the kitchen. It kind of opened the door to IQ Living. The original Mrs. Chambers Fish Market before going through a number of iterations until it became 7Numbers.

I could go on.

Point being, like the incredible transformation of Danforth and Queen E., Pape is next.

 

[AlbertC]

Nice to see, Pape has lots of potential.

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

I am going to post this in both the Riverdale thread and here if that's permitted. That's because I just noticed a new coffee bar on Pape at the corner of Canning just up from Danforth: 808 Social

 

[Therion]

If anyone tries the pho place, let us know. I'm curious. If I have time for a jaunt over, I'll give it a shot. It's more in my periphery than Little Coxwell.

 

[Skeezix]

This is a decently sized site - too bad it's not getting something a bit more urban/pedestrian-orientated. Instead it looks like they are investing in the suburban-style KFC.

View attachment 83747

That's too bad. I always saw this site as a prime spot for a mid-rise or at least something a little more urban/pedestrian oriented as you said.

The variance application for the KFC was submitted just before Christmas, and will be heard by the Committee of Adjustment on May 1, 2017.

Underwhelming.

 

[christiesplits]

Does anyone know the history of the Ritz Restaurant on Donlands, a few blocks north of Cosburn? I walked by not long ago and looks straight out of the 50s. A friend said that it had a brief spell as an Asian not long ago?

 

[reetard]

The Ritz is a filipino restaurant. Family run, and quite good. We go there for longsilog breakfasts. Awesome and cheap.

 

[bartekci]

If anyone tries the pho place, let us know. I'm curious. If I have time for a jaunt over, I'll give it a shot. It's more in my periphery than Little Coxwell.

Live near it, and have gone often. Honestly, I find the broth a bit lacking depth (and kind of sweet?), but it's close and I enjoy it. The vermicelli is also on point.

I'll also second the Ritz sentiment. Have only been there twice but a great spot. They do both traditional Canadian breakfast and a Filipino one.

Speaking of Diners -- Looks like Donlands Diner near O'Connor and Donlands got a face lift. Anyone been there? We've been meaning to go with our little one but it's just far enough of a walk that it's not enjoyable on cold winter days.

 

[Skeezix]

[...] Also, the one-time car dealership turned Mormon Church at Broadview north of Sobey's was recently sold for $13.5 million. Highrises? Towns? Lowrises? I think that spot can take maybe 40 or more very very luxurious $1.5m townhouses and still rake in a healthy profit with minimal grief from city planners, the community and other people bound to object.

It's been zoned as commercial-residential but, best I can tell, it will fall under the city's hoped-for new plans for nothing taller than midrise development.

As I already noted (thanks Goldie!), it's a great location, ripe for rich housing. With Playter Estates semis going for $1.4 and beyond, I hope no greedhead developer gets the crazy idea of building ugly cookie cutter glass towers there.

Anyway, maybe one of you gentlemen can decipher the zoning maps here (PDF) better than I can.

I could see the church site becoming a Keesmaat-championed mid-rise building. The road kind of fits the avenue description to some extent. Lack of precedent may hurt height, but if they can put 8 floors at Millwood and Laird, this sure fits the bill.

It's official. Dollarama (*fake cheer*) is coming to the empty building at 1099 Broadview Avenue (east side of the street, at Hillsdale Dr., a couple of blocks north of Mortimer, not too far from Sobey's). Seemingly odd location for retail of that scale and nature, but presumably the abundant surface parking was key to its appeal to Dollarama (not to mention proximity to the Cosburn corridor). Originally a car dealership (the dealership that was originally located where Carrot Common is on Danforth moved here), then a Mormon temple, with a few other uses possibly in between, I am presusing that Dollarama is an interim use of the building until the owner is ready to move forward with some form of more intense redevelopment.

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

The owners of Whistlers pub (and other properties) at the corner of Broadview and Mortimer, the Estonian House at 858 Broadview and the Salvation Army (directly opposite this lot) have appealed to the OMB to be exempted from the Keesmat rezoning plan for midrise development. This Dollarama move could be, just like Skeezix said, a placecard holder for future intense development until the owners (does anybody know who they are?) sees the outcome of the OMB hearing.

 

[Northern Light]

The owners of Whistlers pub (and other properties) at the corner of Broadview and Mortimer, the Estonian House at 858 Broadview and the Salvation Army (directly opposite this lot) have appealed to the OMB to be exempted from the Keesmat rezoning plan for midrise development. This Dollarama move could be, just like Skeezix said, a placecard holder for future intense development until the owners (does anybody know who they are?) sees the outcome of the OMB hearing.

I'm just a bit challenged by this.

In so far as.......I disdain the notion that developers/site owners have become accustomed to the belief there is no such thing as a reasonable limit on use/redevelopment.

At the same time, this is a corridor ripe for redevelopment.

The question is really one of scale; and showing some respect for the existing site and/or its neighboring context.

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

I'm just a bit challenged by this.

In so far as.......I disdain the notion that developers/site owners have become accustomed to the belief there is no such thing as a reasonable limit on use/redevelopment.

At the same time, this is a corridor ripe for redevelopment.

The question is really one of scale; and showing some respect for the existing site and/or its neighboring context.

Given the two (now-failed) partnerships with developers (Tribute, Alterra) by the Estonian House (958 Broadview) to build 24-story condos on the site, I am not so inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.

You are correct: the corridor is not only ripe for development, it's over due. And yes, it is one of scale. Currently, the new zoning plan is for midrise but these appeals to the OMB to be exempted from that plan indicate that the developers have, to use your words, "become accustomed to the belief there is no such thing as a reasonable limit on use/redevelopment." Why else would they be appealing -- although it's possible that they don't much care for the setbacks and other aspects of the plan. I believe that to be the case with Gordian Foods which has a very small footprint for development.