Spadina Crescent

[buildup]

(Just North of College...)

There was a donation from a philanthropist to refurbish the building here, does anyone know the status of that project? The area is dingy now but has potential to be stunning.

Start with cleaning up this structure, removing the sheds attached to it, and fixing up the landscaping.

The residential buildings on the West side facing into Spadina Crescent are attractive and could be fixed up nicely. On the East side there are already historic buildings.

North on Spadina the area picks up and is already pretty good up to Harbord.

The problem of course is the area immediately south of the Crescent especially on the West side. There's some sort of school connected to a homeless shelter (that's a recipee for disaster). If those areas were redeveloped the whole neighbourhood could become a real addition to the city.

This is all dependent on the restoration of the buildings inside the Crescent, and slowing the traffic?

Thoughts?

 

[adma]

Lord Lansdowne School's on the heritage inventory--it's everyone's favourite Pop-Modern school in Toronto. As for the Scott Mission-Waverly Hotel block; it *could* be redeveloped someday, but no rush as of yet.

Personally, I find the SE quadrant more problematic than the SW quadrant, thanks to an unsightly power station and Addiction Research/CAMH turning its back to Spadina Circle (would that have been, like New College's Spadina face, in anticipation of the Spadina Expressway?)

 

[buildup]

Adma, thanks for the response - its sort of humiliating when a posting garners no interest. What do you think of the architectural merits of that institutional building in the center of the crescent? The white trim aroundthe windows subtracts a great deal from it.

 

[Dilla]

The problem of course is the area immediately south of the Crescent especially on the West side. There's some sort of school connected to a homeless shelter (that's a recipee for disaster).

I've not heard of the restoration project, but it would be nice. I lived on the northwest part of the crescent for two years about 5 years ago, and watching the children (maybe 8 years of age) calmly stepping over the homeless people asleep on the sidewalk while on their way to school made me cringe. They were so young, and already completely desensitized to the scene.

It's no wonder the funeral home shut down just north. I don't anything else will possibly open there. Oh the things I saw happen on that corner late at night...

 

[Redroom Studios]

I've always found this to be an interesting little corner of the city. You're right pointing out that its a real mixed bag of uses and stratas of society mixing here. Sure we'd all like to see the n.w. corner of College and Spadina cleaned up, but getting the Scott Mission to move is likely a difficult proposition and we'd likely hear lots of complaints from various social groups about their clientele being further marginalized.

The houses on the northwest of the crescent are fantastic - just a general cleaning of the area would do wonders I think. I do like the entire section of Spadina north of here, all the way up to Bloor infact. A highlight for me is the street car tunnel merging up to street level. Sure there are a few questionable slab type apartment buildings along there - that would be my only negative.

 

[Caffeinated]

I couldn't agree more that this corner definitely has potential. One spadina is a beautiful building and the houses that are North of the funeral home are large and beautiful. I live nearby and thought that when they built the new U of T residence, it would serve to make the area a bit more well-lit and less dodgy, but I haven't noticed any huge improvement.

The buildings on that corner seem ripe for cleaning up and redevelopment on some level. Does anyone think that U of T might take over some of that space?

 

[buildup]

"but getting the Scott Mission to move is likely a difficult proposition and we'd likely hear lots of complaints from various social groups about their clientele being further marginalized"

If the goal is to serve/assist as many homeless people as possible with a finite amount of funding, then it wouldn't take much for the developer to find them another space close while kicking an additional $ million into the shelter's coffers.

One way or another that building's value is going to get realized.

 

[adma]

Would there be any de facto alliance btw/the Scott Mission and the Clarke/CAMH?

 

[Caffeinated]

If the goal is to serve/assist as many homeless people as possible with a finite amount of funding, then it wouldn't take much for the developer to find them another space close while kicking an additional $ million into the shelter's coffers.

I was thinking the same thing, but there haven't been any signs that anyone is even interested in the space/area. I've always thought that the proximity to U of T, Little Italy, the Annex, etc. would have made it a prime spot for a developer to build some high-end units, but it is looking like Kensington will get developed before this corner will.

 

[buildup]

Well, as I say, it's all predicated on the structure in the center of the Crescent getting successfully refurbished. If that occured then the potential value of the Scott Mission would be more apparent. But until the first step is complete the area will retain its gritty feel.