Month: March 2019

Thanks to Audrey Kvedaras of DECA’s Visioning Committee for writing this fabulous update.

DECA and the community look forward to seeing the final iteration of the Danforth Garage (or Danforth Barns as many say) Master Plan and the delineation of its phases, as it heads to Council this spring. This Master Plan will confirm the locations of new buildings for the three initial tenants, the TTC, the TPS Divisions 54 & 55 and the Toronto Public Library Coxwell Branch and conceptually describe access through the site, locations of public spaces and sites for additional new buildings whose uses are yet to be determined (employment or residential).

During the last public meeting, the possibility of interim uses for the Barns prior to their development was proposed. DECA welcomes animation of the site with a variety of uses including revenue-generating events drawn to the impressive space of the Barns, while the community waits for phase two of the development to be underway. To implement possible interim uses we anticipate a discussion of allocation of funds and of oversight to be part of this submission to Council.

DECA looks forward to participating in the next phase of this project to create a material vision for the site, especially the heritage Barns. The opportunity exists to remedy the significant cultural and community space deficiencies that exist in our neighbourhood.

The Danforth Garage Master Planning Study provided community engagement through the guidance of a team of knowledgeable and professional City staff and private-sector consultants. We look forward to seeing, under the continued leadership of CreateTO, a vision for the site that manifests a unity, vitality and urban sensibility appropriate to this large site in the City of Toronto and is consistent with the images put forth as examples in the study.

Below are two images from the final public presentation for the Danforth Garage Master Planning Study and the link to both the presentation and meeting information:

https://www.danforthgarage.com/s/DanforthGarage_PublicMeeting3_Presentation.pdf

https://www.danforthgarage.com/community-meetings

Where: Sarah’s Cafe and Bar, 1426 Danforth Ave, in the back room

When: Wednesday March 20, 7PM

Why come out to a DECA meeting?

It’s an opportunity to meet the current Board and learn more about DECA. It’s also an opportunity to share your ideas… and watch them grow!

12 years ago when DECA started our neighbourhood had many boarded-up storefronts. East Lynn Park wasn’t a family destination… there simply weren’t a lot of family-friendly destinations in the neighbourhood. You had to walk a long way to find a good cup of coffee and, to many, a sense of community was missing.

Flash forward to present day. The DECA Pop Up Shop initiative helped rejuvenate the abandoned storefronts and made #DanforthEast somewhere people wanted to open small businesses. The DECA East Lynn Farmers’ Market ushered in the revitalization of East Lynn Park, the beating heart of our neighbourhood. We have the best arts fair and the largest community yard sale in the city. We’ve helped sponsor Syrian refugees and raised money for scholarships.

But our neighbourhood is not perfect… and neither is DECA. There are still many opportunities to be explored and partnerships to be made! And there is more work to be done to help our neighbourhood be more inclusive so that everyone feels valued.

And that takes work!

Little steps. Big leaps. It all makes a difference!

Hope to see you there.

As a special call out, please let us know if you may be interested in blogging with us and come out to meet with us if you can. We’d love to chat. Otherwise email volunteer@deca.to (Apologies for anyone who has not received a reply – our email was having issues, but now is working!)