The industrial lands on Lansdowne south of Davenport have undergone an unlikely transformation.
Nestled among the working class semis, the lands, littered with abandoned warehouses and thought too contaminated to build on a decade ago, have become a hip westend outpost.
The once abandoned warehouse district is where film companies traveled to capture the grit of American inner cities.
Today, the ripple effects from development in the Junction Triangle to the south are everywhere to be seen – warehouses have been converted to cool lofts, the space under bridges beautified, bike lanes have been added on Davenport and even the odd greenspace has found its way into developers’ plans for the area.
The addition of greenspace has been no small feat, given how roughshod builders have historically run over the rights of locals when condo plans were pitched in the past.
Which brings us to the dilemma confronting locals.
If all goes according to residents’ plans, work crews won’t be at the Foundry Lofts on Lansdowne this morning to tear down a century-old smokestack that may or may not be getting in the way of plans for a park.
Whether the stack is impeding green plans that are part of what’s known as the Davenport Village redevelopment depends on who you listen to.
The remnant of an old steel factory that once laid claim to the second tallest structure in the country has fallen into disrepair .
Some locals are upset.
There’s supposed to be a heritage designation on the stack, according to a 2004 report to council, place on the property in the face of some stiff local opposition from the former owners, General Electric.
A council bylaw passed in 2007 also mandates that enhanced property standards for heritage buildings. Owners of heritage properties are not supposed to be able to sit idly by and watch important historical landmarks deteriorate.
Surprise. Locals were only notified in writing last Thursday, April 29 of the demolition plans. Could the protection somehow have been lifted? Some locals suspect as much.
But it appears heritage preservation services staff reviewed a revised proposal from the developer back in October 2009 and agreed to allow the smokestack’s removal.
The reasons: building around the stack would contravene right of way policies and necessitate changes to the park block that forms part of the area revamp. The longterm costs of maintaining the smokestack seem to be discouraging taking that preservation route.
Some residents are not so sure there isn’t more to that story. The local developer behind the plan is used to getting his way.
Right now the smokestack is all that’s standing in the way of three more phases of construction, and a road that’s supposed to run right through where the stack now sits.
The planned road could be diverted around the smokestack. But that would could mean cutting into a park that’s part of the proposal.
As of Friday evening, after locals spent the day peppering local Councillor Cesar Palacio’s office with angry emails, the political will to head in that direction seems to be mostly absent. We’ll keep you posted.[rssbreak]
