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The city hopes to maintain a designation that would encourage employment uses that would offer higher-paying jobs, while prohibiting retail development, which often comes with traditionally low-paying jobs. O’Callaghan pointed to the growth plan’s employment targets for the city as an argument that employment lands are desperately needed.

The Star, 2008-05-23

…And this week the OMB began a hearing that will profoundly affect the city's future. Its decision will influence how Toronto develops in the years ahead, in particular whether the suburbanization of the downtown core will continue, or whether more urban values will prevail.

The Star, 2008-05-23

“Good jobs mean good wages, ” Gillespie said in his opening remarks, adding the pay is higher in the film and creative industry than retail.“This hearing is about a possible short-term fix versus a long term vision for the community.”

Globe and Mail, 2008-05-23

City lawyer Brendan O'Callaghan said the official plan calls for the creation of 380,000 jobs between 2001 and 2031, and as a consequence, it needs all designated employment lands in the city to remain in employment uses, including the Eastern Avenue site, which is slated for use by the film or technology industries.

National Post, 2008-05-22

But, should the company win its appeal at the OMB, will the project it builds reflect its sketches? The office of Councillor Paula Fletcher (Toronto-Danforth) the other day forwarded a sketch Smart!Centres produced for a project, including a Wal-Mart, at Bathurst and Centre streets in its very own Vaughan, along with a photograph of what actually got built. Absent, in the mostly finished project, are the cobblestones walkways, grass, plazas in front of the stores, lamp posts, and awnings from the sketches. There are a few spindly trees..

The Mirror, 2008-05-22

The question of whether lower-paying retail jobs count as legitimate employment will be at the centre of the 17-week Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing over the approval of a 650,000-square-foot power centre on Eastern Avenue.

Globe and Mail, 2008-05-17

“Everyone on the other side knows the themes we are talking about, but we have had no meaningful conversation back from the city, ” Tom Smith, vice-president of development at SmartCentres Inc., which wants to build a $220-million shopping mall in Leslieville, said in an interview.

Canoe Network, 2008-05-17

… …This would destroy (the area) in the minds of my community, “ Fletcher said. …It's not a planning argument, but it's a very real life argument for people that live in the neighbourhood. “ The property, now home to Toronto Film Studios which are moving to the nearby portlands, is designated as employment land.

Toronto Star, 2008-05-13

… As Ontario loses manufacturing jobs, too many Ontario workers are becoming trapped in bad jobs with lousy wages, few benefits and no security, says the report's author Ann Decter, head of Campaign 2000.

National Post, 2008-05-12

…Kelly Carmichael, chair of the East Toronto Community Coalition, one of the parties opposing Smart!Centres at the OMB, calls the plan “big box in a party dress. ” Ms. Fletcher says: “It might look nice, but the jobs are minimum wage. ”
Mr. Smith tells me 2,000 jobs at $30,000 a year each will bring $60-million a year to Leslieville (he later admits the jobs may well pay more like $20,000 a year). Whatever those numbers, he says, council is simply on the wrong side of retail change.

Toronto Star, 2008-05-07

It's currently not a pretty place, and it adds nothing to the community or the streetscape. But at least it doesn't add to the traffic that now clogs Carlaw and speeds along Eastern on its way to Ajax, Pickering and Scarborough.”This is a gateway to the city, “ says John Jr., pointing to the cars whizzing by at noon on Monday.

Inside Toronto, 2008-05-02

The vote closes a loophole that has existed since the city tore down the eastern spur of the Gardiner Expressway. The project included the construction of a linear park in its stead, but because the city never got around to designating it as such, the bike path there remained officially a roadway.

CBC News, 2008-05-02

…Wal-Mart is a giant American corporation (2006 revenue of $315 billion) run out of Arkansas that devastates every town and neighbourhood in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Britain where it plants a store. I urge you to watch Robert Greenwald's famed 2005 documentary Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price to understand why cheap and convenient are adjectives of condemnation, not praise.

NATIONAL POST, 2008-04-14

A grassroots movement to block a big-box retail development in the east end held a boisterous rally yesterday to urge the provincial government to step in and protect the land.
Leslieville residents and shop owners fear the proposed massive complex will ruin the vibrant, urban community that is just starting to come into its own.

Canoe network, 2008-04-13

In March 2005, the province introduced a Places to Grow policy that helps municipalities protect employment lands.
The city, along with Toronto's film board, jumped on board in February with blocking the project. “The jobs we have there now including film people, media and TV, are worth three times as much as retail to Toronto's economy, ” Fletcher said.
It represents planning at its worse, a failure to take advantage of the urban conditions.

Toronto Star, 2008-04-07

It is a problem, but one that can be fixed.
We're talking about the growing suburbanization of the city. In recent years, a whole new layer of suburban-scale development – highway-like roads, malls and subdivisions – has been added to Toronto.
It represents planning at its worse, a failure to take advantage of the urban conditions.

Toronto Star, 2008-04-04

The promoters would tell us that this is not just another suburban mall, that it's "architectural, " that the parking has been "hidden, " and therefore, that it's urban.
A mall by another other name would smell just as bad, and be just as inappropriate. No surprise Toronto City Council rejected the plan in 2004. The land in question is zoned for employment, which doesn't include retail outlets.

TO 411 Daily, 2008-04-01

Critics contend that the loss of the Toronto Films Studios will further complicate a chronic shortage of quality sound stages in Toronto that are available to Los Angeles producers and their film and TV shoots.

Toronto Star, 2008-03-28

Crombie said plans to revitalize the waterfront and projects such as dismantling the eastern stump of the Gardiner Expressway, weren't meant to make way for construction of 700,000 square feet of retail space and 2,000 parking spots on a 7.5-hectare site in Leslieville.

CBC News, 2008-03-28

Daniel Libeskind, one of the world's best-known architects, calls a plan to create the development near Toronto's waterfront "unthinkable. " Libeskind, the architect who designed the Royal Ontario Museum's Crystal as well as many other high-profile projects around the world, says the development would be a mistake.

National Post, 2008-03-27

"Bill Davis (then premier of Ontario) stopped the Spadina Expressway in 1971". Mr. Crombie reminded a news conference called by the East Toronto Community Coalition at City Hall. "People who were elected by people made the final decision".

The Mirror, 2008-03-27

Community opponents of SmartCentre's plans to build a 700,000-square-foot retail development on Eastern Avenue got some influential allies this week, as former Toronto mayor David Crombie, and prominent architects Ken Greenberg, Jack Diamond and Daniel Libeskind joined together to urge the provincial government to quash the proposal.

Eye Weekly, 2008-03-27

While it may not be possible to stop other forms of big box stores from finding a home in Toronto (see: Queen West), the city and the province can and should insist on healthy urban development when it comes to the way the area is physically designed. The east end proposal calls for a sea of pavement to host nearly 2,000 parking spots. That, along with the scale of the stores, and the way they will be laid out, means more cars and fewer pedestrians.

NOW Magazine, 2008-03-26

Despite the snowstorm on March 5, 30 or so locals gathered at the Ralph Thornton Centre to sketch out an alt design within the context of city staff’s recently completed area plan, with help from Ryerson urban and regional planning students. A shame no planners were present at Ralph Thornton.

Guelph Mercury, 2008-03-23

The Eastern and Leslie project, proposed to go smack in the middle of employment lands occupied by Toronto Film Studios, will dramatically alter the neighbourhood's character. The developer is SmartCentres, the same developer that was allowed by the OMB to build a Wal-Mart in Guelph, which ended up shoulder to shoulder with three cemeteries and a religious retreat centre.

Novæ Res Urbis, 2008-03-20

The saga of the South of Eastern Employment District continues as Mayor David Miller requests the provincial government to declare an interest in the ongoing Ontario Municipal Board appeals for an Eastern Avenue development site…

Toronto Star, 2008-03-14

…The city has also asked Queen's Park to declare a provincial interest in the case, which would mean it could overrule the OMB. So far the silence has been deafening.

Beach Mirror, 2008-03-13

The bicycle trail along Lake Shore Boulevard between Coxwell Avenue and the Don Roadway is on the road to becoming an official linear park, Toronto Council decided last week.

Toronto Star, 2008-02-29

"There is a provincial interest in these lands in the broadest perspective because it fits with the provincial policy statement," said Mayor David Miller, who sits on the 19-member board that includes industry representatives and councillors
…The provincial policy introduced in March 2005 helps municipalities protect employment lands. It requires developers, for example, to show that converting employment lands to others uses fulfills a real need.

Inside Toronto, 2008-02-28

On Feb. 19, the Ontario Municipal Board ruled that the 10 acres of land occupied by Cinespace Studios at 721 Eastern Avenue could be included in the discussions of whether to let SmartCentres redevelop the Toronto Film Studios to the east as big box retail.

NOW Magazine, 2008-01-17

…suggests that the fight against big-box retail may begin well before zoning, with the creation of healthy communities, engaged and layered ones with the vitality to resist “hood-busting” consumer behemoths.

InsideToronto, 2008-01-17

Industrial lands south of Eastern Avenue in Leslieville shouldn't be home to big box retail or housing, but should continue to be preserved as a film and media employment district close to the city's core, the Toronto and East York Community Council has recommended.

NOW Magazine, 2008-12-06

…Political commentator Howard Zinn once said you can't be neutral on a moving train. We might also say neutrality's attainability is inverse to the train's speed. Put another way, the faster you’re going, the more bullshit's necessary to insist you're stationary.

The WALRUS, 2007-12-01

It is an old story, often told: Wal-Mart, with its predatory pricing, strategic positioning, and, despite recent losses, ongoing marriage to the growth model, is a wrecker of local virtues. But the particulars of each new Wal-Mart application are revealing in their own way, and for journalists it is a juggernaut that keeps on giving.

Toronto Star, 2007-11-12

Hume argues that the proliferation of single-story developments in Toronto is inappropriate. He lauds developments such as the Canadian Tire at Dundas and Bay where Ryerson University occupies the six stories above the store. He credits Toronto City Council for fighting the SmartCentres Inc. proposal “ …which does not belong in an urban setting.” Hume says everyone should be worried that even though 75% of residents and city council oppose the scheme a single OMB member could still approve the project.

National Post, 2007-11-12

This article quotes Andrew Munger, producer of the film Wal-Mart Nation: “I think big-box development of this kind is totally inappropriate in the core. It doesn't mesh with city priorities.” The identified city priority for the Eastern Avenue land is employment such as manufacturing. That's why the application for rezoning was turned down by city council. The article states that local manufacturing jobs pay an average of $5 more per hour than retail jobs and new manufacturing jobs don't usually displace existing manufacturing jobs but new retail operations often displace existing retailers.

Toronto Star, 2007-11-03

Findings from a new Toronto Public Health Report about the health effects and economic impact of air pollution from traffic are highlighted in this article. According to the report, the number of cars entering the city each day has risen by 75% over the last 20 years. No direct connection is made to the Smart!Centres Inc. proposal in the article but it is interesting to consider the Public Health Report findings in light of figures from the Institute of Traffic Engineers that estimate the Smart!Centres Inc. proposal would translate into over 265 000 car trips per week or close to 14 million car trips per year.

National Post, 2007-10-27

Over the past year, Queen at Greenwood has really blossomed. With designer furniture and clothes, massage therapy, yoga, art and connoisseurs' movie rentals in just one block, it seemed things couldn't get any better. When the charming Red Rocket Coffee opened last April, it was the icing on the neighbourhood's cake.

National Post, 2007-10-18

Rojas is an urban planner from Los Angeles who describes the features of Toronto that most impressed him during a visit. He credits our bicycle-friendly streets, messy mixture of architectural styles, pedestrian-oriented buildings, sidewalk produce stands and diversity of cultures for making Toronto a pleasure to visit and a model for US city developers. While the article doesn't specifically mention the Smart!Centres Inc. proposal, it is unlikely that a Big Box development would make Rojas list of Toronto assets.

Toronto Star, 2007-10-05

A report on the large public turnout at the OMB pre-hearing held on October 4th, 2007. The story relates the chronology of the case: after city hall turned down an application to have the land rezoned as “mixed use” instead of “employment district” Smart!Centres Inc. launched an appeal to the OMB. About 70 residents and local business people, including a woman dressed in a penguin suit, turned out to voice their opposition to the Ontario Municipal Board, a provincial body that will have the final say on the matter. At the Oct 4 pre-hearing, a hearing date was set for May 5, 2008.

Inside Toronto, 2007-10-04

Another story about the pre-hearing held October 4th. This story mentions that while Smart!Centres Inc. hasn't said who will occupy the site if developed, the corporation is known to build for Wal-Mart. Local elected politicians and community groups were in attendance including Deborah Etsten of the Beach BIA who said: “…big box retailers have an impact on every small main street area…”

The Bulletin, 2007-10-04

This editorial explains how new provincial rules that came into effect this year might help the city in its fight against the Smart!Centres Inc application to change the zoning on Eastern Avenue. If the city wants to keep an employment area zoning, the new rules prevent the OMB from overturning that decision.

NOW Magazine, 2007-07-18

This story explains that Rose Eastern Inc made the original application for rezoning in 2004 and that Smart!Centres Inc. purchased a half-interest in the land from Toronto Film Studios in 2006. It notes that according to the Ontario government's planning document, Places to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, large-scale retail should not count as viable employment. Toronto city council is being pushed by groups such as the Friends of Leslieville to oppose any rezoning and to look at appropriating the land.

RESIDENTS ANGERED BY BIG-BOX PROPOSAL
Councillor demands detailed plan of facility developers are planning for film studio lands site
Donovan Vincent

Toronto Star, 2007-06-27

Concerns over a “big-box” outlet possibly coming to the film studio lands on Eastern Ave. have the area's city councillor demanding that developers come clean on what they intend to build there.

Globe & Mail, 2007-06-27

Barber says that the fight against the Smart!Centres Inc proposal is really about whether Toronto city council has the right to plan its future or not. He explains that the developer claims exemption from provincial policies designed to give municipalities the authority to deny proposals that will result in the loss of employment lands. Toronto community council voted unanimously to deny the application to rezone the land – an important step that Barber says will undoubtedly lead to the OMB. Barber predicts that the case against this development “is so strong that it will be difficult for the province to resist intervening to protect its own policies…”

CBC News, 2007-06-27

The CBC credits councillor Paula Fletcher for leading the fight at city hall against a proposal by Rose Corp and Smart!Centres Inc to build a big-box facility on Eastern Ave between Carlaw Ave and Leslie St. Proponents of the development counter that the development is an innovative, urban design but concede that the plan includes 2000 parking spots and 700,000 square feet. Fletcher has sponsored a motion requiring the developer to submit a detailed site plan.

NOW Magazine, 2007-05-24

A meeting convened by Councillor Paula Fletcher to fill in locals about Smart!Centres' plans for a prime 7-hectare parcel on Eastern east of Leslie on May 17 confirmed the worst fears of residents: big box hell is just around the corner.

Toronto Star, 2006-11-26

Andrew Wyatt, of East End Noise, makes the case for the “little guy” who runs his or her store in this trendy hood where evidence has been mounting that a developer has his eye and wallet on a stretch of Eastern Ave. to open a power centre.

Spacing Toronto, 2006-10-20

The land where the Toronto Film Studios sits is one step closer to being taken over by big box retail. Big box store developer Mitch Goldhar now owns a 50% stake in the east-end property, reports the Toronto Star. The deal made the front page of today's business section (and not, surprisingly enough, the front page of the entire paper).

New York Times, 2005-07-31

Catto says Queen St. East in the new Queen St. West, with the formerly industrial stretch known as Leslieville emerging as Toronto's hippest place to dine, drink, shop and live.