Junction Triangle

I took the following notes at the March 23 2012 meeting hosted by Castlepoint Realty Partners, regarding their redevelopment plans for the former Tower Automotive property on Sterling Rd.

Sorry for the sloppy post and taking so long to type it up... Comments, corrections, and other discussions should be posted in the Discussion Forum.

Following some brief introductions and announcements, Fraser Tompson from Rio Tinto Alcan (the previous property owners) provided an update on soil and groundwater remediation efforts:

• Groundwater "pump and treat" has been taking place since 2003.
• Pump and treat to be replaced by with a "permeable reactive barrier". In short layman's terms, the permeable reactive barrier filters the groundwater as it flows off of the site.
• Ongoing excavation of oil impacted material: TCA, a volatile organic compound. (Note: They did not specify exactly what TCA is, but I think it may be Trichloroethane)
• Also need to clean up gasoline that is currently under the pump building on the south side of the property. Will do this after demolition (likely April 2012)
• The remainder of this work will take place from May to August this year.
• All work is overseen by the Ministry of the Environment.
• Question about impacts of dust during demolition and cleanup, especially due to the nearby daycare and residences. Answer: A dust management plan was submitted with demo permit. Will be watering the site to keep it from getting dusty. Will do a better job than they have in the past.

Tower Automotive, Sterling Rd.: Photo by Vic Gedris, 2009-02-28.

Philip from the South Perth and Sterling Rd. Residents Association writes:

Just so residents know there will be the final stages of soil removal happening over the next few months.

Please let folks know that work will be visible over the next couple of months and we will be having trucks on the streets with the same safety precautions. Also we have a dust control plan and air monitoring program for when the work is underway.

Thanks,

Philip

From Torontoist:

Could the Junction Triangle Become the Next Liberty Village?

An ambitious development could introduce major change to this tiny west-end neighborhood.
BY BRONWYN KIENAPPLE

While the brownfield on Sterling Road just east of the West Toronto Railpath is known to most as a first-class eyesore, a proposed development might not only revitalize the property, but possibly also the chronically underdeveloped Junction Triangle neighbourhood that surrounds it. That is, if the City of Toronto and corporate interests can agree it should be built.

The Junction Triangle is enclosed by three sets of railway tracks, a tall, skinny area that roughly runs south and west of Lansdowne and Dupont, narrowing to a point at Dundas West. It’s a bit south and a bit east of the Junction—the two are distinct neighbourhoods—and hasn’t yet seen the same revitalization the Junction has. The brownfield in the Junction Triangle was formerly Tower Automotive, a sheet-casing facility built in the early 20th century that closed in 2006. Its machining buildings have since been razed, though a 10-storey tower, designated a heritage property and popular with urban explorers, still stands. Castlepoint Realty Partners purchased the property in 2008. Their hope is to turn the area into a mixed-use neighborhood, in the vein of Liberty Village or the Distillery District.

On Monday November 14th at 8:00am, there will be a memorial for Jenna Morrison, the cyclist who was killed by a truck on November 7th. The memorial will take place where she perished, at the corner of Dundas St. West and Sterling Rd. (southern end of West Toronto Railpath).

A local group of neighbourhood cyclists are riding down together:

"Hello friends and neighbours,
A number of people will be riding down the railpath to attend the vigil for Jenna. The meet-up is happening at Dupont & the railpath shortly after 7:30 and we will leave at around 7:40/45. Please come and join us if you can."

Cyclists riding from other parts of the city are meeting at Bloor and Spadina at 7:30 to ride over to the memorial site.

The memorial has been organized by Advocacy For Respect for Cyclists.

Some more details about Jenna and this heartbreaking incident can be found in the National Post.

Ms. Morrison was married and the mother of a three-year-old son according to one source. She was expecting her second child.
The crumpled mass of bits of steel that had been Ms. Morrison’s bicycle and a trailer in which she pulled her son, which lay at the scene Monday night, included a child’s bike helmet hanging from the handlebars, with a Spiderman design on it.

There will be another community meeting regarding the re-development of the former Tower Automotive properties on Sterling Rd., now owned by Castlepoint Realty Partners.

The meeting will take place on Thursday October 13, 7:00PM at the Church of the Firstborn, 72 Perth Ave.

Ward 18 Councillor Ana Bailao, the City planning department, and Castlepoint Realty Partners will be in attendance. More details will be posted here soon.

• Notes and discussions from the January 18 2010 meeting are posted here.
• There was another meeting on April 20 2011 with some updates, but notes are not posted online (yet).

Where: 254 Sterling Road, backyard
When: Saturday, September 17
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

For more information call: Jack at 416-521-9268

Contents Sale for art lovers and collectors!

• Over 50 framed pictures, prints, posters and collectibles
• framed stained glass window, stamps, sports cards, CDs
• hand crafted Greek vases, horse statues and sculptures
• FREE CDs, stamps or sports with purchase of framed art

In Addition:

BlogTO takes a look at some of the interesting spaces and businesses along Sterling Road. I am sure this story just scratches the surface.( And they left off my fave: http://www.coltpaper.com/ ).

http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/08/get_to_know_a_street_sterling_road/

The following meeting notice regarding the former Tower Automotive lands on Sterling Rd. is from Philip at the South Perth and Sterling Road Residents Association:

Castlepoint Developments
& The South Perth and Sterling Road Residents Association
invite You to Attend an Important
Community Meeting for The Sterling Road Redevelopment Project

Please join us on April 20th for a community update on the redevelopment of 158 Sterling Road

Location: Church of the Firstborn, 72 Perth Ave.
Time: 6:30 – 9:00 pm

Agenda

• Drop in open house 6:30 – 7:00 pm
• Presentation 7:00 – 8:00 pm
  • Welcome and Introductions (John O’Keefe, Castlepoint)
  • Project Overview and Update (Pino Di Mascio, Urban Strategies)
  • Master Plan (Gianni Ria, Page and Steeles Architects)
  • Summary and Next Steps (Alfredo Romano, Castlepoint Principal)
  • Question and Answer and Review of Panels 8:00 -9:00 pm

*Snacks and beverages will be provided*

You may also be interested in seeing the notes and discussions from the January 2010 meeting.

An article on playback.ca gives some detail about what Castlepoint has planned for the vacant Tower Automotive property on Sterling Rd.:

Castlepoint going ahead with downtown Toronto studio development
February 10, 2011 by Etan Vlessing

But Alfredo Romano, a principal at Castlepoint, told Playback Daily that he will shortly submit a commercial development application to Toronto City Hall for a ‘mix-used’ studio on Sterling Road in Toronto, on the derelict site of the former Tower Motors factory.

Now Romano’s plan is to develop the Sterling Road site as a commercial studio that will rent out space to low-budget film, new media and music producers, among others.

The original plans for the redevelopment included a mix of around 140,000 square feet of existing building space that requires refurbishing, including a 10-storey building originally built in 1919, and another 100,000 square feet of quality studio space.

Read the complete article here.

South Perth and Sterling Cleanup: October 2008
Philip from the South Perth and Sterling Rd. Residents Association writes:

April 16th is Spring Cleanup day (Saturday from 9am-1pm)

This year we are looking for:

• 5 to 7 Captains to manage the pivotal points in the neighborhood cleanup

Plus as many Volunteers for each of the following areas:

• The Laneway South of Bloor between Perth and Sterling Road
• Perth Avenue South of Bloor to the bottom of the street where the Chimney stack used to be.
• Sterling Road from Bloor South to the old Moloney Lot.
• The old Moloney parking Lot and adjoining Grassy/Weed lands.
• 221-227 Sterling along the East Side where all the garbage piles up against the curb
• South Side of the street all along the old Tower property.

And if we can have some of the kids to volunteer for the refreshment stand Castlepoint is offering to provide refreshments, but only if we can have a table manned for this.

Recycling items can be separated & Garden Waste must be put into the large paper bags and trash in heavy duty green bags (all bags will be provided courtesy of Rio-Tinto Alcan).

Separate arrangements will be made for a toxic taxi pick-up for disposing of paint and oil and various other items that were to be kept from the regular garbage but can be place out on that day by the Gray Postal box across from 213 Sterling Road.

If you are interested please drop Philip a line with contact info to:

toward18@yahoo.com

Thanks,
Philip