Regeneration Dilemmas
Regeneration Dilemmas
The King-Spadina area is located at King Street West and Spadina Avenue, to the west of Toronto’s downtown core. This area is roughly bounded by Bathurst on the west and Simcoe to the east, and runs south of Queen Street West to Front Street (Figure 1). Historically, the King-Spadina area was known as an industrial manufacturing district. During the 19th century, this area served a manufacturing role for heavy industry in Toronto, however, manufacturing activities declined, and the land developed from a single-use industrial district to a mixed-use commercial area later on. By the early 1990s, it was readily apparent that the area could not compete as a viable location for manufacturing, particularly with the liberalizing forces of free trade and globalization (Recursion, 2011). Nowadays, this area sees a mix of land uses other than industrial. It provides citizens with convenient transit, commercial buildings, restaurants, night clubs, and residential condominiums. For example, The Morgan, a 16-story condominium at Richmond and Spadina with 217 residential units, replaced a one-story industrial building that housed four small retail operations (The “King Regeneration” Initiative, 1996).
In early 1996, the former Toronto Council approved new Part II Official Plans and Zoning Bylaw amendments to encourage reinvestment and regeneration in King-Spadina (Dill&Bedford, 2002). Mayor Barbara Hall initiated a consultation process that resulted in the elimination of traditional use restrictions and redesignation in this district. There were some outside supporters, including Jane Jacobs, and other famous architects and planners. The King-Spadina area was established as the “Reinvestment Area,” and developers immediately began to take advantage of the innovative planning framework and its novel zoning flexibility (Recursion, 2011). The purpose of the plan was to deregulate the land use, abandon out-of-fashion industrial policy
The King-Spadina area is located at King Street West and Spadina Avenue, to the west of Toronto’s downtown core. This area is roughly bounded by Bathurst on the west and Simcoe to the east, and runs south of Queen Street West to Front Street (Figure 1). Historically, the King-Spadina area was known as an industrial manufacturing district. During the 19th century, this area served a manufacturing role for heavy industry in Toronto, however, manufacturing activities declined, and the land developed from a single-use industrial district to a mixed-use commercial area later on. By the early 1990s, it was readily apparent that the area could not compete as a viable location for manufacturing, particularly with the liberalizing forces of free trade and globalization (Recursion, 2011). Nowadays, this area sees a mix of land uses other than industrial. It provides citizens with convenient transit, commercial buildings, restaurants, night clubs, and residential condominiums. For example, The Morgan, a 16-story condominium at Richmond and Spadina with 217 residential units, replaced a one-story industrial building that housed four small retail operations (The “King Regeneration” Initiative, 1996).
In early 1996, the former Toronto Council approved new Part II Official Plans and Zoning Bylaw amendments to encourage reinvestment and regeneration in King-Spadina (Dill&Bedford, 2002). Mayor Barbara Hall initiated a consultation process that resulted in the elimination of traditional use restrictions and redesignation in this district. There were some outside supporters, including Jane Jacobs, and other famous architects and planners. The King-Spadina area was established as the “Reinvestment Area,” and developers immediately began to take advantage of the innovative planning framework and its novel zoning flexibility (Recursion, 2011). The purpose of the plan was to deregulate the land use, abandon out-of-fashion industrial policy
Bibliography: Martin Danyluk Li Xuan, Zheng(#997071145)