No. 7 • June 2012
Leaside Life
Exorcizing the Ghost __ P-21
Anticipation and concern run high for By ANDREA VILLIERS Leaside is changing rapidly, with many people looking forward to a “new” community, but it is still a work in progress and many other people are worried about the course it’s taking. Brian Athey, president of the Leaside Property Owners’ Association, is concerned about the dramatic scope and rapid rate of retail development: “In recent years, City Council has progressively approved the conversion of designated employment lands to almost 500,000 square feet of big box retail uses on Laird Dr., creating one of the single largest retail nodes in the City of Toronto,” he says. The latest big store announcement is for Bayview, north of Eglinton, at the former Brennan car dealership, where Whole Foods will have 50,000 square feet. It will be in a two-storey commercial building with below grade parking for 197 cars and 29 bicycles. Merchants on Bayview south of Eglinton fear losing business to the big box stores. Stanley Janecek, owner of White House Meats on Bayview, says, “It’s a challenge running a small business on your own. I know those malls on Laird will have people looking after marketing.
OUR NEW LEASIDE “People are not going to travel from the Laird malls to Bayview. It’s not going to drive people here.” On Laird, Leaside Village is slated to open late this summer or early fall. The 122,500 square foot retail mall has already signed several new tenants, including the Beer Store, Bulk Barn, PetValu, Longos, Supercuts, Against the Grain, Booster Juice and CIBC. Built on eight acres, the mall will offer parking for 400 cars. Opening before the end of this year is the new Gyro Hyundai building just south of the existing SmartCentre. The 1.2 acre site will feature a 17,300 square foot building including a showroom, full service area, a parts centre and administration. A big concern is the new traffic light at Esander and Laird. Everyday Steve Perusits, owner of Wally
Clayson Master Mechanic, watches “a lot of close calls” as the huge garbage trucks leaving from the garbage depot behind Leaside Village make a right turn onto Laird from Esander. The trucks are so big the drivers cross over to the other lane on Esander to turn onto Laird going north. Perusits says, “It’s a disaster getting out of our lot because congestion is huge.” And soon there will be “suppliers going into Leaside Village. The domino effect will make traffic even worse.” Not only that, he says, “There is not enough parking for merchants on Laird. Parking is at a real premium.” Complicating matters on Laird is the proposal by SmartCentre to develop the vacant land on the north side of Wicksteed. Brian Athey says,“The approval of a further 147,000 square feet of retail uses, including a single 80,000 square foot big box store, would have a permanent and detrimental impact on the Leaside residential community and our invaluable main street shopping areas.” But not everyone complains. Craig Sandy of Rack Attack, who has been on Laird since 1996, says, “The new mall will bring more people to our neighbourhood and
The new second rink for the Leaside Arena, designed by WGD Architects Inc. See story Page 18.
LEASIDE, Page 20