Lovers of Kensington Market have launched a public awareness campaign in hopes of stopping a development that would see a big box store open up near their historic neighbourhood.
A petition, started by Kensington Community School Council Chair Dominique Russell, has amassed more than 31,000 signatures from people who say they don’t want RioCan to build a three-storey shopping mall at Bathurst and College streets, between Toronto’s Kensington and Little Italy neighbourhoods. The shopping mall would house a downtown-sized Walmart and an underground parking lot, RioCan has said.
Now, a group of community activists is planning on taking their message to a community consultation meeting this Thursday where officials from both RioCan and the city will be on hand.
“Everything I love about my neighbourhood is threatened by this proposal: the human scale of the streetscape, the skyline, its walkability, the local independent businesses that give Kensington Market and Little Italy their character,” wrote Russell in the petition. “A mall this large will flood one of the most exciting pedestrian areas of the city with cars.”
Russell said she’s concerned Walmart’s prices would prevent smaller local businesses from competing effectively, forcing their demise.
RioCan’s development plan does not fit with the city’s Official Plan and so the company brought the matter to the Ontario Municipal Board -- a committee of appointed members who have the power to change the zoning of any area. However, the OMB rejected their proposal. Now, RioCan is bringing their case before the board again, urging them to change the current zoning in the area.
Russell said she’s afraid of the consequences if a dangerous precedent is set.
“If the communities around Bathurst and College win this fight against RioCan we will have set a precedent that could empower other neighbourhoods in Toronto to face down developers in the future,” she wrote in the petition. “It's a battle we can't afford to lose.”
The community consultation meeting will be held Thursday, June 6 at the College Street United Church at 7 p.m. According to a Facebook page set up by “Friends of Kensington Market,” 73 people have said they will attend the meeting.
“Many people are sharing their thoughts with respect to this potential development at Bathurst and College, and we are paying close attention to this important discussion,” a statement from Walmart Canada reads. “We have enormous respect for the process, it goes without saying that everyone has the right to voice their views, and we will continue to listen closely."
@SandieBenitah is on Twitter. For instant breaking news, follow @cp24 on Twitter.
