Toronto’s real estate arm has been told to find a way to relocate the Eva’s Phoenix shelter for homeless youth from a downtown site the city wants to redevelop.
The city stands to make “a ton of money” through a joint venture with an adjacent developer that could lead to construction of five condominium towers near King St. and Strachan Ave., said Councillor David Shiner.
At one time the route of the now-defunct Front St. extension to the Gardiner Expressway, the site is considered “one of Toronto’s newest young, hip and happening communities,” Shiner said.
The veteran member of Eva’s board of directors said the city needs to help the shelter, which has accommodation for 50 youth, plus a print shop and training centre, on a site it is renting from the city.
But the city’s real estate agency, Build Toronto, has been dragging its feet since the spring, he said.
“It should have been resolved months ago,” he said. “The mayor’s office is in support of this. They have said, ‘Let’s get this going.’ Council supported this.”
Wednesday, council’s government management committee imposed a deadline of the end of this month.
Committee voted unanimously to direct Build Toronto to come up with a plan by the Nov. 29 council meeting that will ensure the viable long-term operation of Eva’s Phoenix.
“I think I can safely say that nobody wants to see Eva’s Phoenix out on the street,” said Councillor Paul Ainslie, the committee’s chair. “We all respect the work that they do.”
Former Eva’s resident Emily Wright told the committee the shelter helped turn her life around.
“Eva’s Phoenix doesn’t just give you a place to sleep, they give you housing with employment and independent living, all under one roof,” Wright said. “It gives you hope for the future.”
After leaving the shelter, Wright said he found an apartment, graduated from high school, studied early childhood education at George Brown College and is now studying at Ryerson University.
“One day, I want to be a city councillor,” she said. “If I was on this committee, I would truly do anything I could to save Eva’s Phoenix.”
Shiner said one possibility would be for council to grant extra development rights on the site, with the understanding that Eva’s Phoenix would be given sufficient cash to relocate.
While the shelter has been offered $3.5 million towards a new 32,000-square-foot facility, a minimum of $5 million is needed, said executive director Maria Crawford.
The shelter raises millions annually for operating expenses and doesn’t feel it has the capacity to raise cash for new facilities, Crawford told the committee.
“While we could probably slap up something for $3 million, in our estimate it would probably be penny-wise and pound-foolish because it would kill us to maintain and repair it,” she said.
“We do feel there seems to be a reluctance in their (Build Toronto) coming to the table with a viable offer that will allow us to continue to operate. We don’t want to close Eva’s Phoenix but we feel we may be left with no alternative if adequate resources aren’t in place.”
Origin
Source: Toronto Star
The city stands to make “a ton of money” through a joint venture with an adjacent developer that could lead to construction of five condominium towers near King St. and Strachan Ave., said Councillor David Shiner.
At one time the route of the now-defunct Front St. extension to the Gardiner Expressway, the site is considered “one of Toronto’s newest young, hip and happening communities,” Shiner said.
The veteran member of Eva’s board of directors said the city needs to help the shelter, which has accommodation for 50 youth, plus a print shop and training centre, on a site it is renting from the city.
But the city’s real estate agency, Build Toronto, has been dragging its feet since the spring, he said.
“It should have been resolved months ago,” he said. “The mayor’s office is in support of this. They have said, ‘Let’s get this going.’ Council supported this.”
Wednesday, council’s government management committee imposed a deadline of the end of this month.
Committee voted unanimously to direct Build Toronto to come up with a plan by the Nov. 29 council meeting that will ensure the viable long-term operation of Eva’s Phoenix.
“I think I can safely say that nobody wants to see Eva’s Phoenix out on the street,” said Councillor Paul Ainslie, the committee’s chair. “We all respect the work that they do.”
Former Eva’s resident Emily Wright told the committee the shelter helped turn her life around.
“Eva’s Phoenix doesn’t just give you a place to sleep, they give you housing with employment and independent living, all under one roof,” Wright said. “It gives you hope for the future.”
After leaving the shelter, Wright said he found an apartment, graduated from high school, studied early childhood education at George Brown College and is now studying at Ryerson University.
“One day, I want to be a city councillor,” she said. “If I was on this committee, I would truly do anything I could to save Eva’s Phoenix.”
Shiner said one possibility would be for council to grant extra development rights on the site, with the understanding that Eva’s Phoenix would be given sufficient cash to relocate.
While the shelter has been offered $3.5 million towards a new 32,000-square-foot facility, a minimum of $5 million is needed, said executive director Maria Crawford.
The shelter raises millions annually for operating expenses and doesn’t feel it has the capacity to raise cash for new facilities, Crawford told the committee.
“While we could probably slap up something for $3 million, in our estimate it would probably be penny-wise and pound-foolish because it would kill us to maintain and repair it,” she said.
“We do feel there seems to be a reluctance in their (Build Toronto) coming to the table with a viable offer that will allow us to continue to operate. We don’t want to close Eva’s Phoenix but we feel we may be left with no alternative if adequate resources aren’t in place.”
Origin
Source: Toronto Star
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