About 100 people gathered Monday evening to protest the possible sale of the historic post office, fearing another condo tower will rise in its place.
“We don’t need more condominiums,” said George Butterway, 76, who spends time every day in the building’s parkette.
“If it was a seedy-looking building that needed repairs, I’d say go for it, but they’ve maintained it.”
Canada Post is considering selling the building, on Yonge St. just north of Eglinton Ave., and is reviewing applications. A spokesman could not say whether any of those applications are from condo developers.
The site of Postal Station K, an Art Deco building built in 1937, has a long history. In 1837, it was the site of Montgomery’s Tavern where William Lyon Mackenzie organized, launched and ended the Upper Canada Rebellion.
“That rebellion is generally believed to have got us started towards responsible government in Canada,” said Kate McAuley, assistant curator at the Town of York Historical Society. “That is basically the birthplace of our political system.”
Postal Station K is also the only building in Canada, and one of few in the world, to bear the insignia of King Edward VIII from his short reign, said Lynda Moon, president of the North Toronto Historical Society.
Developer David Lehberg said everyone at the protest is overreacting.
“No one’s going to tear this down,” said the president and CEO of Knightstone Capital Management.
Although Lehberg wouldn’t say if his company had submitted a proposal for the building, he said Canada Post was explicit in its requirement to incorporate the present building into future designs.
Developers are also required to find Canada Post an alternative location, said spokesperson Anick Losier.
Though the site is a national historic site, the building is only listed — not designated — as historic by the City of Toronto because it is federally owned, Moon said.
None of that will matter in the end, said Bob Murphy, 57, a lifelong North Toronto resident.
Developers are “all going to demand the same thing as those guys got,” said Murphy, pointing to the nearby Minto towers, 39 and 54 storeys high.
With multiple proposals already approved for other condo towers near Postal Station K, there was a general concern about the loss of public space in the area.
“You are standing on one of the few public spaces on Yonge St.,” area MPP Mike Colle said of the green space outside the building.
“If you take it away, there’s just no place to go,” said Butterway.
Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Sarah-Taïssir Bencharif
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