W
hen much of the zoning around King East switched from industrial to commercial a few years ago, it kicked off the developments and revitalization the area is famous for today. Growing up there was like a Trudeauian wet dream. Elementary school classes were populated by a whole assortment of skin tones and socio-economic statuses, just like the diversity-themed mosaic at the school’s entrance doors.
I grew up on King East. The residential alcove where I lived — steps away from the downtown core — incited a good deal of jealousy in peers whose curfews wouldn’t allow for their commutes and so had to stomach their parents’ Paul Simon albums on the drive back home to suburbia.
But the neighbourhood hasn’t always been the site of fashionable condos, urbane furniture stores, and organic pet boutiques. The Distillery District was an abandoned eyesore you glimpsed beyond the waste filtration plant on your way toward Cherry Beach. There were distinct drop-offs into shady territory, which were just a few TTC stops from a pre-gentrified Regent Park, the disrepair on Sherbourne south of Bloor, or the hostels of Moss Park — where two new condos have just broken ground. This is the area Michael Moore epitomized as a representative Canadian ghetto in Bowling for Columbine. Unbeknownst to Mr. Moore, this area was also the blueprint for a successful integration of community and private housing.
Today, the cultural nucleus that was once exclusive to King West is crawling eastward. The Distillery District is now touted as a historic site and developers are jumping on opportunities to expand the district. The once decrepit plot is now a cosmopolitan oasis, with its array of galleries, studios, and live theatre attracting culture-seekers. It’s home to Toronto’s first commercial brewery and a few independent bakeries, cafes, and restaurants producing fare that could make any bologna-eating schmuck feel like a gourmand.
Some, however, are less optimistic about this district, which seems to have materialized overnight. There’s something about Toronto’s new and beloved hotspot that leaves an artificial aftertaste in their mouths. After all, the site was created not out of altruistic responsibility for arts and culture but for the sake of commerce and condo-building.
The Distillery and the few trendy niches cropping up around it do seem to come out of nowhere. It’s a kind of Potemkin village catering to yuppies and tourists on rented Segways. A block north, a new Porsche dealership has opened up, though one wonders if the clientele would be comfortable parking outside it. A block south, tags spray-painted on a basketball court are hidden under a fresh coat of paint.
We have to ask how much this really does for the community that actually lives here. Does it just whitewash the heterogeneity and everything else the neighbourhood was once known for? The landmark Canary Restaurant at Front and Cherry was forced to close its doors when the plot was sold to developers.
Some are resisting the change. On the corner of King and Sherbourne someone has spray-painted “fuck gentrification” on the stoop of a real estate firm. With the revitalization of Regent Park we saw the displacement of many low-income families whose previous homes were given to those willing to pay market rent. The Real Jerk restaurant will be packing up soon, joining other less-known mom-and-pop shops who’ve faced extinction by gentrification.
The way of life for most here hasn’t been threatened in the same ways yet. My own has only been improved by the recent changes, and let’s face it, I’ll continue to sip on overpriced coffee while it lasts.
Comments
One response to “An ode to King Street East, before (and after) the condos”
Good article This has also been my neighbourhood for the past 9 years, and we love living here. I agree that even in that short time the changes have been astonishing. However, I think your final paragraph sums things up best: the changes are generally for the better.
In particular, I find it hard to see how an abandoned industrial area would be preferable to a safe, walkable, bustling Distillery District. Yes it is pricey and touristy, but realistically that’s the type of tenants that are needed to justify the millions that went into the restoration and modernization of the buildings to make them usable. As the two additional condo towers are completed, the hope of many (including some of the shop owners I’ve talked to there) is that the current crop of seasonal tourists will eventually be moderated with more locals who shop daily and year round rather than just on summer weekends. That should help the types of the businesses there gradually change from the sort of elite niche stores there now into a better mix of businesses all residents will frequent.
I see little of the traditional gentrification here that typically destroys neighbourhoods, that is, I don’t really see a pushing out of lower income families to make room for a wealthier demographic. To my knowledge all the housing co-ops that were built during the original 1980s construction of the area still exist and function as intended, and are in high demand. The neighbourhood was designed with an intentional mix of affordable income housing and condos in mind, to prevent the type of isolation and stigmatization that made the original Regent Park such a failure. As you noted, a quick walk through the area shows a broad range of races, ages, incomes and other demographics, so it seems the efforts continue to be a success. More recently, a large, beautiful new Toronto social housing building was completed at 288 King St. East, and the excellent architecture means that most people probably assume it’s a condo. That and the general condoization of the neighbourhood has increased population density and brought in new stores including numerous bank branches, a Sobey’s and a brand new No Frills, which will soon be joined by an LCBO and a Dollarama: all these amenities are needed and used by people of all demographics.
I think it’s also important to note that the Porsche dealership is not new; it had been located a block south for nearly 10 years and simply moved to a new lot last year. The old location is in fact the historically significant location of the original Parliament buildings burned during the War of 1812, and the moving of the dealership is one important positive step in an effort to get this area documented by archeologists and then converted to a historical landmark and park, possibly with the integration of a new Toronto library branch (all this of course pending funding, which is slow coming these days, but the ideas are in place.)
The Canary and all the lands surrounding that are part of the massive West Donlands redevelopment for the 2015 Pan Am Games. This organized external development is quite separate, in my opinion, from any regular process of gentrification, and aside from The Canary itself everything in that area is barren former industrial lands, and having it remediated and redeveloped is only a positive. After the games, plans for the Donlands include a similar mix of market value and subsidized housing that has so far made the St. Lawrence Market successful, so let’s hope it works again.
Obviously with so many changes happening so fast it’s worth wondering what is too much. The number and height of new condos still planned for the area does seem very high, especially as the real estate market seems to be peaking. But in general, I think the neighbourhood is more livable and pleasant than it was 9 years ago, and it’s well situated to benefit from future developments in the West Donlands and along the waterfront. So long as amenities and transit (sigh) can keep up with the increasing population density, I see many more reasons to be optimistic than fearful moving ahead.
Oh, and I love that new graffiti-free basketball court. Long overdue.