11 Division Police Station (2054 Davenport Road)

http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/d11/new_site/


May 10, 2011.

I'm all for architecture and making the policing system work well and having the police department be a great place to work. However, in light of the present political climate I must say that this is as clear an example of "gravy" as there is in the city, particularly in light of the recent Fort York bridge affair.

actually the cost of building this station was cheaper than refitting the two stations it was to take over.Looks great imho.....Plus this was part of the Miller approval so before you go on about "gravy train" its wasnt part of Fords approvals....the Fort York bridge can still be built with private donations.

^You are clearly better informed than me so I stand corrected. However, two questions come to mind: why did the other two divisions require retrofitting making this option "cheaper"? Also, why is their a distinction between private funding for a municipal bridge and private funding for a municipal building?

This is a Stimilus Project from the Federal Government, so thats where the money is coming from, i surmise retrofits of whatever other stations you are referring to is more cost effective because the funds are probably from the city itself.

basically it came down to effective information sharing among divisions which over lapped each others area.Retrofit meant some of the older stations had problems with the optics needed for the modern police station,cramped offices was a norm,processing of criminals and holding them in small cells before they are transfer was a chore at the older stations.Lack of parking,lack of rooms for the speciality forces like gangs and guns and Tavis at the older stations.You now got everything under one roof and the response time was not affected since they can run more cars out to cover the areas they were assigned to while cutting down in house paper work by locating everything in one location.Keele and 401 there will be a "super hospital" where 4 hospitals would basically become one,same concept as the newer police stations.Lower overhead means more police on the streets.

Apparently, the old building on Mavety Street was too small so they replaced it with this new building. If you think modern, functional facilities for the police are "gravy", then I'm not sure what you expect the municipal government to deliver. The outrageous part was how just preserving the school, a clear neighbourhood landmark for almost a century, was portrayed by officials as this great achievement (and only after protests from residents). It should have been a given from the beginning. Preservation doesn't just need to happen downtown or in some affluent neighbourhood; it needs to happen anywhere there's a building worthy of preservation. When public funds are involved, it should be the obvious direction.

As for the nearly finished police station itself, they essentially preserved the minimum of the facade of the Edwardian school they could, but it stands prominently and towers over the new building. It would have been better to preserve the whole facade because it had a facade on Osler street now replaced by an almost featureless blank wall of black Roman brick. The new windows on the heritage facade don't look appropriate at all. The old ones are visible in the "before" photo on the police website. They were windows with sashes and frames painted an off-white, which suited the architecture well.

The landscaping looks good at first glance but is sloppy; a dense row of trees has been planted in front of the old school's front door facing Davenport, for instance. Lastly, it should be noted that this location represents an entire city block, yet the actual buildings take up only about half of it; the rest will be surface parking and a small park. It's not the best handling of a block surrounded by three residential side streets.

Actually, junctionist I'm all for modern, functional facilities and I pass by this one several times a week. I also believe that you need to invest in productivity enhancements to generate returns in the future. So the information provided in this thread has spun this project in a more positive light for me.

My original comment came from a concern I have with police spending in light of both crime statistics and future budgetary problems the city may face. I have no problem with spending money on good municipal services. I do have a problem with a gap between what citizens want to pay and the outcomes they expect. Basically, if we are not willing to pay good money for good municipal services then municipal services should not be spending money we don't have. However, I can discuss these general ideas in other threads and will leave this one to focus on the project itself.

I heard the Delta Bingo at St Clair and Old Weston will be gone soon also...wonder what they build over there????.

ducati0000 said:

I heard the Delta Bingo at St Clair and Old Weston will be gone soon also...wonder what they build over there????.

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I drove by a couple weeks ago, and it's already gone. This gritty area is due for a makeover.

Travis said:

I drove by a couple weeks ago, and it's already gone. This gritty area is due for a makeover.

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The area really needs revitalization. It's strange to see so many empty lots on along St. Clair at Old Weston Road. Old Weston Road south of St. Clair is an ugly street with crumbling houses, no trees, and that old style of hydro infrastructure with wooden racks holding up many wires. Of course, the underpass at St. Clair will have to be widened because it's one lane in each direction for cars and also crumbling. But the side streets in the area are decent.

junctionist said:

Old Weston Road south of St. Clair is an ugly street with crumbling houses, no trees, and that old style of hydro infrastructure with wooden racks holding up many wires.

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And yet, those flat-topped rows opposite the end of Davenport represent the kind of primeval working-class "ugliness" that *could* have lots of potential (except for being amidst heavy traffic)

^ That is true. These may not be very well maintained or aesthetically pleasing, but they do have certain quality/character to them. IMO, fits the definition for interesting grit, or at least for our city. I don't think I've seen houses quite like this row, anywhere else in the city.

Travis: These are interesting twin houses...Reminds me of Philadelphia and/or other places in the Delaware Valley Region (PA-NJ-DE) due to their size and appearance...LI MIKE

Too bad about the front pigeon coup additions.