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Since Kraft's Mr. Christie's factory was shuttered in 2013, the future of the 27-acre property has been a hot topic in Toronto's fast-growing Humber Bay Shores community. Prior to the site's acquisition by developer First Capital Realty in 2016, a 2013 Official Plan Amendment (OPA) was submitted to the City by previous owners Mondelez, seeking to re-designate the site from an employment area to a regeneration area. The City has resisted efforts to re-designate this and other employment sites, and though the OPA submission is currently caught up in appeals to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), demolition of the old cookie factory has now begun.
Along with its redevelopment potential, the massive site represents one of the last significant opportunities for infrastructure upgrades for the quickly growing Humber Bay Shores community. Years of high-rise intensification have strained local services such as transit, leading to calls for the construction of a Park Lawn GO station and an improved TTC network in the area. Talks are ongoing between First Capital, the City, and Metrolinx to create a hub integrating a GO Station with TTC streetcar and bus routes on the site. So far, Metrolinx has been unsupportive, but now says that they need more information about what is envisioned to be built here.
While the planning is held up by red tape, demolition of the factory has been ongoing since September, when crews from Delsan AIM arrived on site. Recent photos from the site reveal that large sections of the L-shaped low-rise structure have been torn down, though work is a long way from clearing the site down to a blank slate.
A demolished portion of the bakery has created a cross section, revealing the largely gutted interiors. The images above and below show that materials like brick and steel are being sorted into individual piles for recycling. The photo below also shows the Mr. Christie's water tower that was once the dominant feature on the skyline as seen by motorists passing by on the Gardiner Expressway. Now no longer in use and eclipsed by condominium towers, First Capital has said they intend to preserve the red and white painted water tower, a local landmark and a symbol of the community's industrial roots.
What would you like to see included in this massive redevelopment? Let us know using the comments section below, or join in the discussion by visiting the associated Forum thread for the project.
