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The grand 1940s vision of a purpose-built social housing community that became Toronto's Regent Park neighbourhood failed to live up to its lofty expectations. Closed streets, decades of deferred maintenance, a design that did not encourage pride in exterior spaces, and socio-economic ghettoization meant a full reimagining of the neighbourhood was required. The result is Regent Park's ongoing mixed-income rebuilding, led by The Daniels Corporation and Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC).
Now well into the second decade of revitalization work, most of the social housing buildings have been replaced with new condominium and rental buildings, including all of the original Peter Dickinson-designed high-rise apartment towers that defined the neighbourhood skyline. The last vestiges of Regent Park's mid-century form are now a group of low- and mid-rise walkup apartment buildings along the south side of Gerrard Street between Parliament and River streets. Among these blocks, demolition recently started for a pair of buildings at the corner of Parliament and Gerrard.
Tenants of the 3 and 6-storey affordable housing buildings at 365 Parliament and 295 Gerrard were relocated last year, with the buildings having been fenced off by the end of 2018. Demolition was in full swing by February, and the latest photos show that the bulk of the three-storey 295 Gerrard has been torn down, with crews now breaking up the building's basement and foundations.
To the south, demolition is moving along for the six-storey 365 Parliament Street, with a wing of the double-Y-shaped building already reduced to rubble.
The building is being taken down in a way that allows glimpses into the old units. The view below shows four different rooms opened up to the elements, each with a different coat of paint or wallpaper.
Despite the ongoing site clearance, no firm plans for replacement buildings have been submitted to the City yet. While the site still lacks a submission, the original Regent Park phasing map envisioned the site with mid-rises of 8 storeys fronting Parliament and Gerrard, a 20-storey tower element at the corner of Parliament and Oak, and 3-storey townhomes fronting a new north-south street called Dreamer's Way.
Work on Phase 3 is expected to wrap up in 2021.
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