Cabbagetown

[Dilla]

Carlton & Parliament

yet again, from http://cabbagetownnews.blogspot.com/

The Committee of Adjustment of the City of Toronto will be holding a meeting to consider the plans and applications by George Foulides who owns the old JavaVille site at Carlton and Parliament (493 Parliament). The meeting will be in Committee Room 2, Second Floor at City Hall at 9 am on Wednesday, January 7. The file number is A0988/08TEY.
George is asking for permission to demolish the current structure and put up a three-storey non-residential building in its place. He is seeking approval for two variances: to increase the non-residential density from 1.0 to 2.90 times the area of the lot and to be exempted from the required eleven parking spaces.
This meeting serves two purposes. The Committee will consider George’s plans and requests. In addition, it will consider any public comments that it receives either by letter, by fax or by a personal appearance during the meeting.
If you want further information, you can contact either Doug Fisher at the BIA (416-921-0857) or Sean MacIntyre at Pam McConnell’s office (416-392-0207).

Hmmm, i don't think i want him to build 11 parking spaces, but it could have an effect on the on-street parking on Carlton (which my household uses), which is pretty busy as it is. Ah, well.

 

[Admiral Beez]

The way I read that he wants to "to be exempted from the required eleven parking spaces" makes it sound as if he does not want to have to provide eleven required parking spaces, not that he wants them and he can't have them.

 

[Roy G Biv]

Eleven?

He should look into parking lifts.

 

[Dilla]

The way I read that he wants to "to be exempted from the required eleven parking spaces" makes it sound as if he does not want to have to provide eleven required parking spaces, not that he wants them and he can't have them.

That's how i read it, too. Sorry if i wasn't clear.

 

[junctionist]

Parliament Street rattled by change

Giuseppe Valiante, National Post
Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Cabbagetown is preparing to spruce itself up ahead of an influx of new condo dwellers, but heritage activists fear for the soul of Parliament Street.

The local business association is resisting calls to have Parliament Street classified a heritage site, even as it makes plans to revitalize the historic commercial strip.

"There's a lot of discussion going on in the neighbourhood between the heritage people and the business people to make sure we don't do something inappropriate. We don't want to see a building lost and we also don't want to stifle business. It's a balancing act we're trying to work out," said Doug Fisher, manager of the Old Cabbagetown Business Improvement Area.

The BIA is to hire a consultant to decide which buildings on Parliament should be preserved, and to draft guidelines on how to protect them from demolition, Mr. Fisher said.

"We think that that will be more realistic: to preserve the best buildings without putting the whole street into a straitjacket," Mr. Fisher added.

Pressure to develop Parliament Street is expected when residents start moving into the new Regent Park development at the foot of Cabbagetown next year. Before the redevelopment, 7,500 people lived in social housing, and the project will add 5,000 new residents. About 3,000 units in the new Regent Park will be sold as condos, according to a spokesperson for Toronto Community Housing.

Rollo Myers, Heritage Canada's governor for Ontario and manager of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, who has lived in the area since the 1970s, said most of Parliament Street in Cabbagetown should be protected, as is the Victorian streetscape on nearby residential streets.

"There are people with commercial interests that say there's nothing worth keeping on Parliament Street ... that's not true," said Mr. Myers, who is a member of the advisory committee that helped draft the original conservation plan for Cabbagetown that was presented to city hall. "If you walk down Parliament Street ... we've estimated about 70%

of the buildings are still the original buildings."

Parliament Street used to be residential. Storefronts were gradually added through the years, turning the stretch into Cabbagetown's commercial artery.

Developers are far less restricted with plans on Parliament than for the rest of the neighbourhood. Someproperty owners on Parliament have decided to restore such historic buildings as the old Winchester Hotel north of Gerrard Street, although a Tim Hortons was added. Others have opted to start from scratch, like the owner of the building at Carlton that used to house Javaville. It will be demolished and turned into a three-storey commercial building, with two floors of office space.

"We're frankly hoping that [the owner] will ... listen to people and work to make his building as attractive as possible," Mr. Fisher said.

Cabbagetown's BIA has hired Sunarts Design, a landscaping company, to come up with a list of projects for Parliament, Gerrard and Carlton streets that will revitalize some of the eyesores and encourage more people to shop in the area, according to Mr. Fisher.

"We're working from the premise ... that if the streetscape is appealing and inviting and animated with people and free from litter and has plant life ... then its going to be itself attractive to people to visit the area," said David Orsini of Sunarts Design, who was recommended by the St. Lawrence BIA for his work designing and landscaping the St. Lawrence Esplanade promenade.

Mr. Orsini's company has produced a preliminary list of projects that include planting more trees, changing the streets lamps, laying decorative brickwork at intersections and landscaping Anniversary Park, a green triangle at the corner of Gerrard and Parliament streets. Mr. Orsini is also proposing to slow traffic on Parliament by adding two bump-outs in the place of parking spots, planting trees and adding bike corrals.

George Rust-D'Eye, a lawyer and 35-year resident of Cabbagetown who also helped draft its original conservation plan, which he hopes to extend to include Parliament Street, said he supports the BIA's proposal to restore Parliament, but said he wishes it would go further.

"Some of our neighbours don't use Parliament Street because it's not attractive to them," he said. "But I think the heritage of the street is its biggest asset. We'd like to work with the BIA to recognize and protect it."

Mr. Rust-D'Eye said he's optimistic that the development of Regent Park will help local business. But many residents, including himself, don't want Regent Park-style construction in Cabbagetown, he said.

"Right now, I look at Regent Park as I walk down Parliament Street and I see this gigantic high-rise sticking right in the middle of it ... and I certainly wouldn't like to see either Regent Park or Parliament Street look like a wall of high-rises."

 

[Uncle Teddy]

Going underground to go `green'
http://www.thestar.com/article/557618

Cabbagetown dwellers want to dig deep for geothermal systems, if front money is found
Dec 23, 2008 04:30 AM

JOHN SPEARS
CITY HALL BUREAU
When Douglas Worts learned that the City of Toronto was going to fix the pavement on his street, he knew what he had to do: he called his councillor to get it stopped.

Worts has nothing against good roads. But he looks at his street – Laurier Ave. in the Parliament-Wellesley area – as more than a roadway.

He thinks it has the potential to heat and cool his house and others, by providing the footings for a geothermal heating system.

Now the city is interested in the idea, and has given $25,000 to Worts and his neighbours, through the Don Vale Cabbagetown Residents Association, to carry out a feasibility study.

Worts had never thought much about geothermal heating and cooling until he happened to hear that it was being considered for the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa.

He talked up the idea at the Laurier street party in 2007, and some neighbours expressed interest.

He explained that down past the frost line, the Earth keeps a temperature that's warmer than winter air and cooler than summer air.

Geothermal systems take advantage of that by pumping fluid through underground pipes to carry the seasonal warmth or coolness to the surface.

Worts is keen on geothermal because the Laurier Ave. homes, built in 1888, are not energy-efficient by today's standards.

Worts thought tapping a green energy source like geothermal made a lot of sense.

One obstacle to geothermal at Laurier Ave. is geographic: There just isn't much surface area along the narrow street, where houses lack front yards or driveways.

Worts figured the roadway itself would be far more accessible for drilling rigs.

And the project would set an example of how geothermal could also have application in dense urban neighbourhoods.

"This is a perfect size street to be doing this kind of experiment," says Worts.

Staff at the energy efficiency office at city hall have been helpful, Worts said, and are willing to give residents a permit to drill on the street.

The holes will have to be very deep – about 175 metres or 575 feet, Worts says – because there's no room to run buried pipe sideways.

Each home will need its own system, because setting up a single system with common ownership proved legally complex, and not everyone on the street wants to convert to geothermal.

Worts says 16 of the 22 residents have shown serious interest.

Their councillor, Pam McConnell, supports the project.

"I think it's fabulous," she said in an interview. "It's a small street, but it could have major implications in quite a large circumference around Cabbagetown.

McConnell strongly approves of using the city street for the drill holes, because the project is in keeping with city policy on curbing carbon emissions.

"If we need to give up a little space in our right of way, that's fine with me," she said.

"I don't think it impacts the use of the street or the sidewalk. It doesn't impact the public realm, and has very important public benefits."

But money remains an obstacle – even doing a detailed feasibility study is expensive, and the Laurier Ave. residents were hobbled by lacking a formal organization.

A solution to that problem appeared one day when Sameer Dhargalkar, a Laurier resident and co-backer of the geothermal project with Worts, was walking his dog.

In Wellesley Park, he struck up a conversation with another dog owner, Lee Garrison, who heads the Don Vale Cabbagetown Residents Association.

"We just started talking out of the blue," Garrison recalls.

When the geothermal project came up, "I said: `Let's talk some more, because I'm head of the residents' association and we've been wanting for a while to find some flagship projects to kick-start a green initiative in Cabbagetown.'"

The residents' association is now a partner in the project and provides the funding link with the city.

However, money is still an issue.

A consultant has estimated the cost of a geothermal unit at $27,000 per household.

Worts figures that with grant incentives, and with the savings from drilling many holes at once, the cost would fall to $17,000 or less.

Worts hopes the city or some other sponsor can be persuaded to loan this upfront money to owners.

He says a house spending $2,000 a year on heating and cooling might slice that to $800 with geothermal.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I've heard my neighbours talking about that at a Christmas Eve party. Sounds like a great plan. I'd definitely pay to join such a system to reduce my dependence on gas heating.

 

[urbandreamer]

Gourmet Burger Company's burgers are awesome! I had the Aussie.

 

[Roy G Biv]

Anyone check out Lounge 51 (I think?) in The Laurentian Room's old space?

 

[Admiral Beez]

Gourmet Burger Company's burgers are awesome! I had the Aussie.

I visited Gourmet Burger for the first time on Saturday with a friend of out of town. I talked up the place, about how it was well reviewed on UT, etc. Only to arrive at realize that they've got no where to sit besides a narrow bar at the window with some stools, all of which were occupied. Dissappointed, we walked to House on Parliament instead. Gourmet may have great burgers, but if they've got no where to sit on a cold winter's day, I've either got to take my burger home with me, or skip the place entirely.

 

[Dilla]

Anyone check out Lounge 51 (I think?) in The Laurentian Room's old space?

No, but I went into the Laurentian Room once to see if I could book it for a private party, and it was beautiful.

I visited Gourmet Burger for the first time on Saturday with a friend of out of town. I talked up the place, about how it was well reviewed on UT, etc. Only to arrive at realize that they've got no where to sit besides a narrow bar at the window with some stools, all of which were occupied. Dissappointed, we walked to House on Parliament instead. Gourmet may have great burgers, but if they've got no where to sit on a cold winter's day, I've either got to take my burger home with me, or skip the place entirely.

Yeah, it's pretty much take out only. It seems to be doing well, and I wouldn't be surprised if they moved into a bigger space in the next couple of years.

Our 'hood is getting some Toronto Star Love

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/562634

FOOD
Cabbagetown gets a lift

It's still far from perfect, but lately this emerging area is starting to perk up

NOAH RICHLER
The jumbled character of Parliament St., Cabbagetown's untidy thoroughfare, would have suited Jane Jacobs, that doyenne of urban commentators, more than the Annex, which the author eventually outgrew.

Jacobs' idea of the perfect neighbourhood was one that had a cohesive identity, but was porous at its borders and could be known from its sidewalks. Cabbagetown is just that.

Immigrant families from the tower blocks of St. James Town and the aged community housing of Regent Park, undergoing slow redevelopment, pass through its Victorian core and prevent the beautiful east Toronto district from becoming a gated community of the privileged.

Young families have gradually altered the demographics of this downtown district, once an Irish workers' slum, and in summer new moms push their strollers through Riverdale Park West while Tamil families picnic. In winter, the park gives way to a joyous, Brueghel-like canvas in which Muslim kids take their first toboggan rides beside neighbourhood pros who slide down the snowy hill on pieces of cardboard.

Cabbagetown is not a perfect neighbourhood, by any means. Its core of Victorian residential streets are some of the prettiest in Toronto, but its main artery, Parliament St., is shabby on the best of days, with a string of stores for rent even before our current recession has wielded any impact.

Still, it is stocked with personality. Residents are used to Tim Hortons and 2-4-1 Pizza customers and their trash lazily discarded mere feet away from yawning litter bins. And they are used to the woman outside Luciano's No Frills yelling "Two dollars, please!" and other of the city's calls-of-the-wild along the busy sidewalk – but it is the neighbourhood's variety, the rawness of it, that provides Cabbagetown its particular identity.

On Parliament St., the gentrification that has transformed so many Toronto neighbourhoods has been slow to happen. Except that recently there's been a whiff of change in the air.

Urban Renewal

Here, starting from the junction of Winchester and Parliament Sts. and moving south, is a guide to some of the street's institutions, its arrivistes, and others that the Cabbagetown Business Improvement Association says will be opening soon.

1. Tim Hortons & The Stonegrill (in the old Winchester Hotel, 537 Parliament St.)

There was a big hullabaloo when Canada's most famous coffee shop replaced the tavern in the old Winchester Hotel. Optimists hoped Jeff Stober, owner of the Drake Hotel in Parkdale, would try something similar, but he left Cabbagetown – Toronto's prime doughnut district – to its own devices. So is it really a surprise that the Tim Hortons is doing so well? In fact, Parliament St. has not one, but two (the other is in the Esso station). Still, the refurbishment is pleasing and respects the architecture. The Stonegrill on Winchester now occupies the dance floor at the back of the old tavern, where chef Michi Tanaka has patrons cook their meals, Korean-style, on stone grills at their tables. Jazz on Sundays and a fancy brunch are some of the mainstays. The Stonegrill has since taken over the room upstairs, previously the Laurentian Room (and before that a haunt of gangster Al Capone's), and renamed it Lounge Fifty-One.

Tim Hortons, 537 Parliament, 416-972-0003

Stonegrill on Winchester, 51B Winchester, stonegrillonwinchester.com, 416-967-6565

2. St. Jamestown Delicatessen, 516 Parliament St., 416-925-7665

Terry Michelin, who founded this Cabbagetown butcher shop in 1971, was much beloved. After he died in 2005, his son Mark seamlessly took over the shop and quietly improved this favourite of shoppers who enjoy being greeted by name. The sausages are various, the produce fresh, and the dry scallops or Irish organic salmon are a few of the limited – but high-quality – range of seafood.

3. The Cobourg, 533 Parliament St., 416-913-7538

In his own modest way, Cobourg owner John Jay is the closest Parliament St. comes to a visionary entrepreneur. During Nuit Blanche, Jay organized a through-the-night reading of Hugh Garner's classic novel Cabbagetown (sold at the Parliament St. Home Hardware store, should you be curious) by a bevy of locals including his friend Michael Ondaatje. Jay had to be visionary, even a bit daft, to establish a simple and elegant bar like the Cobourg, where regulars can enjoy a bowl of edamame and a quiet end-of-the-day cocktail or glass of wine. He squeezes a jazz trio into the small front window space on Sunday nights.

4. Starbucks and Jet Fuel

At the corner of Aberdeen Ave. and Parliament St., opposite John Englar's diehard Jet Fuel Coffee Shop, Starbucks is expected to open in March. It may anger Jet Fuel regulars who think cultivated rudeness is a vital part of the coffee experience, but it is a bit of stable ordinariness the street could use. Certainly Starbucks won't threaten Jet Fuel, the street's incumbent coffee shop king, with its art shows, occasional readings and backyard parties that are part of the its eclectic identity.

Starbucks, 492 Parliament St.
Jet Fuel Coffee Shop, 519 Parliament St., 416-968-9982

5. Gourmet Burger Co., 482 Parliament St., 647-344-5103

One of the more depressing corners of Parliament St. is at Spruce St., opposite the defunct Flamingo restaurant, where the ugly, cheaply clad and low-end Cabbagetown Restaurant was replaced by the Wing Machine. Now the Gourmet Burger Co. has moved in, serving up Australian beef, good french fries and beer-battered onion rings. These are burgers as they used to be made. Run by John Ward, an ex-pat Aussie, this new takeout space may give Johnny G's, a couple of doors down, a run for its lunchtime money.

6. Omi, 243 Carlton St. , 416-920-8991

Here is really good news. Omi, one of only a couple of Japanese restaurants I have ever bothered to frequent (most sushi is a taste-deadening rip-off about as exciting as a shrimp cocktail), has closed its Church St. doors and reopened in the old Town Grill spot at the southwest corner of Carlton and Parliament Sts. A straightforward lunchtime sushi platter is infinitely more tasty and interesting than the predictable salmon, tuna and shrimp. And if you're feeling adventurous and flush, let proprietor John Lee decide – it's always exciting, subtle, delicate and unusual. The sake is superior and it's easy to drop a hundred dollars a person with no regrets.

7. A Firkin pub?

The gutted building at the northeast corner of Carlton and Parliament Sts. – next to Carlton Cleaners – has played host to a number of failed businesses. Now a Firkin pub is expected. Owner George Foulides plans to demolish the building and replace it with a three-story office-and-retail box, which many residents believe flies in the face of the local Business Improvement Association's homage to heritage preservation. The plans are scheduled to be presented – and disputed by some residents – at city hall this morning. Old Cabbagetown BIA co-ordinator Doug Fisher says the design "shouldn't have any trouble."

Coming soon to 493 Parliament St.

8. The House on Parliament, 456 Parliament St.

This is probably the most renowned of the street's pubs and restaurants and just about the only establishment that caused Torontonians to make the journey to Parliament St. other than Omi and, farther west on Carlton St., the very pleasant Jam Café (a bistro-style restaurant with an excellent winter steak-and-frites deal, a predilection for Canadian ingredients and a decent short wine list).

Owners Tania Waldock and Bo Opperman have created a pub with a boisterous atmosphere. The food is generally good and reasonably priced and the staff is a hoot.

The House on Parliament, 456 Parliament St., 416-925-4074
The Jam Café, 195 Carlton St., 416-921-1255

9. Thai To-Go, 452 Gerrard St. E., 416-515-8424

Once the reconstruction of Regent Park is complete, the population density will be three times what it is now. This is why Shoppers Drug Mart and the TD Bank have opened branches along Queen St., and why anyone who opens a store along Gerrard St. there is probably doing so with a degree of foresight.

Thai To-Go is a simple restaurant with room for a few eat-in diners, who can choose a perfectly good two-course lunch for $7 or $8 – takeout is 15 per cent cheaper if you bring your own packaging. Next door is the now closed Christine's Diner, which belongs to the same landlord, who once talked of a restaurant with a space for Regent Park kids to do homework in the back.

All this begs the question, "What's next in the Cabbage?"

 

[egotrippin]

A question for any Cabbagetowners here. Has anyone been to the Pear Tree (507 Parliament St.) restaurant? I've been looking for somewhere nearby (I'm in Corktown) to take my family out for dinner, and its homemade and local feel caught my eye. I was wondering if it's any good, or if anyone has any recommendations for unique/delicious/must-try places around here. I wanted to take them out somewhere interesting and local, a place that they couldn't find in the 'burbs.

 

[Dilla]

A question for any Cabbagetowners here. Has anyone been to the Pear Tree (507 Parliament St.) restaurant? I've been looking for somewhere nearby (I'm in Corktown) to take my family out for dinner, and its homemade and local feel caught my eye. I was wondering if it's any good, or if anyone has any recommendations for unique/delicious/must-try places around here. I wanted to take them out somewhere interesting and local, a place that they couldn't find in the 'burbs.

I like the breakfast at Pear Tree, but I was disappointed by dinner. I've only gone there for dinner once, though, so that's not much to go by. It's a busy place, so it must be doing something right. That Jam Café place gets a lot of good reviews, but again, I've only eaten breakfast there. It was good. Also, it might be a bit "adult" if you've got young children. In fact, I can't think of any other restaurants other than the pear tree that I might take young kids to. I've never been to Big Momma's house, or any of the places on the north side of Carlton, just west of Parliament. I would think they're not too child-friendly, either.

Peter's Cajun Creole Pizza has very limited seating, but it's a nice atmosphere, and it's closer to you at Queen and Parliament. Also, the pizza is really good.
http://www.peterscajunpizza.ca/

Anyone else got ideas?

 

[Dilla]

To Admiral Beez

I keep forgetting to tell you (I don't think I've mentioned it here, anyway), but Wing Machine got their liquor license. I had a beer there last night, and yeah, there was already some...er..."eccentrics" in there, just drinking beer, not eating.

They should probably have a rule there where you don't get served booze if you don't order food. For their own sake.

 

[egotrippin]

I like the breakfast at Pear Tree, but I was disappointed by dinner. I've only gone there for dinner once, though, so that's not much to go by. It's a busy place, so it must be doing something right. That Jam Café place gets a lot of good reviews, but again, I've only eaten breakfast there. It was good. Also, it might be a bit "adult" if you've got young children. In fact, I can't think of any other restaurants other than the pear tree that I might take young kids to. I've never been to Big Momma's house, or any of the places on the north side of Carlton, just west of Parliament. I would think they're not too child-friendly, either.

Peter's Cajun Creole Pizza has very limited seating, but it's a nice atmosphere, and it's closer to you at Queen and Parliament. Also, the pizza is really good.
http://www.peterscajunpizza.ca/

Anyone else got ideas?

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. I should've specified a bit, by family I meant my parents and sisters. I live down here on my own, but they live out north of Markham. The youngest is 16, so anything that's not exclusively 19+ is fine. I looked up that Jam Cafe place, it looks pretty nice, a little more in line of what I was imagining. Peter's looks good too, although whenever I pass by, it looks pretty small inside. I thought it was more of a takeout place.