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Church-Wellesley Village

Torontovibe said:
^^ That is depressing! If the Priape & 24/7 video stores become one big bank location, I'm gonna freak out. I can't think of anything that will destroy that corner and kill its vibe, then that. OK, now I'm really getting worried. (and MAD!)

Look how the Bank of Montreal totally destroyed the vibe on Alexander Street. It's a completely dead space now.
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Let's not underestimate the almost universal appeal of banks. People come from all around to see'em. You stand online, speak to a teller or loans officer, exchange pounds for dollars, admire the self-promotional graphics and ads, it's interesting stuff. The stuff dreams are made of.
 
androiduk said:
In my building on Gloucester St. we were the only family with children for about 8 years, now there are 4 families and it seems all the new tenants in the building are either families or heterosexual students. The area definitely seems to be going through a transition.
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I've seen the same thing in my building. Easily 30-40% LGBT when I moved in about 10 years ago and now it's 50%+ students and more families. There's no question the neighbourhood is changing. Time to move.
 
So where are all the gays going? Have they all decided to buck the trend of moving to the downtown core and have departed for the suburbs or even small town Canada? Funny, when I go to the burbs, I ain't seeing any signs of fabulousness and all of my gay friends, still live downtown, (mostly near the Gay Village) so I must be missing something. I always though gay men liked urban living. If in fact, there is a gay exodus to small town life, I will not be following that unfortunate trend. I've already done my time in suburban hell and it scarred me for life. (Damn you, North York!)
 
Torontovibe said:
So where are all the gays going? Have they all decided to buck the trend of moving to the downtown core and have departed for the suburbs or even small town Canada? Funny, when I go to the burbs, I ain't seeing any signs of fabulousness and all of my gay friends, still live downtown, (mostly near the Gay Village) so I must be missing something. I always though gay men liked urban living. If in fact, there is a gay exodus to small town life, I will not be following that unfortunate trend. I've already done my time in suburban hell and it scarred me for life. (Damn you, North York!)
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I remember reading a few years ago in a local gay publication that the LGBT community was heading to West Queen West, but a lot were going east of Leslieville to areas like Gerrard and Main, Danforth or other areas. I wonder if Little India's hipsterization will also be a beacon for the gay community to move there? I can see even 'way out east" areas like Fallingbrook/Kingston Road, Cliffside or Guildwood picking up too, as long as better public transit accompanies it.
 
Yup...all my friends moved out to Leslieville after finding their significant others. Lots of gay couples out that way. I left the village a few years ago for harbourfront.
 
I'll speak for my age group. The Village is not desirable. All the "young professional" gays want to be in the next up and coming neighborhood/condo, not the village.

Currently the it gay condo seems to be X and soon to be X2. As for a lot of the gays in their 30's and up, Leslieville seems like the new spot. You're completely right with gay couples moving out there, getting out of the Village. Who can blame them, great brunch spots, some cute houses, and there's WAYLA for going out for the night.
 
To quote writer Sky Gilbert,

" But it isn't just Church Street that's on the wane. When being gay is the same as being straight, there's no need for gay anything. Gay bars, books, gay magazines, gay newspapers - gay culture as we know it - will disappear. "
 
It seems like, for better or worse, the gradual transition of The Village away from being a gaybourhood is inevitable. Given its role in the history of Toronto's gay community, I expect that there will always be some token acknowledgement of The Village's past, but I'm fascinated by what the future holds for it. Does anybody except that The Village's character will change in a noticeable way, and if so, what kind of neighbourhood will it become? While losing the unique character of the old hood is regrettable, the idea that a new neighbourhood will emerge right next to the core is kind of exciting, particularly because this isn't like so many of the previous emerging neighbourhoods which owed their existence to gentrification (e.g. WQW, Junction) or master planning (e.g. CityPlace). Will it eventually become something like the Annex, or perhaps like Yorkville? Or will it ultimately resemble, more than anything else, today's Village?
 
Torontovibe said:
So where are all the gays going? Have they all decided to buck the trend of moving to the downtown core and have departed for the suburbs or even small town Canada? Funny, when I go to the burbs, I ain't seeing any signs of fabulousness and all of my gay friends, still live downtown, (mostly near the Gay Village) so I must be missing something. I always though gay men liked urban living. If in fact, there is a gay exodus to small town life, I will not be following that unfortunate trend. I've already done my time in suburban hell and it scarred me for life. (Damn you, North York!)
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Gay men, in particular, are still very urban creatures for the most part. I don't think there's much (if any) trend of them leaving the cities for the suburbs or beyond. All that is really happening is that they are spreading out into other urban, progressive neighbourhoods a bit away from The Village. It's not really a Toronto trend either, it's pretty global in terms of progressive cities.
 
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Mystic Point said:
To quote writer Sky Gilbert,

" But it isn't just Church Street that's on the wane. When being gay is the same as being straight, there's no need for gay anything. Gay bars, books, gay magazines, gay newspapers - gay culture as we know it - will disappear. "
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Yup. Wasn't that the whole point though?
 
Mystic Point said:
Exactly the point. I can't wait for the Village to transform. As it is now, it's basically a poorly maintained museum for past that no longer is.
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With the rents the way they are though it's not going to get much besides banks and franchises. If it's going to transform, I'd at least like it to transform into somewhere worth going even if the flavour of the place is no longer gay-village like.
 
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