Toronto 2150 Lake Shore | 215.75m | 67s | First Capital | Allies and Morrison

With all do respect, I could care less about the 500 jobs being lost. The employees were well aware that it was only a matter of time that the factory was going to be demolished. In addition, they have more than ample enough time to search for another job. To think that they were going to hold their jobs for many years/decades to come would be juvenile thinking.

Regarding the 27 condos, I doubt that would happen. We'll likely see that number cut close to half, with the addition of some townhomes like Windermere by the lake and mixed commercial and some parkettes. In memory of Kraft, the city will also implement a large size copper Oreo :p
 
With all do respect I think it is really callous to not care about 500 + jobs being lost. What if it happened to you? (And don't think it can't - life is full of too many uncertainties). These peoples lives have just been devestated. If they are lucky they will find minimum wage retail jobs but they will never have the same economic security. And this will be a blow to the local economy. The middle/working class is being destroyed. There is something seriously wrong when we have plants being closed to build mindless condo development because of overblown property values.
 
Not to say that the loss of 500 jobs is no biggie - far from it. But the plant itself is crippled with old, outmoded infrastructure and the writing's been on the wall. It's a business like any other and the bottom line is to make money, not prop up plants longer capable of doing their thing efficiently.

And while I do believe that there's a certain amount of real estate speculation going on, I don't think it's simply a question of overblown property values. People no longer automatically want to live in the suburbs if it means driving long distances for services and amenities, not to mention jobs... let's face it, commuting times in the GTA have been extending to hellish lengths; it's only through achieving a high degree of urban density that we can come to a situation in which those amenities are available practically at our doorstep. It's demand chiefly driving the market, not wanton speculation.

That's not to say that there aren't poorly designed, shabbily built condo and other residential developments going on out there. We know that's not the case.

As for employment opportunities, Ontario has been steadily moving away from heavy and light manufacturing... it's a transition that's been unfolding for the last couple of decades and even humongous old school bakeries are not immune to these forces.
 
Lenser said:
Not to say that the loss of 500 jobs is no biggie - far from it. But the plant itself is crippled with old, outmoded infrastructure and the writing's been on the wall. It's a business like any other and the bottom line is to make money, not prop up plants longer capable of doing their thing efficiently.

And while I do believe that there's a certain amount of real estate speculation going on, I don't think it's simply a question of overblown property values. People no longer automatically want to live in the suburbs if it means driving long distances for services and amenities, not to mention jobs... let's face it, commuting times in the GTA have been extending to hellish lengths; it's only through achieving a high degree of urban density that we can come to a situation in which those amenities are available practically at our doorstep. It's demand chiefly driving the market, not wanton speculation.
Click to expand...
According to google maps directions, it takes about 45 minutes by transit to get from the Kraft Bakery to the Financial District. You could very likely access more jobs in 45 minutes by car in most of Toronto's suburbia than in 45 minutes by transit from this place. I don't think demand for shorter commutes is what's driving development in Humber Bay Shores. People wanting to shorten their commutes by taking transit in more centrally located neighbourhoods would be moving more to the core of Toronto, up to around Y&E to the North, Dufferin to the West and Coxwell to the East.

That being said, I don't think this is a bad place for growth to happen, but only if it means a new GO station with better, more frequent GO service, or a Waterfront LRT, and if there is job growth too.
 
I don't disagree - more and better transit is already desperately needed, particularly along that stretch.

But I was speaking in general about commute times. I think that if you work in the core but live in the Humber Bay area, you're still better off than if you live in Mississauga, Oakville, or Pickering. The TTC is pretty bad, I know, but the 400 series highways are also pretty much maxed out. Over the past thirty years, trip times between the burbs and the core have elongated to egregious levels. We are fast approaching a tipping point; if the GTA doesn't get its transit woes sorted it will start to negatively impact its viability as a destination for employment, culture, entertainment, etc. You could argue that this crippling effect on the economy is already occurring.

But back to the Kraft bakery. The other argument in favour of residential units there would be real estate. The further away you move from Bloor and Yonge the cheaper your condo is likely to be. Prices in the core are high and, over the long term, they are only going to climb. But if you're willing to live that much further from the core, you're likely to get more space for less money - although there's also the factor of diminishing returns: move far enough away from where you work and you're back to living too much of your life in your car (GO train, subway, bus).
 
27 towers seems a lot for the site but the question is how tall they define towers. 27 buildings (small buildings) could easily fit the site.
 
It the buildings were commercial buildings or maybe 50% commercial then I would be fine with it, but if it were only residential with maybe only first floor commercial, NO! We need places of employment in the city, not bedroom communities.
 
only a matter of time till the food terminal is done.. maybe after all these buildings are constructed it will be the next site to go
 
Josef said:
With all do respect, I could care less about the 500 jobs being lost. The employees were well aware that it was only a matter of time that the factory was going to be demolished. In addition, they have more than ample enough time to search for another job. To think that they were going to hold their jobs for many years/decades to come would be juvenile thinking.
Click to expand...

You could care less. How thoughtful! Ya, just throw 550 out on the streets. 550 people with families, bills to pay. They didn't know the plant was closing - infact, many of them only found out hours before it hit the media. They have more than ample time to search for another job - are you being serious? Tell me how these 550 people are going to find jobs, please - enlighten me. May be you will help them find jobs? So you expected these people to start looking for work because they (in your words) had to know the plant was going to close eventually? You know, for some people this plant was their life. This is where they worked for over 20 years - this is all they knew. You try to get someone in their 50's a new job and see how that works out for you. I find your comments disgusting.
 
The plant isn't closing for another year. If you read the article you would know that. The spokesperson specifically said that they were making this announcement far in advance to allow for them to find new employment.
 
innsertnamehere said:
The plant isn't closing for another year. If you read the article you would know that. The spokesperson specifically said that they were making this announcement far in advance to allow for them to find new employment.
Click to expand...

They didn't know they were losing their jobs until yesterday, when Mondelez made the announcement. I don't care if they give the employees a year to find alternative employment - to me, that's not enough time. Infact, for someone in their older years, you know how difficult it is to find alternative work? If anything, Mondelez should be finding them alternative employment and not just throwing them under the bus because their plant is sitting on a gold mine. Then again, why am I surprised... who really cares about their employees, right? Anyhow, I am done ranting - back on topic.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top