Toronto Coach Terminal 610 Bay St (City of Toronto, ?s, ?)

[HousingNowTO]

Sorry for my ignorance on this (I didn't see it in the articles I read), who will be responsible for running the affordable housing? Will it be the Toronto Public housing or a NGO?

There's no model to increase the units managed by TCHC, in fact the City is divesting some TCHC properties to NGO's.

Transferring the scattered housing portfolio

 

[Northern Light]

There's no model to increase the units managed by TCHC, in fact the City is divesting some TCHC properties to NGO's.

Transferring the scattered housing portfolio

I agree that is what is occurring. I do wonder though if TCHC (or a reconceived version thereof) couldn't be building 'Housing Now' sites in-house, eliminating the need for a profit component and delivering more affordable units in the process with a mixed-income model.

 

[TRONto]

I was asking as the media makes it looks like TCHC doesn't do a good job as landlord. Assuming that's true, it's good to hear their footprint is getting smaller.

 

[Northern Light]

I was asking as the media makes it looks like TCHC doesn't do a good job as landlord. Assuming that's true, it's good to hear their footprint is getting smaller.

TCHC is a mixed bag. It's certainly not a luxury housing provider, as you'd expect.

But the operation/conditions of its sites vary widely.

I don't think it would be fair to suggest they never do/can't do a good job. But it would be fair to say they often have not.

There are a host of issues.

I won't delve into them all here, as that's its own thread.

But the sheer size of the agency, plus contracting out management at many sites (being phased out); along with a shortage of maintenance funds over the years have certainly contributed to problems
and the perception of same.

 

[HousingNowTO]

I was asking as the media makes it looks like TCHC doesn't do a good job as landlord. Assuming that's true, it's good to hear their footprint is getting smaller.

Agree with many of the things that @Northern Light says above --- BUT to be clear, it's not "the media" that shows " TCHC doesn't do a good job as landlord"... it's their own Audits and Data that show it.

Toronto Community Housing building fire fatality rate 4 times higher than rest of city: officials - Toronto | Globalnews.ca

Fire officials are calling for the creation of a $2.8-million fire safety task force to be dedicated to Toronto Community Housing buildings amid recently-released statistics that show the fire fatality rate between 2012 and mid-December 2017 was four times higher than the remainder of Toronto...

globalnews.ca

 

[HousingNowTO]

I agree that is what is occurring. I do wonder though if TCHC (or a reconceived version thereof) couldn't be building 'Housing Now' sites in-house, eliminating the need for a profit component and delivering more affordable units in the process with a mixed-income model.

...not with any degree of speed, scale... or competence...

 

[Northern Light]

...not with any degree of speed, scale... or competence...

Public housing in Vienna is often discussed with much reverence for its architectural quality and a model, similar to Housing Now that supports subsidized units with market units, except these are provided by the publicly-owned housing developer.

I see no reason we can't simply hire the City of Vienna to build us a new housing provider from scratch modeled on their own.

We needn't reinvent the wheel. Hire the people doing it properly to bring in the proper policies, people and culture.

Once up and running, they could slowly absorb the TCHC portfolio, probably through the revitalization process.

 

[HousingNowTO]

I see no reason we can't simply hire the City of Vienna to build us a new housing provider from scratch modeled on their own.

Outlining that process would require us to meet face-to-face with 2 x large whiteboards, and unlimited number (and colours) of dry-erase markers ... and at least ONE case of Scotch...

 

[Northern Light]

Outlining that process would require us to meet face-to-face with 2 x large whiteboards, and unlimited number (and colours) of dry-erase markers ... and at least ONE case of Scotch.. Amarone.

There, I fixed it for you.

And I'm down.

 

[Northern Light]

So the ModernTO item was up at Executive today, and it passed, with a couple of modest amendments related to this site:

The first is a long-winded one seeking some explanation from the TTC on the terms of its winddown agreement with Toronto Coach Terminal Inc.:

The other is this:

 

[AlbertC]

Peeking into the empty terminal.

Lots of memories through the years taking the bus to various places.

 

[Northern Light]

Peeking into the empty terminal.

Lots of memories through the years taking the bus to various places.


View attachment 394117View attachment 394118

The floor appears wet...........yet dirty.......

Is the roof leaking.............? Just asking.....

 

[AlbertC]

The floor appears wet...........yet dirty.......

Is the roof leaking.............? Just asking.....

Tbh, not sure. Can't say that I was particularly paying attention to that in the moment.

 

[Northern Light]

This thread needs a pic of what the main terminal here looked like originally.

Source: Facebook group Friends Who Like Vintage Toronto - posted by David Nash :

Facebook

www.facebook.com

What a gem! While there remains much beauty in what's left, you can see so much money was spent over the years to cover this beauty and diminish it w/cheap finishes......sigh.

 

[AlbertC]

Some brief commentary about the building at the NW corner of Bay & Dundas, as Uncle Tetsu's moved across the street to the Atrium:

Uncle Tetsu Japanese Cheesecake Opens Replacement Flagship in Toronto, Plans National Store Expansion [Photos/Interview]

The retailer, which has its North American head office in Toronto, has launched an open-kitchen concept and will open more stores in Canada as part of a national expansion.

retail-insider.com

Uncle Tetsu’s had no choice but to move to a new location after the city bought the building it was in, the Grey Hound bus terminal, after the terminal declared bankruptcy. As Uncle Tetsu was already famous for its long line-ups, the retailer decided it was best to stick to the same area and move across the street. This was a bittersweet move as the location at the former Grey Hound terminal was the first store in North America.