Toronto Paintbox | ?m | 26s | Daniels | Diamond Schmitt

[ladyscraper]

My best friend bought a condo unit in the very first of the new buildings to go up in Regent Park. He loves the place and almost everyone else in the building seems to be normal families or young professionals buying their first home.
So it really doesn't matter what YOU think of buying in the area since a lot of others seem to have no problem with it.

You can go buy anywhere else you want and the people that want to buy in Regent Park can do that. Problem solved.

 

[egotrippin]

You guys are nuts. Sure it's a "great idea" when it's not your money. How many people here have actually bought a unit here AND plan to live in it. This area has Toronto's highest poverty rate, crime rate, murder rate etc.. AND it has the lowest income rate of any area in Toronto. You cannot compare this area to St. Lawrence market or any other areas mentioned. First off the St. Lawrence market area does not have the huge stigma and poor reputation of regent park. 2nd St. Lawrence market area was never 100% subsidized housing. It's a big mix. Lastly St. Lawrence market has a well planned and developed infrastructure. Tons of shops, bars and restaurants in the area.

This area does not have the highest poverty rate, crime rate, or murder rate in the city as you so boast. A few isolated housing projects do have higher than average crime and poverty than the surrounding area, but apart from that Regent Park is steps from some very desirable neighbourhoods and is in a very convenient location. Once the few bits of the old neighbourhood are scrubbed clean, it will be a great place to live. Cabbagetown, Corktown, the Distillery, downtown, Riverdale Park, and many more areas are within an easy walking distance. I've lived just south of here for 4 years now, and routinely walk up to Cabbagetown, and have never had an issue with criminal behaviour or safety.

Again, some of the corners in nearby neighbourhoods are unsavoury and possibly dangerous, but in reality it's isolated to a few intersections scattered throughout the area.

 

[apom]

That's because your friend likely lives in a building without a subsidized component. I'm not sure if they are planning on mixing the buildings or keeping it separately. Hopefully it's the later. And those first time home buyers don't know any better. It's there first time! Go a head and buy in regent park.

Egotrippin: This is a very dangerous area of Toronto and is close to other bad spots. Moss park, Shuter, close proximity to 3 of the largest homeless shelters in the city. Look at the homicide map over the last 10 years and you will see that most of it is concentrated in this area. I know people that lived around moss park and quickly got sick of finding syringes on there porches and having hookers trying to pick them up. "Scrubbed clean" That is a very optimistic view. Look at the areas history. This isn't the first attempt at trying to clean this area up. Buying here is to risky.

 

[lovarkitec]

That's because your friend likely lives in a building without a subsidized component. I'm not sure if they are planning on mixing the buildings or keeping it separately. Hopefully it's the later. And those first time home buyers don't know any better. It's there first time! Go a head and buy in regent park.

Egotrippin: This is a very dangerous area of Toronto and is close to other bad spots. Moss park, Shuter, close proximity to 3 of the largest homeless shelters in the city. Look at the homicide map over the last 10 years and you will see that most of it is concentrated in this area. I know people that lived around moss park and quickly got sick of finding syringes on there porches and having hookers trying to pick them up. "Scrubbed clean" That is a very optimistic view. Look at the areas history. This isn't the first attempt at trying to clean this area up. Buying here is to risky.

Man, you have a thing about stigmatizing the poor, don't you? People have survived in mixed SES neighbourhoods for centuries..... Regent Park is thriving - get on board with what is happening with urban redevelopment in this town and stop the silly fear mongering. If you want facts from this public health scientist.....There is ample evidence to show that mixed income neighbourhoods are the healthiest and have the highest social cohesion of any urban locales. This is what the Esplanade is all about and what Regent Park is transforming into.....LARK

 

[egotrippin]

Egotrippin: This is a very dangerous area of Toronto and is close to other bad spots. Moss park, Shuter, close proximity to 3 of the largest homeless shelters in the city. Look at the homicide map over the last 10 years and you will see that most of it is concentrated in this area. I know people that lived around moss park and quickly got sick of finding syringes on there porches and having hookers trying to pick them up. "Scrubbed clean" That is a very optimistic view. Look at the areas history. This isn't the first attempt at trying to clean this area up. Buying here is to risky.

You sure about that champ? http://www3.thestar.com/static/googlemaps/homicidemap.html. I see 3 murders in the area defined as Regent Park, and a mere handful scattered around the rest of the east end in the past 5 years. More homicides have occurred towards Yonge Street and west end, which are still tame compared to particular areas of Etobicoke and Scarborough.

I know plenty of people who live in close proximity to Moss Park, St. Jamestown, and Regent Park as well; if you're not part of the drugs and crime yourself, there's rarely an issue beyond passing by a few unsavoury drug addicts and poor people. I'm not suggesting that there's no issue with crime, but most of it is localized and avoided if you're not involved with the groups of people causing the problems. That doesn't excuse the crime, but there's no doubt that the east end is being cleaned up and revitalized in a significant way.

 

[Torontovibe]

How many people in Regent Park, who were murdered, "were known to the Police"? I wouldn't be surprised if it was 100%. I have never seen an innocent bystander murdered in that area, so your chances of being shot are tiny. People tend to exaggerate the real dangers of the downtown core, especially, Regent Park.

 

[EnviroTO]

You sure about that champ? http://www3.thestar.com/static/googlemaps/homicidemap.html.

Look at the last two years and there have been none in Regent Park, 2 in Moss Park, and 5 in the Annex. But lets not cloud over mis-truths with facts. Regent Park is a place nobody will want to live, it is force gentrification where people pay $500 / sq ft. Gentrified and expensive as in no demand and decrepit.

 

[agoraflaneur]

I really cannot understand the antipoverty sentiment here. I suppose that misconceptions get burrowed into the mind, and the patterns of yesteryear appear frozen and immobile. This is truly the dominant mindframe, part human, part ideology.

The reality on the ground is that the suburbs are becoming more violent and dangerous - especially in the west and east - while the downtown is steadily improving due to increased demand and large numbers of successful people living there compared to twenty years ago. These same people are not moving to the suburbs, or doing so for a shorter period of time - and, indeed, returning to the core when their children move on and they retire.

Regent park is reasonable at 500 per square foot when you consider that the downtown average is over $700 and, especially, when the south east of the downtown is being DRAMATICALLY revitalized, with a massive new park, chic new waterfront developments, the distillery, Corktown, and the Olympic village. I don't really care about price, but what I know is that Parliament and Dundas is going to be a lot better in 10 years.

Can't say the same for the places many old, angry, fading and traumatized people live in the northern suburbs of Toronto (trauma studies teaches us that those who feel afraid and scarred by some event cannot imagine a better future and feel trapped by their experiences - and this explains the rise of Ford and, indeed, Harper).

 

[apom]

How many crimes go unreported in region park? Let's face it regent park isn't a glamorous area $500 per sqft is forced gentrification. west queen west, west don lands, riverside, lesliville etc.. are in the $400-$500 per sqft range. Resale in the st. lawrence market is $500 a foot. I would pick a place in one of those neighborhoods first. Just like the article said there are a lot of foreign investors buying properties in regent park hoping to make money off it. They probably never even step foot into the area they just bought in. Regent park was always a slum and will likely remain a slum.

I have nothing against the poor. I'd live in on Jamieson ave before stepping foot into regent. I do have issues with gang activity, prostitutes and crime and how these will impact my lifestyle and my future ability to sell or lease my place. at $500 per sqft regent park is a poor buy.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

How many crimes go unreported in region park? Let's face it regent park isn't a glamorous area $500 per sqft is forced gentrification. west queen west, west don lands, riverside, lesliville etc.. are in the $400-$500 per sqft range. Resale in the st. lawrence market is $500 a foot. I would pick a place in one of those neighborhoods first. Just like the article said there are a lot of foreign investors buying properties in regent park hoping to make money off it. They probably never even step foot into the area they just bought in. Regent park was always a slum and will likely remain a slum.

I have nothing against the poor. I'd live in on Jamieson ave before stepping foot into regent. I do have issues with gang activity, prostitutes and crime and how these will impact my lifestyle and my future ability to sell or lease my place. at $500 per sqft regent park is a poor buy.

A legitimate question for you apom. Have you been down to Regent Park lately, particularly the Parliament end? While the construction activity is still crazy, Regent Park is already a completely transformed place. Parliament (partially because of the new road bed and streetcar tracks, which have helped the overall upgrade) looks great. The new stores/shops/coffee shops look great. You need to go and have a look around.

 

[Torontovibe]

A legitimate question for you apom. Have you been down to Regent Park lately, particularly the Parliament end? While the construction activity is still crazy, Regent Park is already a completely transformed place. Parliament (partially because of the new road bed and streetcar tracks, which have helped the overall upgrade) looks great. The new stores/shops/coffee shops look great. You need to go and have a look around.

And there are lots more eyes on the street. That Tim Horton's is doing great business. It seems like over-night, all the crack whores and dealers have moved on. Regent Park redevelopment isn't even half finished, so hold off and give the place a chance. I think we need to give ourselves credit for making the effort to transform whole neighbourhoods in the city. They are doing this one right, so I predict great success.

As for it selling to lots of foreign investors, well, isn't that the same all over this city? Cityplace seems to be mainly investors and it hasn't hurt it's sales. Obviously you have some kind of resentment towards redeveloping Regent Park. So, don't buy there. It seems to be selling quite well without your help. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[tkip]

Some people just don't like poor people and poor neighborhoods.

So they stigmatize them and try to demonize those that live within such areas and make these grand generalizations that everyone there is bad news. Poor nonsense. I do however have a issue with a post that tried connecting the rise of Harper and Ford with scared, traumatized people hiding in their neighborhoods. Poor rubbish!

As much as you may NOT like what they stand for, to suggest that misguided, frightened individuals are the main reason for them being elected into power is a insult to the voters that found their platforms appealing.

There is still this arrogant denial regarding how/why a good percentage of the population voted these guys into power.

 

[agoraflaneur]

As much as you may NOT like what they stand for, to suggest that misguided, frightened individuals are the main reason for them being elected into power is a insult to the voters that found their platforms appealing.

There is still this arrogant denial regarding how/why a good percentage of the population voted these guys into power.

Harper's message was based on fear and fear mongering, whether about criminals, socialists, separatists, the "instability" of democratic politics (need a strong hand to guide, a steady hand, wouldn't want to rock the boat - all fear based slogans) or all the evil threats out there in the world like Russian planes that we have to be afraid of. The fact that many found it appealing is proof of my point. Their trauma made them scared, despite falling crime numbers, a need for more peace and less military spending, a need for more dialogue and less conflict, less punishment.

Ford's message was similar - broken city, negativity, cutting, be angry at the unions, poor people, etc. ....

You should look at the reality of the way the elections were run as fear and anger marathons for conservatives.

However, you can disagree and say that the Conservative PLATFORM had other things in it that appealed to people. I am not saying that there are no rational conservatives out there. Of course there were many who simply preferred the choice, mostly for economic reasons a la the GLobe and Mail.

But, according to most political scientists who study elections (my thesis advisor studied elections at UBC and drove this point home every day), political shifts don't usually happen based on policy - I wish they did. The emotions I discuss affected at least a number of people, enough to shift the tide.

Last, I would go out on a limb and suggest that, in the final moments, it was fear of the NDP in Toronto that secured Harper his majority - fear of the "socialists." you can disagree, but that was Harper's STRATEGY from day one, if not his PLATFORM, which you seem to like, but which, in politics, is secondary at best.

 

[tkip]

Nonsense...

The idea that Harper won his way into power by scaring canadians is nonsense.

His platform whether you agree or not was partially based on getting tough on criminals, something many of us have been wishing for. Canada is far too lenient on so many criminal acts. He has flaws and at times, wants only his way. But he's consistant with his message.

He's obviously the man many canadians want in charge.

In no way has Harper deluded the entire population into voting him into power and staying there with secret agendas and scaring people inside their homes. This is typical fear mongerging. The same tactics were attempted to discredit Ford. It's also the same old inability of some to just accept that their guy didn't win.

Harper and the PCs are the natural governing party now. Get use to it.

 

[RC8]

Getting tough on criminals in one of the safest nations in the world and where crime has been consistently coming down. I'm sorry, regardless of anything else, pretending that crime is the main problem in this country is opportunistic. Especially when the only measures you are going to use to counter it are reactionary as opposed to increasing education, etc.