A Toronto neighbourhood where the middle class, students and the needy live on one street
Brodie Fenlon
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Published on Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009 11:12PM EST
Last updated on Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009 4:31AM EST
Homeless men brave the chill to smoke one cigarette after another. Down the block, a toothless woman and a man half her age peddle drugs outside a row of ramshackle homes with boarded-up windows and front lawns strewn with Old Milwaukee beer cans, empty bottles of rubbing alcohol and bicycle tires.
It is here, in this neglected heart of George Street in downtown Toronto, where a private developer has proposed a major redevelopment that would see Seaton House men's shelter razed and rebuilt alongside a mix of affordable and market housing, rentals and commercial space.
The vision to revitalize the neighbourhood, with middle-class Torontonians and students living cheek-by-jowl with some of the city's neediest residents, is still in its infancy, but it has the support of the local councillor, city staff and residents of Seaton House, one of Canada's largest homeless shelters.
It is the brainchild of Jonathan Kearns of Kearns Mancini Architects Inc., the Toronto firm behind the redevelopment of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and a new subsidized apartment building in Regent Park.
Last year, Mr. Kearns offered to partner with the city to develop the Seaton House property and several adjacent buildings owned or controlled by his firm, Spike Capital Corp.
Most of the buildings are dilapidated homes, rooming houses and two vacant heritage properties built in the 1850s – eyesores on a street plagued by loitering, public drunkenness and drugs.
“We are very interested in ‘city building' and saw that George Street is a street in need of help,†Mr. Kearns said in a brief e-mail from Barcelona, where he's attending an architecture festival.
“I would say it's one of the most innovative and exciting projects that will result in improved services for homeless people in quite a while,†said Phil Brown, general manager of shelter, support and housing administration for the city.
“I think there's an opportunity for a lot of win-wins here,†he said.
Mr. Brown's department will request permission Friday from the city's community development and recreation committee to negotiate a non-binding proposal with Mr. Kearns's companies. Others may come on board, including Build Toronto and Toronto Community Housing, which has a large apartment building for single adults nearby.
Financial specifics, cost-sharing and other details have yet to be negotiated.
“It's a measured first step in a long process that's going to take years,†Mr. Brown said.
The four-storey, 580-bed Seaton House, opened at its current location in 1959, is showing its age and no longer meets the needs of its clients, many of whom are frail, addicted and mentally ill, a city report says. Structural problems include narrow corridors that are difficult to navigate and monitor, only one elevator, no air conditioning in the dorm rooms, a ventilation system that doesn't meet tuberculosis control guidelines and not enough program or lounge space, which means residents congregate on the sidewalk.
The plan would be to demolish the building and replace it with a new facility offering more services, including a long-term care program, infirmary and health-care beds for homeless men with addictions and mental-health issues, and rooms with a smaller number of shelter beds.
Seaton House “is not just a hostel, it's a hospice. People come here to die,†said Rick, 37, a resident who didn't give his last name. He said some clients are so ill they need palliative care, while those with severe mental illness, dubbed “bugs†by other clients, need specialized service.
“You get everybody walking in here,†he said. “There should be more of a divisionary thing going on here.â€
South of Seaton House, the developer has proposed a mixed-use development of private and student housing, rentals, commercial space, supportive and affordable housing. The proposal includes “eco-architectural†components like rooftop wind turbines, solar panels, geothermal heating and cooling, as well as a rooftop greenhouse.
“I think it's a really exciting opportunity,†said Ward 27 Councillor Kyle Rae.
“A mix of housing would be useful in the neighbourhood rather than what's there right now, which is pretty relentlessly rooming house or shelter.â€
James, 57, who lived at Seaton House for a few months earlier this year, said the shelter offers great services but has a bad reputation because of the sale and use of crack cocaine outside its walls.
He thinks the proposed plans would help the neighbourhood, but added, “There's always the drug element and I don't know how that would fit into the equation. That is really the only thing that's screwing things up.â€
Michael Shapcott of the Wellesley Institute said any new plans for Seaton House must involve consultation with the clientele from the outset.