Developer backs away from Walmart in Kensington Market

WATCH: Fri, Feb 14: Civic activists have succeeded in stopping the Walmart in favour of a much-smaller development on Bathurst St. – the latest victory for a neighbourhood that has often fought off development. Sean Mallen reports.

TORONTO – After months of outrage, a possible Walmart near Kensington market is no more.

RioCan, the development company looking to install a Walmart blocks from the downtown neighbourhood, recently offered a new proposal for the building that effectively leaves no room for a Walmart.

RioCan is proposing half the retail space, on the second floor of the 420 Bathurst Street site. On the third and fourth floors, they’ve proposed some kind of office space.

But what stores, what offices and how they will affect the surrounding neighbourhood is unknown, councillor Mike Layton said Friday. The proposal will go before community council on Feb. 25 and city council in March.

“It’s a significant development. I think when you look at what has changed, they’ve tried to address some of the concerns. There are still some outstanding ones and that’s why we’re going to take this time before council in March where it has to get a final decision to try and work some of those.”

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It’s not the first time Kensington Market has fought off an encroaching corporate giant. In the past residents were able to fight off the Spadina expressway extension and a few years ago quashed a proposed Starbucks.

“There’s a message here in what a community can do when they feel empowered and when they’ve got folks at city hall here pushing for them and when they all work together around a common goal,” Layton said.

But another fight could be brewing. Tribute Communities announced in January it plans to open a Loblaws would be opening up at 297 College Street – just 100 metres west of Spadina Avenue.

While some independent store owners have complained it will hurt their business, Loblaws contends it will be a smaller store that will add to the community.

Either way, Layton admits there isn’t much councillors can do to stop it. It’s an “as of right permission” development, which means it fits existing zoning rules for the area, so the city’s planning department can’t stop it.

If there’s a fight over the proposed Loblaws, Layton said, it will be in the court of public opinion.

– With files from Sean Mallen