TORONTO – RioCan – Canada’s largest real estate investment trust – launched a new website Tuesday, which will allow the public to voice their opinions about the plan to build a Wal-Mart near Toronto’s Kensington Market and Little Italy.
The company said in a release Tuesday that the website, 410-446 Bathurst Street, will offer residents the chance to submit their ideas and concerns related to the plan, as well as get background information on the development and sign up for project updates.
While the company said it believes the Wal-Mart development will be an improvement to the current site, it is mindful that “change can be unsettling.”
“We want to be a good neighbour and to provide a net positive benefit to this community and to all the communities in which we operate,” said Jordan Robins, RioCan’s senior vice-president for planning and development.
Background on the project
RioCan plans to build a three-storey complex at the former home of Kromer Radio. Kromer officially closed its doors last summer, after operating for 55 years in the neighbourhood.
The plan would demolish existing structures and replace them with a 12,000 square-metre retail building.
It would house up to 10 retailers, with the smaller retailers occupying the ground floor, and a Wal-Mart in the second and third floor. According to RioCan, no single retailer would occupy an area over 8,800 square metres.
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Last May, Toronto city council rejected the initial proposal and RioCan’s request to overlook a series of variances in city zoning bylaws.
RioCan appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board, which upheld the city’s rejection, saying the project is so big it would need its own site-specific rezoning.
In April, RioCan applied for a zoning amendment in order to build the complex. The proposal will go before city council.
Councillor Mike Layton said this application process is more formalized than their previous plan, which means more community consultation and a closer eye from city staff. He said the city will work with RioCan to try and find solutions for the complex to fit the site.
Development in Toronto
Critics of the proposal said it goes against Toronto’s Official Plan, which designates 410-446 Bathurst St. as a “mixed use” area.
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Both Kensington Market and Little Italy are considered designated neighbourhoods – “physically stable” areas with lower-scale buildings. In the section of the plan titled “Healthy Neighbourhoods,” the city states that “physical changes to our established Neighbourhoods must be sensitive, gradual and generally ‘fit’ the existing physical character.” They also aren’t supposed to have a major impact on traffic and parking nearby.
“Our Official Plan actually says, ‘Protect those neighbourhoods because they’re an important part of our community,’” Layton said. “The diversity they have within them, the jobs they create, this is all the Toronto that we love and that we cherish, and that’s what we want to try to protect.”
RioCan said Tuesday they believe their plan is “entirely consistent with the general intent and policies of the City’s Official Plan which encourages appropriate growth (including retail uses) within mixed use areas.”
In addition to a Wal-Mart, RioCan said the development will provide ground-level retail options that residents in the area currently do not have.
Wal-Mart backlash
The idea of a Wal-Mart near Kensington Market and Toronto’s Little Italy has garnered much backlash.
An online petition posted on Change.org last month has nearly 85,000 signatures from people opposing the plan.
Read more: Petition to keep Wal-Mart out of Toronto’s Kensington Market area gains support
City councillors have held public meetings to discuss public concern over the potential threat such a development would pose to local businesses.
Read more: City holds public meeting about Wal-Mart development proposal near Kensington Market
A telephone poll conducted on June 25 revealed that 60 per cent of Torontonians are opposed to the Wal-Mart plan.
Read more: Poll shows Torontonians oppose Kensington Market Wal-Mart
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