Cross-posted from the Eye Weekly blog.
This Sunday, Active 18 — the Queen West West community group that’s formed to provide a voice for residents in the face of massive development in the Queen Street Triangle (across from the Gladstone Hotel) — is holding a day-long community charrette.
For those of you who aren’t aware of what’s going on in the area here’s a quick synopsis: The Queen West Triangle is the area between Queen Street, Abell Street and the railroad tracks. Seven new condo buildings are proposed for the site ranging between three and 26 storeys in height and accommodating, in total, 1,275 new homes. Active 18 isn’t against new development in their neighbourhood, but they want to make sure it happens in a sustainable way. Because the development will no doubt have a huge impact on the area, the residents want to make sure they are part of the process.
The charrette is a planning, architecture and design event, but you need not be a professional planner or have any background knowledge of architecture and design to be involved. The goal is to bring together ideas about the kind of development people would like to see take place. The discussions will play an important role in determining the overall concerns, views and goals of the community so that residents will be able to present a unified voice at OMB hearings in the upcoming months.
The day-long event, held at the Gladstone Hotel, will be facilitated by Ken Greenberg, the former director of Architecture and Urban Design for Toronto and current Chief Planner for the City of Boston. Anyone who’s concerned about the development in the area is invited to come out, even if you happen to live outside ward 18. Visit Active 18’s website for more details.
