{"id":1341,"date":"2006-11-19T15:24:41","date_gmt":"2006-11-19T19:24:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=1341"},"modified":"2006-11-19T15:27:40","modified_gmt":"2006-11-19T19:27:40","slug":"affordable-developments-stranger-than-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2006\/11\/19\/affordable-developments-stranger-than-fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Affordable developments not stranger than fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

During the recent municipal election, a number of candidates spoke passionately about creating more affordable housing. A certain over-exposed downtown candidate<\/a> made some suggestions during his campaign that I’ve been thinking about for years — turning the spaces above our libraries and subway stations into mixed-use affordable housing. There is little or no cost to purchase this land, and each location is usually centrally located in a community or neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

If the City undertook such projects, they’d also become one of the big-time players in shaping the look and feel of our major intersections. Developers may not like the idea of the City developing land on such highly sought-after property (like Bathurst, Spadina, Christie, Finch, Sheppard, and High Park stations, for example) into a mid-rise, mixed-income building. But these are the intelligent steps Toronto needs to take as we begin the process of intensification.<\/p>\n

Think this is a crazy idea? They’re planning for it in New York, according to the NY Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The hunt for new ways of creating moderately priced housing in places with immoderate land prices has led housing experts in New York City to an unconventional thought: Why not tear down obsolete branch libraries and replace them with libraries that not only are bigger and better, but also have apartments built on top?<\/p>\n

In Brooklyn, a community development group has proposed tearing down four deteriorating branch libraries and redeveloping each site — an undertaking that the group says could produce more than 30,000 square feet of new library space and as many as 200 apartments for low- and moderate-income tenants.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the recent municipal election, a number of candidates spoke passionately about creating more affordable housing. A certain over-exposed downtown candidate made some suggestions during his campaign that I’ve been thinking about for years — turning the spaces above our libraries and subway stations into mixed-use affordable housing. 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