905: On Track For Rapid Mixed-Use Growth – From the “Golden Mile of Industry” to Large Format Retail and Beyond

October 03, 2019

12:00PM - 1:00PM

Toronto's Golden Mile, located along Eglinton Avenue East, between Victoria Park Avenue and Birchmount Road, was once a prominent employment area that included the GECO munitions plant in the 1940s and industrial manufacturing uses in the 1950s (the “Golden Mile of Industry”). Following a period of decline, the area began to redevelop with large format retail uses in the late 1990s. The Golden Mile is slated for further redevelopment with the construction of five surface Eglinton Crosstown light rail transit (LRT) stops, transforming it from a primarily vehicle-oriented area into a more balanced network with significant mixed-use development.

Currently, the population of the Golden Mile is approximately 650 people with the long-term redevelopment of the area generating as many as 25,000 residential units, 45,000 people, and 6,000 jobs over the next 30 years. This session will explore the periods of growth along the Golden Mile and look back at the area's history and look forward to its future through the Golden Mile Secondary Plan (GMSP) study. In addition, participants will learn how to balance the site constraints of individual large size landowners with the goal of achieving a complete community, the implementation of built form, public realm, community infrastructure and major parks at preferred locations on privately-owned lands and about bold “big moves” in a car-oriented suburban context.

Speakers