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The
following is the text of a press release issued by the Friends
of a New Park
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 10, 2003
COMMUNITY GROUP 'FRIENDS OF A NEW PARK'
RECEIVES
AWARD FROM HERITAGE TORONTO!
The midtown Toronto community-based group, Friends of a
New Park, has just been notified that it has received one
of three Community Heritage Awards given out by Heritage
Toronto for this year. This award is for the advocacy work
Friends of a New Park has done over the past two years on
behalf of the historic Wychwood Carbarns site. The award
will be presented at the 29th Annual Heritage Toronto Awards
ceremony to be held on Monday, October 20,2003 beginning
at 6 p.m. at the Carlu, 444 Yonge Street at College, 7Th
Floor.
Friends of a New Park is a group of local residents formed
in February 2002
to support the city's process to find a solution for the
re-use of the 4.3 acre former TTC site located just south
of St. Clair Ave. W between Christie and Wychwood. We have
a six person steering committee and a list of online supporters,
mostly local residents, that currently numbers around 650
(please see our website - www.anewpark.ca
). Friends of a New Park has been deeply involved in
informing the surrounding neighbourhoods about the public
process and about the importance of the Carbarns to our
area. In addition to producing and distributing thousands
of pamphlets, the group has organized a number of cultural
events, produced a video, built three community bake ovens
and led well over a thousand people through the Barns on
tours. As well, the group has advocated at city council
for the adaptive re-use of the heritage buildings for community
uses as part of a new public park on the site. Most recently,
on September 22, Toronto city council voted 26-8 to allow
Artscape (a non-profit, non-commercial developer of industrial
sites for arts uses) to partner with the city to begin to
explore the financing of this project.
The 4.3 acre site consists of a set of five former streetcar
repair "barns" built between 1913 and 1921 that currently
occupy approximately 25% of the land leaving 3+ acres to
be developed by Parks & Recreation as green space in
consultation with our community. The Carbarns were taken
out of official use by the TTC in 1978 and turned back over
to the city in 1996.
They
have a special place in the history of the development of
the midtown Toronto area around Bathurst and St. Clair as
the building of the St. Clair streetcar line spurred local
development in the early 20th century. The streetcar is
still an important element of our local streetscape and
these Carbarns are the last of their type still standing.
For further information about Heritage Toronto and the Awards
ceremony please contact Karen Czaniecki at 416-338-1338
or kczanie@toronto.ca
.
For information about Friends of a New Park please visit
our website - www.anewpark.ca
or call Roscoe Handford (416 653-8546), Bob Hanke (416
656-0291) or Vid Ingelevics (416 651-0520).
Editor's
note: The facts and opinions expressed in the above
article are those of the author and do not represent the
views of MyStClair.com. Our interest remains to act as a
conduit for information regarding matters relating to neighbourhoods
along St Clair Ave W and the Ridge. Anyone wishing to comment
is encouraged to do so.
editor@mystclair.com
