Parkdale, Toronto: Difference between revisions

The housing stock has seen some gentrification, especially in the area north of Queen Street identified with the "Roncesvalles Village" area, again due to the relatively inexpensive property values. In recent years housing prices in Parkdale have caught up with much of the rest of Toronto.<ref name="slater-web"/> Still, sub-standard housing in the units within the older buildings remains a concern of local city councillors and local community members. Numerous conversions into bachelorettes were done illegally and conditions did not conform to building or fire codes. An initiative, known as the "Parkdale Pilot Project" was formed to address the illegal conversions, seeking to bring the buildings into line. One location on King Street was the location of the 'Pope Squat' where [[Ontario Coalition Against Poverty]] activists [[squatted]] in a vacant apartment building during a visit of [[Pope John Paul II]].<ref name="Pope">{{cite journal |last1=Lehrer |first1=Ute |last2=Winkler |first2=Andrea |title=Public or Private? The Pope Squat and Housing Struggles in Toronto |journal=Social Justice |date=2006 |volume=33 |issue=3 (105) |pages=142–157 |jstor=29768391 |issn=1043-1578}}</ref> After being vacant for over ten years (most of which it was owned by the [[Government of Ontario]]), the building eventually re-opened as apartments, after its redevelopment was approved by the Pilot Project's housing committee.. An apartment building on the corner of Queen Street and Dowling Avenue also lay vacant for some time before being expropriated by the city for an affordable housing re-development. It is known as Edmond Place and is a partnership of the City with PARC.

 

 

==Education==