Toronto housing complex may be rebuilt years after ceiling collapse
CBC
A public housing property that residents were forced to leave after a ceiling collapse two years ago could finally be rebuilt if a new plan is approved — but likely won't be ready for several years.
A new Toronto Community Housing Corporation report suggests the complex at Swansea Mews could be rebuilt to include hundreds of additional units.
The report presented to the TCHC's building investment, finance and audit committee on Monday, proposes a new complex of up to 695,000 square feet that would include replacements for the 154 existing public housing units and another 550 to 700 new units. It is not clear in the report if the additional units are also intended for public housing.
The complex was marked for demolition after the collapse, when engineers found all of the buildings unsafe for habitation.
Swansea Mews residents, including Jardel Sallay-Ferreria and his family, were eventually relocated to other public housing complexes.
"It was pretty rough because … that's where all my memories are," he told CBC Toronto. "Any person who has a home could sympathize with that. The idea of having to lose it, right? I took it pretty bad."
The existing complex of 175,000 square feet is spread across nine smaller buildings.
The proposed complex includes three new buildings in the same location near Windermere Avenue and The Queensway.
Gord Perks, city councillor for Parkdale–High Park, told CBC Toronto the city is working as diligently as it can to get the rebuild project underway.
Once the initial development plan is approved by the TCHC board, it will then go to city council for their approval, he said.
"Then we'll start in on our rezoning and get a new building put there."
But Perks does admit the project has taken a long time to get going.
"The previous mayor wasn't as committed to publicly and socially-owned housing as the current mayor is," he said. "So, you know, we could have done better in that."
He also outlined that the city is in the process of reapplying for federal funding for the project. Previous funding was approved for repairs to the existing complex, but rebuilding requires a different process.
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