Community Reporter
On July 23rd, I attended the community meeting about the redevelopment of the Bickford House and Guild property by Dynamic Hospitality.
Like many of the residents of Guildwood, I am happy to see some progress being made with this property and the possibility of new life coming to the Bickford House, although I am concerned as to whether or not the proper due diligence has been done to ensure the new facility will mesh well within our community. I went to this meeting with the hope of receiving complete information on the proposal and to have some questions answered. Unfortunately, I believe many residents left this meeting with more questions than when they came.
The meeting started just after 7:00 p.m. with the introduction of all the presenters and City staff who were in attendance and who provided a brief run through of how the meeting would be run. The majority of the presentation was done by two City staffers who had been working on the details of this proposal and who came to inform the community on what was going to happen and how. In short, the City will be preparing the site for Dynamic Hospitality by cleaning the existing building to clear it of contaminates such as Mould and possibly, Asbestos. The City will then be responsible for the removal of the extensions on either side of the Bickford House. Once this is done, Dynamic will then begin with the restoration of the Bickford House and the construction of the new buildings. These new buildings consist of two glass atriums on either side of the Bickford House that will act as entrance ways into a ceremony room located on the east side and a 23,000 square foot banquet facility, located on the west side. Along with the building additions the parking lots will be modified to accommodate more vehicles and a new driveway will be added creating better traffic flow through the property. Once completed, the new facility will be able to accommodate events of up to 800 people. It was also mentioned that, in order to accommodate the new banquet facility, the green house and garage to the west of the building would have to be removed. Community members had the chance to ask questions on things such as the financial stability of Dynamic. The question was raised about the financial ability of Dynamic Hospitality and the company’s fit within the community following a recent news story that suggested this may be an issue. The City staff said that they could not discuss the finances of this proposal, but ensure that due diligence was taken and they believe that Dynamic is suitable and will be able to complete the project. Following this, the city was asked if it was taking any steps to ensure financing for this project, i.e. would Dynamic Hospitality be willing to place money in trust to ensure the City is not left with the financial burden that could come from Dynamic’s inability to complete the project. City staff said they could not comment on this. A question was raised about the placement of the banquet facility that required removal of the green house and garage. It was asked what would happen to the heritage artifacts that also share this space. City staff said that all of the existing artifacts would be moved to another area of the site, ensuring that they would remain intact and on the property.Several people became concerned with the placement of the new banquet facility, asking why it would not be placed where the former 10 storey hotel had previously been. Residents expressed their fear that the placement of this building would create an artificial barrier cutting the park off from those who currently enjoy it. The City staff said that the placement of this building was due to the stability of the ground to the east and south of the building. They mentioned that the demolition of the former hotel had created unstable ground. The possibility of using pylons to secure the building was dismissed by staff. Leading up to the approval of this project, it has been mentioned that the new facility would have “community space” although the presentation did not mention this space or how we would be able to utilise this space. The question was asked to clarify what the community space was and how we would gain permission to use it. City staff responded informing everyone that in the agreement with Dynamic, they have agreed to allow Toronto Parks to issue permits for the use of the facility’s space. This space would fall under the current Parks permit guidelines and rates. This raised more questions. The first was, would this leave Dynamic’s bookings to dictate when space was available for other uses? City staff said that a set amount of space will be made available for the community to use. Additional people asked about the cost of the permitted space stating that if it fell under the Toronto Parks permit fees, local organizations would not be able to afford the space and would not use it. A question was again raised towards the end of the night about Dynamic and their suitability for the community. It was asked why Dynamic was not present to reassure the community that they had good intentions and that they do actually care about the community. It was at this time that a representative of Dynamic Hospitality was introduced. Why was this representative was not introduced at the same time that other introductions were being made at the beginning of the meeting and why did they not present their own vision and plans rather than leaving it up to City staff, since after all, it is their proposal. A question that seemed to hit a nerve with many residents regarded the removal of trees to accommodate this project. It was made clear that, regardless of the rumors that have been circulated, there were no trees removed for this project prior to its approval by City Council, and that no additional trees would be removed unless they directly impacted the construction site. The motion approved by Council has a stipulation that will allow for the removal of trees as needed as this extract from City Council’s meeting April 1, 2014 shows, “City Council on April 1, 2 and 3, 2014, adopted the following: City Council authorize the Acting General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation or designate to approve necessary tree removal that may be required in the course of this project, subject to: ensuring that no unnecessary destruction occurs, as per the appropriate City of Toronto Tree Protection Bylaws, and all impacts are mitigated to the fullest extent possible; and receipt of satisfactory tree protection plan, tree replanting plan, and natural environment stewardship plan." One of the last questions asked in the evening was about local infrastructure, improvements that would need to be done, and how the local community is being protected from the increase in traffic with up to 800 vehicles arriving and leaving at the same time, potentially late at night, creating increased noise and safety concerns. City staff answered that there would be minimal improvements done in the local area as a result of this project. They did not specify what those improvements would be.
Editors Note: Did you attended the Dynamic Meeting? What is your take on the proposal? Tweet us @TheGuildwoodian, Facebook us or email us your thoughts!