Restaurant rout
Posted on December 11th, 2012 – 1 CommentDoes Toronto need more condos?
It’s not that I’m against development, especially when new buildings appear on top of parking lots. And although there are always naysayers out there who are against any changes, I doubt that they lament the loss of paved lots that much.
But when it comes to places like the section of King west between John and Spadina, I don’t see why developers and people like the Mirvish family need to rip out an established and thriving chunk of the downtown just so they can put in their own condos.
But that’s exactly what they’re trying to do right now, with the help of councillors like Adam Vaughan who seem to think that if it’s not a giant tower, it doesn’t belong downtown. And it doesn’t seem to matter that no one along the so-called Restaurant Row wants to move, or that the Bell Lightbox tower, freshly built, is right across the street.
I’m not at all against progress or development, and I think Toronto’s often better for it. But this is a matter of cutting off the nose to spite the face, leaving little in terms of culture or uniqueness behind, and replacing it with private, off-limits property intended to only generate money.
The Mirvhishes, who at one time were pretty big patrons of the arts, have managed to do a full 180 since the death of Ed, and are now not only ripping up their own father’s legacy of love for the city, but also trying to push smaller business owners out of their way in what’s proving to be a lust for money and control. Pretty sure Ed would be furious to see what his kids are doing under his name.
And besides, a cold, heartless, exclusivist, and corporatist Toronto is not where I want to live.
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