CP Rail is now selling a portion of the West Toronto yard to be used for a housing development. Most likely the front row of houses will front onto Ethel Ave.
Ethel Ave provides a major east-west route between Runnymede Road and Keele Street via it’s connection with West Toronto Street. The streets are two-way with a width of approximately 10 metres and a 40 km/h speed limit. While the abutting avenues of Ryding and Cobalt are primarily residential, with George Bell Arena on the south side. Sections of roadway at Gourlay Crescent, Ethel Avenue are industrial/commercial. On West Toronto Street there are large retail facilities such as Home Depot, Rona, Staples and Dominion. Again this will bring up the issue of the industrial/commercial/residenal mix, much as it has on the old Benjamin Moore paints site just off of Keele St. where the city is having a difficult time finding the right way to integrate the threee land uses. The commuity needs the mix – the city needs a policy on this this issue.
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Residential for this piece of land would be stupid. It's that problematic. The amount of truck traffic to the existing industries is high, and the odour from the chickens being slaughtered across isn't pleasant. There is residential on Cobalt and Ryding, but the plant seems to be built so that the smell diffuses southward and eastward, where this property is located.
Good communities have employment, retail and residential nearby. Yet, heavy industries and slaughterhouses don't mix well with residential uses. The companies and residents of the city don't need the problems that arise when you put them side by side. A meat facility is no inoffensive office building.
That's why I expected more retail for this site or perhaps light industry or office space.
This land has been sold and work is being done on the site. Anyone know what is happening or who bought it?