The Green P parking lot at 140 Fifth Street is sought to build a housing complex. City News photo.
Residents and New Toronto business owners are crying foul over the possible loss of a third Green P parking lot to the City for use to build needed housing.
City officials have deemed the Green P parking lots at 120 Sixth Street, known as Carpark 511, and 140 Fifth Street or Carpark 506, as surplus and turned them over to Toronto Builds, a City corporation that develops underutilized real estate assets to unlock their value.
A third lot at 66 Third Street is slated for use as a 50 bed shelter for homeless seniors, rather than initially an 80-bed shelter for homeless men.
A 51-unit modular housing project is planned for the lot on Sixth Street to provide housing for marginalized groups who use community services.
Green P parking lot at 120 Sixth Street that the City has declared a surplus for housing.
Officials of the Lakeshore Village Business Improvement Association (BIA) have written to City Council objecting to the potential loss of the lots, which can hold about 150 vehicles in total.
BIA Vice-Chair Chris Korwin-Kuczynski said “losing two more (parking lots) will be devastating to these main street businesses.”
He said businesses are not able to expand or add more capacity as they will not receive necessary permits or licences from City officials due to a lack of parking in the community.
“Their future licenses are at risk should they not qualify based on parking availability which will result in huge financial losses,” according to the BIA.
Korwin-Kuczynski said an ongoing Lakeshore Avenue Study is recommending an increase in building heights and higher neighbourhood density for the Lakeshore area, with heights of nine-stories proposed.
There will be less of these parking meters as two New Toronto parking lots have been declared surplus for housing.
“Without mandated parking for residential units, this will strain existing paid parking, creating a conflict between business customers and residential parking,” the BIA said.
Mayor Olivia Chow has said that housing is a top priority for City officials.
“The people of Toronto need us to leave no stone unturned when it comes to building desperately needed affordable housing,” Chow said recently.
Meanwhile, some City Councillors are calling for public consultations on the use of surplus lands; including those planned for use as shelters.
The City has about 38,000 surface parking spaces that can be considered for much-needed housing. Twenty-three lots are garages that account for about 10,500 spaces. The remaining 27,500 spaces are contained in about 181 parking surface lots.