Estonian House

May 18, 2021: Please Attend Tonight! May 18, 2021 @7pm Public Meeting on Estonian House Development

Dear CHCTRA Community members,

In previous communications we informed you that DK Broadview Inc purchased the Estonian House property, and that the company also purchased three private residences that are near to it, to assemble it into a larger property complex (954-958 Broadview Avenue and 72 Chester Hill Road).

Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at 7pm, there is a public meeting at which you have an opportunity to express your views and concerns.

We know that you have already written letters to the City Planner and to the Toronto East York Community Council (TEYCC). However it is important that you attend tonight’s meeting to show sustained community engagement and to have our voices heard.

The web link to register is here: Public Meeting Registration

If you want more information about the development please see our previous updates. For more information on the City’s rejection of a similar proposal in April 2019 click here and its current response in April 2021 click here.

We hope to “see” you tonight on zoom.

March 16, 2021: Estonian House Site Update

Thank you to all of the CHCTRA residents who attended the February 18, 2021 information session hosted by Councillor Paula Fletcher and who wrote letters of objection to the City Planner and to the Toronto East York Community Council. Over 100 letters were sent to the City!

CHTRA’s lawyer and planner provided a submission, which you can find here

There will be a community consultation sometime in the spring. We will notify you when the date has been set. Your participation in the consultation to voice your concerns will be crucial.

Feb 7, 2021: Estonian House Development – Voice Your Concerns!

February 18, 2021 (Zoom “pre-consultation meeting”)

February 24, 2021, Toronto East York Community Council Meeting

Thank you to the over 90 residents who have written to the City voicing your concern and opposition to the proposed high-rise development on the Estonian House site @958 Broadview, along with 954-956 Broadview and #72 Chester Hill Road.

Councillor Fletcher is hosting a zoom meeting on February 18 (7-9pm) with the developer, DK Broadview, to discuss the application with community residents, ahead of the Toronto and East York Community Council meeting on this application on the 24th of February.

The proposal is for a 51.6m tower (only about 3 storeys shorter than Heliwell Place) plus an additional 5m mechanical penthouse making it equivalent to approximately 20 residential storeys. This is not much different from the Revera proposal that received significant community opposition two years ago.

The current proposal would result in a building more than 2.5 times the height permitted by the City’s Official Plan for mid-rise intensification. It also ignores all of the normal setbacks from the neighbouring property lines and provides only 1 parking spot for every three units. With 223 units, that means potentially 147 unit owners will be looking for parking in the neighbourhood.

We encourage residents to register for the upcoming online information session and to voice your concern at the meeting. Please also share this information with others.

Broad attendance at the Feb 18 session is important to show community concerns to the developer.

For those of you who haven't received Paula Fletcher’s email notice, it is available at:

954-958 Broadview Estonian House Information Session

The notice includes a link to register for the meeting.

Community attendance is even more critical for the 24 Feb Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC) meeting. The Community Council needs to hear objections and concerns directly from area residents.

CHCTRA will send you more information about the February 24, 2021 TEYCC meeting after February 17, 2021 when the City staff report becomes public.

Stay engaged! Stay tuned…..

Jan 20, 2021: Jan 24, 2021 Zoom Meeting and Letter Writing Campaign

For years, Chester Hill, Cambridge and Thorncliffe residents have told us to support mid-rise development on Broadview and to oppose new high-rise development.

We now urgently need your help to oppose a proposal for the Estonian House site recently submitted to the city for a new high-rise development by DK Broadview Inc., a partnership between Diamond Corp and Kilmer Group.

The development proposal includes a 16 story, high-rise tower which in metres is closer to 20 stories. The development plans to maximize every developable square foot of the property, with an additional multi-level condominium extending the full length of the property, with a 5th floor rooftop over Chester Hill!

Look on the City of Toronto website for details: http://app.toronto.ca/AIC/index.do#detail1

Type in 954 Broadview, click on the 2019 (not 2018) submissions, and then look at the supporting documents. The November 23, 2020 documents are the correct ones

Our resident's association, CHCTRA, (Chester Hill, Cambridge, Thorncliffe) has always supported appropriate development and densification along Broadview. The three-year long planning process (called BAPS) with the City envisioned mid-rise development on Broadview and a commitment to avoid negative impacts on our residential neighbourhood.

In addition to the massive scale of the development which disrespects the planning process, the concern is this will significantly impact traffic, the environment, noise, parking on Chester Hill and Cambridge and add pressures on transit and infrastructure for the entire neighbourhood.

The City is currently reviewing the Diamond proposal. It is urgent that you make your opposition known to the City Planner, George Pantazis, ideally by January 31, 2021.

Please write an email letter, short or long, to our City Planner - George Pantazis, George.pantazis@toronto.ca and please cc Councillor Paula Fletcher councillor_fletcher@toronto.ca and CHCTRA community@chctra.ca

Two sample letters are available that you can use to write your letter or copy and sign as your own (Right-click and save link/download: Letter 1, Letter 2). You will need to cut and paste a sample into an email. Please be sure to add your name and address on your email.

If an email letter is too much, you can simply send a short email: “I’m a resident of XX and wish to express my opposition to the massive scale and intensity of the proposed development on the Estonian House site.” Please cc Paula Fletcher and CHCTRA.

You can also send a letter to Mayor John Tory!

It is important that as many of us as possible send letters of opposition to the City Planner, George Pantazis.

Snail mail would work, too.

George Pantazis

City Planner

City Hall- Planning dept.

100 Queen St W.

Toronto, ON

M5H 2N2

Please feel free to forward this email to neighbours with the sample letters. A development of this size will negatively impact the neighbourhood.


Please join us on Zoom!

Urgent Development Update

4pm SUNDAY JANUARY 24, 2021

Contact Lisa Cruikshanks lisahbc@hotmail.com for the Zoom Link

Topics:

  • Estonian Site development proposal info & what you can do

  • Chester Hill Lookout update


Update: Estonian Community Centre, 954-958 Broadview

The following is a brief update to the community as of November 15, 2020:

  • The Estonian House site was sold to a developer, DK Broadview Inc (which is related to Diamond Corp http://www.diamondcorp.ca).

  • A proposal for development has not yet been submitted to the City but we anticipate that an application will be made shortly.

  • Our understanding is that the application will involve:

    • Very significant density and massing

    • A high-rise tower

    • Additional condominium units extending to the rear of the property with a height of approximately 14 metres.

We will be back in touch with the community with an update once an application has been submitted and we have more information.

CHCTRA continues to support the planning guidelines of the Broadview Avenue Planning Study (“BAPS”), a process which our neighbourhood participated in over a three-year period. Among other things, the BAPS:

  • Permits only mid-rise development on the Avenue;

  • Requires an appropriate transition to neighbourhood on the Estonian House site; and

  • Includes a commitment to avoid negative impacts on the adjacent neighbourhood properties.

Estonian House (Formerly Chester Public School) Development

In March 2019, a development application was submitted to the City of Toronto to develop a high-rise building on the site of the Estonian House community centre. The proposed developer is Revera, a company that owns and operates long-term care facilities in Canada.

The proposal includes:

  • The construction of a new 55.7 metre/18-storey tower on Broadview. The proposed building is only a few metres shorter than the Helliwell Place condominium to the immediate north;

  • Residential occupancy of 214 units;

  • 214 units represents approximately 300-350 residents. If the property is in fact developed as a long-term care facility and seniors’ residence, there will also be a minimum of 50 staff on-site, plus guests/visitors;

  • Only 64 on-site parking spots;

  • Parking for other residents, staff and guests will be directed to neighbourhood streets;

  • The proposed tower is adjoined by a six-storey building with three levels of overlook, extending almost the entirety of the developable lot to the rear of the tower;

  • The proposed development encroaches on TRCA land (Toronto Region Conservation Authority);

  • The laneway onto Chester Hill Rd will be widened;

  • #72 Chester Hill residence and the Chester Hill laneway will be used to store and load refuse;

  • Garbage and loading are immediately adjacent to residential properties;

  • The developer states that it will not request a change in the one-way designation of Chester Hill, but the plans indicate two-way traffic from Broadview to the laneway.

The documents submitted by the developer to the City can be found here: 954 Broadview Ave Development Application

A petition opposing the scope and scale of the project, as well as the lack of green space, was signed by over 150 local residents: Click Here To View

The initial development proposal was not accepted by City staff. CHCTRA will keep its members informed of any updates on this development.

CHCTRA has party standing at the Ontario Municipal Board hearing (now LPAT, Local Planning Appeal Tribunal), in respect of the appeal by Estonian House to the application of the Official Plan Amendments made pursuant to the Broadview Avenue Planning Study (BAPS). That hearing has been adjourned pending the determination by the City of the site-specific development proposal for a high-rise on the site.