- Thread starter AlbertC
- Start date
vic
Senior Member
AlbertC
Superstar
Community centre survey results and presentation
JULY 3, 2020
The Friends of Sorauren Park presented the results of its Wabash Community Centre survey and consultation process June 4 at FOSP’s first-ever webinar.
More than 100 people registered for the event which was also attended by Councillor Gord Perks and City staff.
FOSP chair Joël Campbell and directors Stephen Dorsey and Donna MacMullin walked participants through the survey results. (View the full presentation deck.) Almost 1,200 community members responded to the survey.
The survey was just one component of FOSP’s consultation strategy for the new community centre to be built at Sorauren Park, on the site of the old linseed factory. The City will also be conducting community consultations, which have been delayed due to the COVID pandemic. The FOSP will support the City process.
Councillor Perks re-confirmed the funding for the centre. City Council approved the budget in 2017 and hired architects Diamond Schmitt Architects last year to begin the design process. The Councillor said timelines may slip a little because of the pandemic, but the project is going ahead. Estimated completion date is now 2025.
The City has posted the project on its capital planning page.
FOSP will continue to collect feedback. You can send comments through our Contact form, or email feedback@soraurenpark.com directly.
Among the survey results:
87% support maintaining the Town Square
86% support building the centre in an environmentally responsible manner
69% said they would like to see the existing industrial building preserved
75% said they would like program subsidies for users from lower incomes
The full presentation is available here (3.4MB PDF).
soraurenpark.wordpress.com
JULY 3, 2020
The Friends of Sorauren Park presented the results of its Wabash Community Centre survey and consultation process June 4 at FOSP’s first-ever webinar.
More than 100 people registered for the event which was also attended by Councillor Gord Perks and City staff.
FOSP chair Joël Campbell and directors Stephen Dorsey and Donna MacMullin walked participants through the survey results. (View the full presentation deck.) Almost 1,200 community members responded to the survey.
The survey was just one component of FOSP’s consultation strategy for the new community centre to be built at Sorauren Park, on the site of the old linseed factory. The City will also be conducting community consultations, which have been delayed due to the COVID pandemic. The FOSP will support the City process.
Councillor Perks re-confirmed the funding for the centre. City Council approved the budget in 2017 and hired architects Diamond Schmitt Architects last year to begin the design process. The Councillor said timelines may slip a little because of the pandemic, but the project is going ahead. Estimated completion date is now 2025.
The City has posted the project on its capital planning page.
FOSP will continue to collect feedback. You can send comments through our Contact form, or email feedback@soraurenpark.com directly.
Among the survey results:
87% support maintaining the Town Square
86% support building the centre in an environmentally responsible manner
69% said they would like to see the existing industrial building preserved
75% said they would like program subsidies for users from lower incomes
The full presentation is available here (3.4MB PDF).
Community centre survey results and presentation
The Friends of Sorauren Park presented the results of its Wabash Community Centre survey and consultation process June 4 at FOSP’s first-ever webinar. More than 100 people registered for the …
soraurenpark.wordpress.com
AlbertC
Superstar
The city now has a webpage for this project:
www.toronto.ca
Wabash Community Recreation Centre
The City is planning a new community recreation centre at the southeast corner of Sorauren Park, adaptively reusing the existing former Canadian Linseed Oil Mills Ltd. building (1910). Project Timeline December 2019: Architect was hired through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process Summer 2020 to...
www.toronto.ca
Project Timeline
- December 2019: Architect was hired through an RFP (request for proposal) process
- Summer 2020 to late 2020: Public consultation to confirm vision and design principles
- Winter 2020 – 2021: Public consultation to review and refine design options
- Spring 2021: Public consultation to inform further development of the building design
- Summer 2021: Public consultation to share and confirm the final design
- Fall 2021 to Spring 2022: Preparation of construction/contract drawings
- Summer 2022 to Winter 2022: Procurement of construction services
- Spring 2023 to Spring 2026: Anticipated construction
AlbertC
Superstar
Public meeting May 11 for new community centre
The old linseed mill at 40 Wabash Avenue, the site of the future community centre Mark your calendar: The City of Toronto will be holding a virtual public meeting May 11 at 6:30 pm to review site d…
soraurenpark.wordpress.com
Public meeting May 11 for new community centre
The City of Toronto will be holding a virtual public meeting May 11 at 6:30 pm to review site design options for the new Wabash Community Centre at Sorauren Park. Register online at the City’s Wabash Community Centre project page.
The City and its architects, Diamond Schmitt, will unveil proposed plans for how the new centre will fit into the site. Because the programming plan requires more space than what is available at the site of the old Canada Linseed Mill property at 40 Wabash Avenue, there will be an impact on the park.
You can join the May 11 Zoom meeting by video or audio. The City will also be running a survey from May 5 to May 31. This is just one step in the public consultation process, as more consultations will be held as the design becomes more developed.
The Friends of Sorauren Park have advocated for retaining the Fieldhouse and the Town Square, site of the weekly Farmers Market, outdoor movies, community festivals, pumpkin sale fundraisers, ad hoc ball hockey and pickleball games, fitness classes, skateboarding, the best place to learn how to ride a bike in Toronto, and more. The community and the City have already invested more than $1 million in the Fieldhouse and Town Square.
FOSP also advocates for preserving trees (and replanting any that are lost), especially the groves that are special features of the park and that were planted or cared for by volunteers. FOSP also supports retaining the industrial heritage features of the linseed mill as much as possible. The community has supported these positions through FOSP-led community consultations and a survey.
Here are the key details for the City consultation from the Wabash Community Centre project page:
Virtual Public Meeting
- May 11, 2021
- 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Two ways to join:
- Online
- By calling 647-558-0588 and using meeting ID: 816 1425 3169. A participant ID is not required
Northern Light
Superstar
To think.........the City bought this property (the land for the Community Centre), for that purpose.........in the year 2000.
Two decades (plus a year) later, we're getting to the public meetings.....
It will end up being 25 years to build this.....
Two decades (plus a year) later, we're getting to the public meetings.....
It will end up being 25 years to build this.....
Not to be a party pooper, but it will be faster than that—once the funding is finally secured, (that's what has taken so long: the kitty has only been primed lately since other development came to the area)—the public meetings happen and the construction comes soon after.
42
Northern Light
Superstar
The approved 2021 Capital Budget for Parks, Forestry and Recreation shows cash-flow for this project through 2026.
That's the 3,188 number.
Major construction is scheduled 2023-2025
That will be 25 years since the building was purchased.
Northern Light
Superstar
I sure hope not!
NY99
Active Member
Did they intend to build immediately? We buy land along infrastructure corridors decades before construction... is it possible something similar happened here?
Towered
Superstar
Inexcusable. Examples like this are what foster heavy community cynicism.
smably
Senior Member
The project page has been updated with a survey link. Here are the massing options being considered:
I prefer the "pivot" or "slip & stack" options because they preserve the existing fieldhouse and town square. The "angler" also preserves the square but I prefer the way the other two options enclose the square and really make it feel like an outdoor room. Pivot and angler seem to be winning so far in the survey responses.
I'd encourage anyone who's interested in this project to fill out the survey: https://wabashcrc.ethelo.net/
I prefer the "pivot" or "slip & stack" options because they preserve the existing fieldhouse and town square. The "angler" also preserves the square but I prefer the way the other two options enclose the square and really make it feel like an outdoor room. Pivot and angler seem to be winning so far in the survey responses.
I'd encourage anyone who's interested in this project to fill out the survey: https://wabashcrc.ethelo.net/
AlexBozikovic
Active Member
They can afford a cantilever on a Parks budget?
Northern Light
Superstar
I posted the budget above.............they have ~63M with which to work.