The Junction Triangle
I have fallen in love with this scrappy neighborhood. The very factories that once powered the Toronto economy now litter its streets like the corpses of long-dead giants. Built on a vibrant and diverse history of hard work and sacrifice, this area was the first stop for many of the new immigrants to our city.
Landlocked by railways on all three sides, it is now the latest victim in the battle to transform these working-class, post-war era homes into the shiny and manicured streets of the affluent and mobile.
The fall of industry transformed this region into an overlooked and neglected part of our city’s infrastructure. Many of the factories just closed their doors, leaving years of waste and chemicals in their wake.
This has certainly been of concern to many residents, but it was not all bad news. Some of the old factories were perfect for small, scrappy start-ups and artists looking for cheap rent where they could literally throw paint at the walls.
Today, the Junction Triangle is a vibrant community under attack. It is seeing the poisoned brownfields finally getting reclaimed, only to be replaced by massive condo developments in their stead. This is putting significant upward pressure on the rents that many artists and small shops already cannot afford.
As is the way with gentrification, the artists and creators bring galleries, hip cafes and a sense of community to the area. They even invigorated some of the old neighbourhood bars, but in so doing, they created the very features that new developers salivate over.
To walk the neighborhood is to witness the growing conflict.
I sit and write in a local bar as the bartender gossips to a coworker about a house just down the street selling for hundreds of thousands over asking. Developers are rumoured to walk door to door looking for anyone desperate enough to sell.
This is not a new problem.
But it still hurts to speak with so many artists who can’t find another place where they can afford to live and work. This may very well be one of the last enclaves within the downtown of Toronto.
But all is not lost. Next week, I talk to a group who have secured long term leases in the area for a growing community of artists and, artists themselves, are offering rents that artists can afford.
