New CityPlace association represents ‘significant voting block’

By Kimberly Spice –

Noel Kent, Dean Maher, Steve Kee, and Clayton Caverly want to provide a way for current CityPlace residents to have a say in their neighbourhood’s future planning and development.

The Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association, York Quay Neighbourhood Association and the Annex Residents’ Association are getting a new neighbour as the CityPlace Residents Association (CPRA) makes its official launch in the New Year.

Concord CityPlace currently consists of 6,500 suites in 20 high-rise, low-rise and townhouse buildings, with another eight buildings yet to be developed.

Upon completion, 15,000 people will be calling the area between Bathurst, Spadina, Front St. and Lakeshore home.

Recent council candidate Dean Maher, along with neighbours Steve Kee, Noel Kent and Clayton Caverly, want residents of Concord CityPlace to have a say in the future development of their neighbourhood.

“We are open to owners or renters but we want a sense of community. This is now becoming its own little community, and we feel that we want to be on the leading edge of that,” Kee, communications for CPRA and a Concord CityPlace condominium owner, told The Bulletin.

The CPRA want to address a number of neighbourhood concerns in an upcoming meeting—such as tackling the crippling effect of traffic, which is not only felt on a daily basis but is crushing during major events held at the Rogers Centre and the Metro Convention Centre.

Another significant concern for residents is the plan to build a 42-story affordable housing high-rise. Past meetings have proven that more information, input and an exchange of ideas is needed between residents and the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC). Previous public meetings have dissolved into shouting matches, the CPRA founders observe.

Being an equal player in the politically charged ring of city development will be no easy task: the association will have to establish a positive and powerful place between city hall, the developers and many other city services.

“If we are only a roadblock to prevent things from happening, then we will have no respect and the city will not come to us,” Kee pointed out. “If we’re seen as a strong representation of the community—this is where the phased in approach with the website and email take place to get people involved—we can then take the issues from there (the city) and present these issues back to the people.”

A stumbling block for CPRA will be getting the word to owners and renters in the area about the association and letting them know that everyone will have an input at the meetings.

“Generally the neighbourhood’s association is the link with city hall and we haven’t had that,” commented Caverly, one of the association’s founding members. “You know there are tens of thousands of residents in these towers now, and more still to come towards Bathurst. That’s a significant voting block and if we can get our act together it should have a significant voice in things that affect us.”

For information, visit www.cityplaceresidentsassociation.com.