Hollywood towers fight avoided by developer cutting project size

A mega housing development slated for the Yonge and Empress community is going ahead, thanks to a last-minute settlement between the developers and the city.

The Conservatory Group narrowly avoided an ugly battle at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) by compromising to build four condominium towers on Hollywood Ave. with 1,500 units instead of five towers with a total of 1,700 units. To make up for the lost tower, however, the developers added on to one of the other condos. The Claude Watson School for the Arts will also have more playground space, as part of the compromise included moving a parking lot on the property underground.

Residents are rejoicing over the compromise, saying the local councillor John Filion did what he could to protect the neighbourhood, whereas the OMB might have left them with nothing.

“People are getting sick of seeing more and more condos go up,” said Marion Lick, president of the Willowdale Central Ratepayers Association. “Just to be able to say (the developers) listened to our concerns is a joy.”

The developers decided late last month to compromise after more than 30 irate residents showed up at a community council meeting in October to protest the development.

“Once construction is complete, this will be the block with the highest density in the city,” said Hollywood Ave. resident Francine Fleming at the meeting. “It’s a Manhattan-style development to satisfy greed.”

Other residents complained about the amount of traffic and the loss of green space their community would have to endure because of the project.

While the first tower is already being built, the developers were waiting for this latest conflict to be resolved before they could plan the next construction phase. They plan to begin constructing the second building in the spring.