A year and a half after Mayor Josh Morgan directed city staff to analyze the viability of redeveloping municipal parking lots into housing— three core area locations have emerged as frontrunners. According to a report going to the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee (SPPC), two of the parking lots are located in the SoHo neighbourhood (84 Horton St. and 199 Ridout St.) and the other is located in the Old East Village (641 Queens Avenue). “This is exactly what I expected,” Morgan told CTV News. “Staff go out and do some engagement (and) start to look at the lots in a very specific way. They’re all going to be very unique.” The preliminary concept for the lot on Queens Avenue includes up to five single family lots plus a mid-rise apartment building (six storeys). Kevin Morrison of the Old East Village BIA suggests the proposal will require more public consultation with the public and stakeholders. “Moving forward with this development is going to impact this district for decades to come,” Morrison said. “I think they’re moving partially in the right direction. I do have confidence in the planning staff that we have been working with that the consultation will continue,” he said. “I really do think it’s important, though, that there is also public consultation.” The steps required to make the parking lot ‘shovel ready’ would include an archeological investigation, land assembly, traffic impact study and geotechnical work. Morrison questions why city staff recommend spending $555,000 in pre-development costs before knowing if developers will have interest in the parking lot. He adds that city hall would have to build trust with the neighbourhood that the affordable units included in the redevelopment wouldn’t be switched to highly-supportive housing. “This is for an affordable housing proposal (but) we’re afraid that it’s going to be turned, quietly, from affordable housing into supportive housing-- and we already have a street crisis here,” Morrison says. Pending the completion of the pre-development reports and consultation with the OEV BIA, city staff anticipate that the RFP to identify a development partner could be issued in the first half of 2026. Meanwhile, developers have already expressed so much interest in the two parking lots in SoHo, that city staff recommend advancing directly to a Request for Proposals for “as-is” offers before the end of 2025. The staff report reads, “Three submissions were received, and all respondents have extensive general contracting and modular construction experience, indicating strong market interest and sufficient developer engagement in pursing the project.” The number of dwelling units varied by proposal, between 450 units and 600 units, with 10-20 per cent affordable housing. Each proposal also included between 300 and 330 public parking spots. “I’m kind of excited about that because it’s in a really critical part of the city,” Morgan said. “It’s been a property that’s been basically a parking lot for decades. And as the concept of a River District comes forward from the community in a grassroots way, this is really something that could be a part of the resurgence.” Morgan emphasizes that the city would be transparent with potential buyers about the historic soil contamination (coal tar) in the area of Horton and Ridout left behind by the London Coal Gasification Site that operated from 1850 until 1930. Members of SPPC will consider the report and next steps, on June 17. “The discussion for council is really, ‘How much do we want to do now? What do we want to do in each parcel? And how do we proceed on each of them?’” the mayor said.
