Empress Walk - Re-zoning

Re-zoning

Prior to the building of Empress Walk, the east side of Yonge Street did not have the zoning capacity to build condominiums but only office space and retail stores. A deal was made with City Council to re-zone the area on the condition that the developers had done the following without municipal funding:

• rebuild Earl Haig Secondary School
• rebuild McKee Public School
• rebuild Mitchell Field Community Centre
• re-align Doris Avenue to prevent thru-way traffic in a residential area connecting Bayview Avenue and Yonge Street.

This decision proved to be a very popular one in the community because Empress Walk would contribute opportunities for entrepreneurs and also revitalize the aging community. The building structures of Earl Haig Secondary School, McKee Elementary School and Mitchell Field Community Centre drastically required rebuilding or advanced renovations; however, funding was not available. The entire rebuilding of this community was completed without the use of tax revenue. In return, the buyers of the condo units were allowed to send their children to the aforementioned schools, making this one of their selling points (new condo residents now have to be bused to schools in other areas due to overcrowding).