The Greater Golden Mile
This will be a crucial year in the planning of a massive residential development project in Scarborough.
The Greater Golden Mile is being hailed as the largest over the next decade, with 77 residential towers slated to house more than 50,000 people.
It's a project that started decades ago, according to the United Way Greater Toronto, which is a co-lead of an initiative to enhance local economic opportunities in the Greater Golden Mile. The redevelopment is focused on three priorities identified by the community: deeply affordable housing, good jobs in the community and strong social supports close to home.
"How do we ensure today that the GTA we are building and leaving for our kids and newcomers is inclusive for all? I think this is one example of how we are collaborating in ways that most people wouldn't even imagine for United Way to make these solutions as we go forward," said Daniele Zanotti, president and CEO of United Way Greater Toronto.
Renderings of what 77 residential towers will look like along the Golden Mile in Scarborough. (Stephen Velasco of Future Model Toronto) The redevelopment project is expected to create close to 20,000 jobs. Some of those jobs are targeted at local residents through a joint construction venture that is 49 per cent owned by Aecon Development and 51 per cent owned by the community.
Groups like RioCan, Enbridge and the Daniels Group have agreed to work with the joint venture to hire local residents as apprentices. These jobs, which include general labourers, electricians and hydrovac workers, will have a lifespan of about 20 years.
As well as a major hiring campaign, developers will start doing preliminary studies and mapping this year before shovels hit the ground in 2024.
The United Way said it will be planning to make sure these residential units will be affordable for people in the area for years to come.
"What is it going to take for somebody on Ontario Works or Ontario Disability to live in the Greater Golden Mile in 10 years?" Zanotti said.
"We better be having these discussions with people who live and work in that neighbourhood and have the strongest voice, often the voice that is unheard at these planning tables."