Gentrification in Leslieville
In Toronto, things move fast. Really fast. The hole-in-the-wall restaurant you love could be there one day, and replaced by a posh café with industrial stylings the next. Storefronts transform and old brick-and-mortar retailers are dozed for condominiums. Today we take a look at gentrification in Leslieville.
Gentrification has become a rather expansive term in the past decade, usually uttered when new businesses or chains take over local mom-and-pops, or when condos start sprouting up in a more ground-floor neighbourhood. In a more acute definition, it can be referred to as the transition of low-income neighbourhood to a high income one. This can be correlated to a displacement of long-term locals (especially renters) from areas they once occupied, outpriced by newer families looking for the latest and greatest to settle in.
Much of Toronto shows signs of this process as the newest of the new trends take over. The demand for housing created by a rapidly growing city sees real estate prices constantly rising, making it more and more difficult for low income and disadvantaged families to remain. Commercial rental rates increase alongside residential, pricing out older businesses and opening the way for chains looking to capitalize on the affluent new residents.
Our home in the Leslieville / South Riverdale area is a prime example of gentrification in action, in both the general sense and in the more acute, financial one. In 2006, the average household income was $70,093, putting it in the bottom 40% of the city. By 2015, this average had risen to $103,384, rocketing Leslieville up into the top 35%.
While not quite a senior of the community, I’ve watched many of the changes take place along the northern edge of the neighbourhood, Gerrard Street, as I’ve walked down it every day for several years. Many of the boarded-up storefronts are being replaced with posh new businesses. A sweathouse, wine and pasta restaurant, and a huge variety of upscale eateries have sprouted up seemingly overnight steps from my home. While it is nice to see active businesses where there was next to nothing in many cases, almost all of these new additions are above what I can afford to pay for the average quick drink or meal.
It is however, generally exciting to see something new pop up. A run-down section of street can become a beacon for young professionals to flock to and it does wonders for the atmosphere of a derelict street corner to have a swanky new bar light up the place at night, or a café draw in the morning’s working class. In Leslieville, scores of old red-brick factory buildings now house a teeming maze of specialty stores and gyms, turning the quiet stretches of Carlaw and Dundas into a fascinating spread of things to do and see.
Gentrification can be an economic boon for some. Residents lucky enough to own their own land in previously undesirable spots have watched the value of those properties skyrocket. However, renters are often severely disadvantaged, with landlords pressuring or inconveniencing long-time residents to leave (sometimes under the guise of renovations, now often termed “renovictions”) so they can make minor alterations before re-renting the home at a boosted, more modern price.
Displacement of those with the least amount of money from city centres can decrease their access to resources like shelters, jobs, and services designed to help them and often exist primarily in downtown areas.
It’s refreshing to see local stories of success in these turbulent times. When a development threatened a longstanding community resource, The Red Door Shelter, local council and community rallied to save it. “We were able to all work together with the developer and they were able to keep the Red Door Shelter exactly where it’s been for many many years, while at the same time offering new locations for people who want to move into the neighbourhood,” said Andrew Sherbin, chair of the Leslieville BIA. The Red Door Shelter is to be part of the condo development to continue to serve families, refugees, and women fleeing from violence.
Leslieville is a neighbourhood that has fought hard to keep its personality. There was quite the uproar when a Starbucks was installed at Queen and Logan in 2006 – the ultimate hallmark of gentrification, some would say. Luckily, it looks like the surrounding local cafes have managed to hold their ground. All across the board, from 2005 to 2015, the number of cafes, quick-service restaurants, full-service restaurants, and bars along Queen St E from the Don Valley to Leslie St have all doubled.
While condos sprout up, our area has a unique ordnance that keeps them capped at 20 metres so as not to interfere too dramatically with the neighbourhood’s flavour and skyline.
It is, for the most part, agreed that there are upsides to having new facilities in the area, but many are disappointed when chains come around into same-y condo structures. “We have to continue to speak with our wallets to keep the awesome small local businesses we have afloat,” said one resident. The flavour of Queen East speaks to the dedication Leslievillians have to their community. The street has been growing to rival the old standby of Queen West, full of unique shops, art markets, specialty grocers, and more.
Much of the city has shown signs of gentrification but, technically, only .4% have made the technical transition from low to high income over the past 10 years:
South Riverdale/Leslieville, Trinity Bellwoods, the Junction, Dovercourt-Wallace Emerson, Little Portugal North, St. James Town, the Blake-Jones area of the Danforth, and the Annex. Incomes in these neighbourhoods climbed by an average of 53%. The Star provides the graphic below of these particular neighbourhoods.
With real estate prices rising ever higher, new condos under construction, and density rising outside of the downtown core, this trend doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
In conclusion, the economic growth seen in areas where gentrification happens can be a boon, but the prosperity needs to be more widespread to be sustainable. Areas undergoing acute gentrification like Leslieville can see their average income increased by an average of 52% within a decade or so, but the city as a whole has only seen an increase of 18%. Edging out those with the lowest income from neighbourhoods styled by those peoples’ history sees the loss of what made those places unique in the first place. If Toronto wants to keep its flashy, hip vibe, that means making financial successions, such as easier access to low-income housing, to keep around the people that made it that way.
We don’t have the answers to this dilemma, but we hope that in the coming years, a balance is struck that sees a Toronto how we like it best: an eclectic mishmash of the old, the new, the rough and the sleek, and full of vibrant colour.
Envision Realty can help you find your dream home near Leslieville. Come visit us! . Call us at 416-465-8888 | Email us at info@envisionrealty.ca
