Stabbing and Condo next to Downsview Park

Between a fatal stabbing at Jane and Finch and a condo replacing the Shriners building, the news could be better.

Yet another condo next to the park may not necessarily be a good thing, though obviously, the stabbing is far worse.

Here is the news as related by cbc-nystb.

Toronto police's homicide unit is now investigating a stabbing that occurred in the area of Jane Street and Finch Avenue.
Police say the call came in after 3 a.m. Sunday morning, and they found a man with stab wounds.
The man was taken to hospital and later succumbed to his injuries.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact 31 Division at 416-808-3100 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Stabbing:
Finch Ave W + Jane St
Man located with stab wounds
Taken to hospital
Succumbed to injuries
Homicide now investigating
#2148586
^rm
— Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) December 4, 2016

We hope that the perpetrator is caught and faces justice.

The second newsworthy story is a condo replacing the Shriners Club (ut-condo).

Directly across from Downsview Park's central lake, and three blocks south of Sheppard Avenue, an SMV Architects-designed residential project will replace the Shriners Club—and former synagogue—at 3100 Keele Street. On Keele, the two-acre site will be fronted by a 12-storey condominium building, which steps down from Keele with 10 and 6-storey wings to the west.

Stretching west, the two shorter wings surround a central green space, with a collection of 2-bedroom + den townhome units fronting the condominium. The 325-unit development features a unit mix of one and two-bedroom suites. In total, the plans call for 171 one-bedroom and 154-two bedroom residences. At the corner of Keele and Maryport (below), a retail space may now be planned, though the Site Plan application submitted to the City designates the space for live-work units.

Developed by Decade Group Inc., the project was ratified at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) earlier this year. Initially proposed to the City as a 422-unit project with a height peak of 19-storeys, the developer appealed the project to the OMB after the City failed to make a decision with the statutory 120 day period. Following continued negotiations with the City, a settlement was reach for a scaled down proposal, which was then presented to the OMB, allowing for a relatively straightforward approval.

The plans also call for a total of 383 underground parking spots, making for a high ratio of vehicle spaces to units, reflecting what remains a car-oriented area.

With vehicle access from Maryport Avenue, the garage will be entered from a small forecourt just off the landscaped green space.

As part of the project, a 45-foot mosaic that once fronted the site's single-storey building—which was home to the Beth David B’nai Israel Beth Am Temple before being taken over by a Shriners organization—will be given over to the synagogue's new space in North York.

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It looks more and more as if the urban park that never truly happened will be drowned in a sea of condos.

Sources / More info: cbc-nystb, ut-condo