Item - 2018.CD25.6

The Community Development and Recreation Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council request Metrolinx to consider designating the 32 metre wide portion of the Finch LRT Maintenance and Storage Facility land fronting Finch Avenue West for community use such as a community hub or centre for the arts.

Over the last 2 years, Metrolinx, local community organizers, and the City have engaged in discussions to reserve the portion of the Finch West LRT Maintenance and Storage Facility (MSF) site that faces Finch Avenue West.

Community groups have expressed they would like to see a community hub or centre for the arts, public realm improvements, and other compatible land uses that would animate the street frontage with at-grade uses and architectural treatment (Community Action Planning Group, 2017).

Metrolinx is currently undergoing a request for proposal (RFP) to award the contract to design, build, finance and maintain the project which includes the MSF site. Specifications include potential future development along the Finch Avenue West frontage. The RFP is expected to close by the end of 2017, with the contract to be awarded in 2018.

The MSF site is located in Black Creek, which is one of 31 Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs) identified through the City's Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy. According to 2016 Census data, 1 in 3 (33%) Black Creek residents is low income. Almost half (49.2%) of all children under 6 years old lives in a family whose household annual income is less than $44,000 (City of Toronto, 2016 Census Neighbourhood Profiles).

Black Creek is one of a cluster of NIAs in the Jane-Finch community, along with Glenfield-Jane Heights and York University Heights. Residents and local agencies have long identified the need for a community and cultural hub in this neighbourhood. The land at the MSF site provides an excellent opportunity to optimize social, economic and environmental returns in ways that achieve community benefits for the Jane-Finch neighbourhood.

This request aligns with the City's Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy work in the Jane-Finch community. In December 2017, City Council approved measures to advance the work of the Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy 2020.

This issue also aligns with the City's current work on a Community Benefits Framework, a poverty reduction initiative that aims to gain community benefits for low-income residents through private and public development opportunities.