As Moss Park a poor Toronto area witnesses rapid developments, small businesses worried

When Elias Makhoul opened Mystic Muffin 32 years ago at the corner of Jarvis and Richmond streets, he didn’t anticipate the drastic changes he would see in his area.

 

With a highrise preparing to begin construction seemingly around every corner, the small-business owner has seen the local neighbourhood reduced to a “boring skyline of grey and white structures” that are slowly swallowing the community.

 

“It’s too much,” he said. “Look around, the city has lost its originality, its feel and spirit. Everywhere is just building, building, building.”

 

The Garden District and Moss Park area — bordered by Yonge St., Queen St. E., Sherbourne St. and Carlton St. — has housed some of downtown’s lowest-income residents for more than 100 years. But now it’s rapidly changing, with approximately 40 new developments emerging in the area, according to Urban Toronto, including several luxury condo towers and the upscale TOOR Hotel at 203 Jarvis St.

Although small-business owners in the area are generally optimistic that this expansion is going to be good for their operations, some are expressing concern over accessibility to their businesses as well as the increased costs of operations.

 

Neighbourhood gentrification, or the changing of an area through a dramatic increase in property prices and the costs of goods and services, forcing lower-income residents and small businesses out, typically results in an influx of transportation vehicles, as well as an increase in disputes over street space, said Karen Chapple, director of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto. It has the potential to negatively impact small-businesses operations, she added, as competition for street space can easily transform the area from desirable to dangerous.

 

“For example, how would (small-business owners) get your goods when they change the area and put a bike lane in front of your business?” she said. “You still need to have deliveries from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., and now have bikes going up and down, in addition to the amount of pedestrian traffic that has increased. It may seem small, but it makes things harder for businesses.”

 

From the loss of trees due to the construction of the Ontario Line subway — which will see Moss Park receive a station on the northwest corner of Queen and Sherbourne — to the city’s initiative to replace the John Innes Community Recreation Centre with a bigger facility, as well as a redesign of the park to meet current and future needs, massive changes to the area are well underway.

 

The congestion is already a reality for clients, according to Gus Mantas. The owner of Vortech Automotive, at 111 Ontario St., said the gentrification, coupled with the closure of the eastbound on-ramp of the Gardiner Expressway, has “destroyed the area.”

 

“You can’t move, you can’t do anything,” Mantas said. “It’s not pleasant to come down here anymore. If I sell my place, I’ll never step foot in here (Moss Park) again.”

 

Makhoul has adapted. In an effort to keep prices reasonable, he let most of his staff go, ceased the catering option for his businesses and buys most of his inventory from Costco to keep deliveries down. The strategy, he said, has paid off, and he believes business will continue to do well with the new residents, tourists and students who will occupy the upcoming developments.

 

But the neighbourhood, he said, is slowly morphing into a concrete jungle.

 

“Everything has its pros and cons,” Makhoul said. “So yes, business will continue to do well, but you cannot choke everywhere with buildings and concrete. There has to be a balance.”

 

The Star spoke with several other small-business owners in the area who shared the same sentiment regarding the anticipated uptick in customers — with some expecting an increase in revenue. But there is concern that the incoming developments could increase the value of the area and the commercial properties within it — resulting in higher property taxes.

 

Despite the Ontario government’s decision to extend the freeze on property assessment values for the 2024 taxation year, it’s set to — be “a big hit on these small businesses when they do resume,” according to Chapple, considering the already high costs of owning and operating a business.

 

In addition to businesses, the changes in the Garden District and Moss Park area will also affect its most vulnerable residents — those facing homelessness.

Incomes in the Moss Park area fall well below rates seen elsewhere in the city, with the latest census showing a median household income of roughly $36,000 in the heart of the neighbourhood — versus the citywide median of $84,000.

 

It’s a population that has been a part of the community throughout Makhoul and Mantas’ combined nearly 60 years in the neighbourhood. With the developments threatening to push these vulnerable citizens out, both owners had a simple response to where people facing homelessness will go: nowhere. “This is their home, where else would they go?” said Mantas.

 

Despite his concerns for the neighbourhood and the impact it will have on its residents, Makhoul remains hopeful, determined to continue to offer value in the face of an influx of wealth. “You see these prices, I never change them,” he said, tapping the menu board, an array of soup, sandwich and pastry options — including Makhoul’s famous apple cake. “You tell me anywhere on Earth where you can eat for $10. All with the same cooking that I love.”

 

 

 

 

This article was first reported by The star