Etobicoke residents hope to save cinema from condo development

Etobicoke residents are coming together to save a local Cineplex theatre from being replaced by proposed condo towers.

Property management company Talisker Corporationhas submitted an application to the City of Toronto proposing to build 12 towers in place of Cineplex Cinemas Queensway & VIP, located nearMimico-Queensway.

The proposal includes10 mixed-use residential towers rising as high as 46 storeys.

"We took our kids here to these screens to see these movies and introduce them to cinema culture in general, and we're not going to have that opportunity anymore," says localresident James Dean.

If the cinema is demolished,community members say the next option available to them is travelling to a theatre in downtown Toronto orMississauga.

Dean says the city needs more rentals and affordable family units, rather than expensive one or two-bedroom apartments.

"Single unit condos are not the future of this city," he said.

CBC Toronto has reached out to Talisker Corporationfor comment.

Decision on redevelopmentcould take years: councillor

City councillor Amber Morley, who represents EtobicokeLakeshore, said any decision on the future of the cinema could take years, as the project needs to get city approval before redevelopment happens.

She said Talisker Corporation owns the land that the cinema is on. If the application is successful, Morley said the company's proposal indicates the redevelopment would be done in phases, and thecinema would be the last to be redeveloped.

In a statement to CBC Toronto, Cineplex communications coordinator Alannah O'Farrell said the cinema is one of its busiest locations with 20 screens.

"We have a long-term lease in place at this location, with no plans to relocate, and appreciate the overwhelming support we continue to receive from the community," O'Farrell said.

An online petition calling to save the cinema has more than 6,000 signatures. The cinema has been in the community since 2001.

Ann Botelho started the petition. She says the community has a lot of memories tied to the cinema.

Every time her family visits the cinema, she said they take photobooth pictures and display them on their fridge.

"I grew up going to the movies with my friends, with my family," she said. "I want my daughter to be able to do this with her friends."

When Botelho drives over a bridge near the cinema, she said she can see the sunset.

But if the condo towers go up, "that [sunset] will be gone, the skyline will be gone," she said. "We will live in a place where we're just staring at concrete."

Her husband, Rob, says the cinema is an amenity for the entire community. He said it provides an opportunity to get out of the house and engage with other people.

"How much can you stream at home?" he said.

Cinema is safe place for day program: disability advocate

Etobicoke resident Sean Guptill runs Got Your Back, a local day program foryoung adults with disabilities.

He said the group goes to the cinema twice a month as a comfortable place to practice life skills, social skills and money management.

'It's been that place of feeling safe, of feeling secure in their learning and a fun place to go," he said.

He said some members are scared about the possibility of the cinema shutting down and having to travel elsewhere.

'It's building anxiety in them," Guptill said. "It's not fair."

Morley said she is pleased the initiative to save the cinema has created the space for the community to reflect on how important it is as a social hub.

"Hopefully the folks that are ultimately making the decisions can figure out a way to retain it," she said.