Trinity-Spadina residents brace for more condos at former site of massive slaughterhouse

The iconic slaughterhouse that gave Toronto its nickname Hogtown shuttered years ago, but the Trinity-Spadina landmark site may soon boast you guessed it condos.

About 100 people gathered Thursday to discuss a proposal that would see six buildings built on the land that once housed the abattoir and Quality Meat Packers.

Gone will be the stench of meat and the dreary factories, and in its place might come sky-high glass skyscrapers.

The historic area already has a substantial contingent of residential properties, and the proposal to raise more densely populated residences could ramp up congestion.

Christopher De Sousa, a professor at Ryerson University's School of Urban and Regional Planning, says that brand of density will continue to dominate in the city.

"It's an area of high demand that has attracted demand in the past and it's where people want to be, so I kind of expect demand will follow," he told CBC Toronto.

"It's amazing to see that vibrancy be there, but it gets to a point where, is ittoo popular for its own good?"

Traffic concerns

The site has southwardviews of Fort York, De Sousa adds, but he also says residents may be worried that more condo development in the area might be too much.

It's something that Liberty Village resident Jessica Bonnici says is already a concern for her.

"There's already too many buildings in the area, and there's not enough infrastructure to support the people," she said. "Traffic is a nightmare. The streetcar is a nightmare. It's just not a good idea."

Mike Layton, city councillor for Trinity-Spadina, says the neighbourhood is better served than some others are and that it's on a corridor that's being considered for future Smarttrack stations.

"The reality is our city is a growing city, people want and need to live here. We need to build a city to build a sustainable city and that means building homes and residences as well as places to work along major transit corridors," he said.

"We need to continue to invest in transit in order to make neighbourhoods like this work properly."

De Sousa also agrees that transit needs to be a priority for the area.

"We need more subways or Smarttrack, something to get people in the Liberty Village area and that whole area in and out faster," De Sousa said.

"A lot of those condos, they paid development charges for the infrastructure, it's now time to build that infrastructure."

Despite the concerns, some residents are welcoming the news of more condos and more neighbours in the area.

"More people, better restaurants. More people, more jobs," Enrique Rivas said. "If I wanted to live in a small town, I'd move to a small town."