A community organization has embarked on a grassroots campaign to halt or otherwise alter a proposed redevelopment of the Jane Finch Mall in northwestern Toronto.

Plans to tear down Jane Finch Mall and replace it with a mixed-use development have been brewing since at least 2019, ramping up in mid-2022 when a lobbying file appeared on the city's lobbyist registry, indicating that a major redevelopment plan was in the works.

Details of the development were revealed in January when an application was filed to redevelop the mall with a multi-phased community hosting a dozen buildings rising up to 50 storeys in height, plus two parks served by a network of new roads.

Toronto mall to be demolished and replaced with enormous condo community 👀 https://t.co/cCxcIzDanH #Toronto #RealEstate #Mall #Condos

— blogTO (@blogTO) January 5, 2024

The intensification of the corridor served by the soon-to-open Finch West LRT is inevitable, but local community group Jane and Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP) is trying to unite the community to halt the redevelopment, saying it threatens to gentrify the marginalized neighbourhood and push established residents out through rising property values.

In addition to hosting their own sessions discussing the project, JFAAP has been actively involved in the development's public consultation process, and members attended an in-person meeting at York Woods Library on January 9, where locals expressed several concerns about the project.

In an Instagram post, the organization explained that, during the meeting, it "opposed gentrification of the community," and demanded "a considerable percentage of affordable housing allocated to all phases of the development."

"Many of these concerns were not addressed at the January 9th consultation," the post reads.

"Instead, there was a selective use of community feedback, giving the impression of meaningful consultation. It's important to note that the voices of tenants and grassroots groups were largely absent at this meeting."

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While the group advocates for affordable housing, its suggestion that the mall parking lot is an essential community space is where the campaign makes the leap from anti-poverty to anti-housing, placing the importance of a parking lot for polluting cars – on a corridor with a new LRT line – over that of creating homes.

"The Jane Finch Mall's parking lot and the areas surrounding that have been a gathering place for many community members and a site for events, celebrations, street actions, etc.," reads the Instagram post, adding, "We said we needed an openly visible and accessible place for community gatherings such as the one currently being operated through the Corner Commons."

The group argues that "the proposed very tall towers are going to be problematic in numerous ways," further blurring the line between activism and NIMBYism.

"They knew they couldn't go through a major and impactful development like this in the Jane-Finch without facing the community's opposition and insightful feedback," says the group, accusing "the process so far [of having] muffled the community's concerns."

A second meeting is being hosted by local City Councillor Anthony Perruzza on Thursday evening at Yorkwoods Public Library, where locals are expected to make their case to either halt or alter this plan.