Flemingdon Park is getting a new fire hall on Grenoble Drive in place of its two busy tennis courts — and residents have a lot of questions.
Staff from CreateTO, an agency that manages the City of Toronto’s real estate assets, held a community pop-up on Tuesday behind the courts at 165 Grenoble Dr. to inform locals about the plans and to encourage them to join upcoming public meetings.
Over two hours, 30 to 50 residents stopped by the CreateTO tent with one main question: Why build a fire hall on top of the tennis courts?
“We’re okay with a new fire station, but not in this area,” says Nawal Adam, a resident who lives just across the street from the tennis courts. Adam is worried about children who attend nearby schools and traffic that would delay the fire trucks. She adds that the community needs the tennis courts and that their removal or even reduction would be difficult.
📸: Yara El Murr/The Green Line.
Other attendees echoed this sentiment, saying they want a fire hall, just not in this location. They also cited many concerns.
Many locals argued that the densely populated community already lacks recreational space after recently losing the nearby Ontario Science Centre.
Others complained about the lack of transparency and consultation since staff came to them with a non-negotiable plan to build the fire hall at this specific location. As one resident put it, “Dinner is served, whether you like it or not.”
Residents of the Leeward Glenway condo across the street were also concerned about increased traffic, noise and property value. Some pointed out that Grenoble Drive is too packed for a fire truck to move quickly during busy hours. Others were interested in how pedestrian traffic would be managed with fire trucks around, since the location is next to local schools.
Despite opposition, CreateTO staff confirmed that the City’s decision to construct a fire hall at 165 Grenoble Dr. is final at this point. Throughout the pop-up event, they repeatedly said the tennis courts are the only reasonable spot, citing these reasons:
- It’s City-owned land, which saves money on the project and facilitates permits.
- It’s the appropriate size and shape.
- It has access to key roads, as well as existing water and sewage infrastructure.
- It’ll improve Toronto Fire Services’ response time for the local community. Toronto Fire Services and CreateTO staff said more information will be shared on Monday, June 22.
- It’s City-owned land, which saves money on the project and facilitates permits.
- It’s the appropriate size and shape.
- It has access to key roads, as well as existing water and sewage infrastructure.
- It’ll improve Toronto Fire Services’ response time for the local community. Toronto Fire Services and CreateTO staff said more information will be shared on Monday, June 22.
CreateTO staff also clarified that two of the four tennis courts will remain for the community. More information and details will be shared on CreateTO’s website.
📸: Yara El Murr/The Green Line.
In the coming months, CreateTO will engage with locals as they refine construction and traffic plans. CreateTO will submit a report to the City Council by late August, which will be approved by the end of the year. Construction is expected to start next year and be completed by 2029.
Here are planned public sessions where you can chime in:
- CreateTO will host a Public Information Meeting on June 22 at 6 p.m. at the Dennis R. Timbrell Resource and Community Centre (29 St Dennis Dr.)
- Coun. Jon Burnside will host a town hall on July 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the same location.
- Leeward Glenway condo’s board is also collecting feedback through this survey.
Residents can also get in touch with these contacts:
- CreateTO project lead Manny Karimi at flemingdonfirehall@createto.ca.
- Coun. Burnside’s office at councillor_burnside@toronto.ca.
- A third-party consultation team at matthew@thirdpartypublic.ca or 416-572-4365.
- CreateTO project lead Manny Karimi at flemingdonfirehall@createto.ca.
- Coun. Burnside’s office at councillor_burnside@toronto.ca.
- A third-party consultation team at matthew@thirdpartypublic.ca or 416-572-4365.
The Green Line team will be producing more in-depth coverage on this developing story, so keep an eye out. If you have thoughts or questions, reach out to yara@thegreenline.to, and I’ll try to answer them in my next story.
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