Regulars and supporters of Sneaky Dee's packed a Toronto City Hall committee room to oppose plans to redevelop the bar and live music venue at College and Bathurst into a 16-storey highrise. Speakers argued the change would harm Toronto’s cultural scene and urged councillors to protect the venue. A representative from Goldberg Group said space in the new building would be reserved for Sneaky Dee's and that the company would help the bar find an interim location nearby when construction begins, which is years away. Sneaky Dee's general manager said the bar has long worked with landowners and believes their assurances. The city received an initial 13-storey proposal in 2020, and an updated plan proposes 130 one-bedroom, 52 two-bedroom, and 21 three-bedroom units, with a vote postponed.
"Regulars of a beloved Toronto bar and live music venue packed a committee room at Toronto city hall on Thursday to speak out against plans to turn the building housing Sneaky Dee's into a highrise. Wearing white Save Sneaky Dee's pins, several speakers told councillors that redeveloping the plot at College and Bathurst streets into a 16-storey building would be a crushing blow to Toronto's cultural scene."
"But a representative for a developer working on the project, Goldberg Group, told the meeting that space in the new building would be earmarked for Sneaky Dee's. Clay Janzen also said the company would help the bar find an interim location in the area when work on the development starts, which she said is years away."
"George Diamantouros, general manager at Sneaky Dee's, said the bar has always had a good relationship with the landowners and he has no reason to doubt their assurances. Ideally for us, we wouldn't want anything to change, Diamantouros told CBC News on Thursday. We understand that it's out of our control. But at least there's a modicum of control in the fact we'll still be involved down the line."
"The potential highrise development has cast a shadow of uncertainty over Sneaky Dee's future for years, with the city initially receiving the proposal for a 13-storey building in 2020. An updated proposal, encompassing 419, 421, 423, 429 and 431 College Street, proposes 130 one-bedroom units, 52 two-bedroom units and 21 three-bedroom units. The updated proposal went before the Toronto and East York community council Thursday, but a vote on the planning amendments it needs to move forward was postponed"
Read at www.cbc.ca
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