Amare
Senior Member
Not being built by him no, but he has direct relations to family members who own Pemberton.
- Thread starter AHK
- Start date
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
This has been appealed to the OLT
abp10
New Member
Are they demolishing the connecting building on the other side of the dealership? There was a sign on the door saying they were temporarily closed, not sure if it's because they're relocating or if it's because they're gonna reno that part of the building
Northern Light
Superstar
This one is the subject of an Appeal Report to the next meeting of NYCC:
Planning has a long list of objections.........most, not all, of which I find credible.
1) They don't like the height.........the argument being both that the 40 storey tallest building here would exceed the height (34s) of the tallest building closer to the new Crosstown Station (that may never open at this rate, but I digress)
They also don't like that the height is closer to Eglinton, they want the height pushed south on the site.
2) The applicant has too little visitor parking; but staff also chastise that there is too much commercial (employment and retail) parking, exceeding the maximums.
3) The applicant proposes no on-site parkland and to provide an 800m2 POPs. Parks, rightly, is refusing that nonsense.
4) A host of smaller, but tangible issues around ROW dedication.
5) A biggie.....sewer capacity. this proposal will rely on capacity enhancements being delivered by neighbouring developments. Only, so far, the City hasn't accepted the proposed enhancements (as designed), so no capacity (yet) exists to support this proposal. (that would be grounds for the dreaded 'H'.
Planning has a long list of objections.........most, not all, of which I find credible.
1) They don't like the height.........the argument being both that the 40 storey tallest building here would exceed the height (34s) of the tallest building closer to the new Crosstown Station (that may never open at this rate, but I digress)
They also don't like that the height is closer to Eglinton, they want the height pushed south on the site.
2) The applicant has too little visitor parking; but staff also chastise that there is too much commercial (employment and retail) parking, exceeding the maximums.
3) The applicant proposes no on-site parkland and to provide an 800m2 POPs. Parks, rightly, is refusing that nonsense.
4) A host of smaller, but tangible issues around ROW dedication.
5) A biggie.....sewer capacity. this proposal will rely on capacity enhancements being delivered by neighbouring developments. Only, so far, the City hasn't accepted the proposed enhancements (as designed), so no capacity (yet) exists to support this proposal. (that would be grounds for the dreaded 'H'.
Northern Light
Superstar
First CMC at the OLT is scheduled for January 13th, 2025.
flonicky
Senior Member
* not an endorsement. I wouldn't vote for conservative ghouls.
Undead
Senior Member
^So brave, thanks for letting us know. 
Northern Light
Superstar
^So brave, thanks for letting us know.
This is one of your more suspect takes.
The poster, an established UT photog, found the imagine of the building, plastered with conservative signage interesting and noteworthy, and so posted it.
That same poster doesn't happen to like the Conservatives, and is not supporting them, and simply wished to make clear that the photo wasn't political flag waving.
Seems reasonable to me. Brave/Not Brave, a non-issue. The poster didn't want a casual reader to misconstrue the reason for posting.
flonicky
Senior Member
For me, It takes a lot of care to maintain decorum on a public forum, so I gotta indulge in some petty cheekiness from time to time. A little vent now and then keeps me from being totally overwhelmed by EIFS Derangement Syndrome.
Also, I f**** g***** hate Don Valley West.
Also, I f**** g***** hate Don Valley West.
flonicky
Senior Member
That was a joke. I was joking again. I love Don Valley West. Except for when I have to go there. Which is, all the time.
GenerationLee
Senior Member
Oh, I was about to ask, why would you hate a district of the city?
I keep forgetting that election season is here. Ugh.
I keep forgetting that election season is here. Ugh.
flonicky
Senior Member
AlbertC
Superstar
Lets get this Don Valley West trash waste of space demolished already!
AHK
Senior Member
Interim use for the former Mercedes Benz dealership site, and it looks like it may be this way for a while:
Fairgrounds to open flagship Toronto racket sports club, plans national expansion in 2025
By Mario Toneguzzi
Date: April 22, 2025
Toronto-based Fairgrounds, a fast-growing operator of racket sports clubs, is poised to open its first permanent flagship facility in the city this May as part of an aggressive national expansion plan for 2025.
Drummond Munro, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Fairgrounds, confirmed the company’s rapid growth since its early days testing both indoor and outdoor club formats.
The first indoor location opened a year ago in the spring. “Since then we opened four clubs. Indoor, outdoor, pickleball, padel. Currently we have 29 courts across the GTA and we’re about to open our first permanent flagship facility here in Toronto, in Leaside,” explained Munro.
Fairgrounds is transforming a former Mercedes-Benz dealership into a premier destination for racket sports enthusiasts. The Leaside flagship will include 13 pickleball courts, four padel courts, a full food and beverage program, a sauna, curated pro shop, change rooms, and more.
“A pretty spectacular flagship location that’s going to feature all the bells and whistles, 25 foot clearance,” said Munro. “So we’re really, really excited about the evolution. Now we’re getting comfortable with our model and really scaling up.”
According to Munro, the new site will open mid-May. “I am spending every second minute over there dealing with construction,” he added.
The facility combines multiple zones from the dealership’s past life. “You come in and you’re in the showroom and then we’ve actually converted the auto garage where they did all the servicing,” said Munro. “We’re doing the outdoor parking lot as well. It’s roughly 50, 55,000 square feet.”
Fairgrounds isn’t stopping there. The company has plans to launch eight more locations across Canada this year. “We are underway on Kingston, Hamilton, Whitby, Ottawa, Vancouver, Red Deer,” said Munro. “That’s seven that are already signed and underway.”
All of these new locations are expected to open by year-end, with staggered launch dates beginning in June. All are indoor sites, although the company is also exploring a few summer pop-up activations.
The confidence behind this expansion is rooted in a data-driven approach and strong community engagement. “We have now a year and a half worth of data to really support our decisions around scale,” said Munro. “We built a network of almost 60,000 members within the GTA.”
Fairgrounds has used its pilot phase to test everything from pricing and programming to community events and brand activations.
“We really wanted to give access to these sports that have typically been inaccessible to the masses,” he said. “If you look at a spectrum of public infrastructure on one side and private clubs on the other, there really is nothing in the middle.”
Munro added that broader social trends are also fueling demand for the sports. “People are looking [to] disconnect from screens. They’re looking to connect with one another, they’re looking to be active. The two sports we’re talking about, pickleball and paddle, are sort of rooted in community and social behaviour.”
Fairgrounds to open flagship Toronto racket sports club, plans national expansion in 2025
By Mario Toneguzzi
Date: April 22, 2025
Toronto-based Fairgrounds, a fast-growing operator of racket sports clubs, is poised to open its first permanent flagship facility in the city this May as part of an aggressive national expansion plan for 2025.
Drummond Munro, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Fairgrounds, confirmed the company’s rapid growth since its early days testing both indoor and outdoor club formats.
The first indoor location opened a year ago in the spring. “Since then we opened four clubs. Indoor, outdoor, pickleball, padel. Currently we have 29 courts across the GTA and we’re about to open our first permanent flagship facility here in Toronto, in Leaside,” explained Munro.
Fairgrounds is transforming a former Mercedes-Benz dealership into a premier destination for racket sports enthusiasts. The Leaside flagship will include 13 pickleball courts, four padel courts, a full food and beverage program, a sauna, curated pro shop, change rooms, and more.
“A pretty spectacular flagship location that’s going to feature all the bells and whistles, 25 foot clearance,” said Munro. “So we’re really, really excited about the evolution. Now we’re getting comfortable with our model and really scaling up.”
According to Munro, the new site will open mid-May. “I am spending every second minute over there dealing with construction,” he added.
The facility combines multiple zones from the dealership’s past life. “You come in and you’re in the showroom and then we’ve actually converted the auto garage where they did all the servicing,” said Munro. “We’re doing the outdoor parking lot as well. It’s roughly 50, 55,000 square feet.”
Fairgrounds isn’t stopping there. The company has plans to launch eight more locations across Canada this year. “We are underway on Kingston, Hamilton, Whitby, Ottawa, Vancouver, Red Deer,” said Munro. “That’s seven that are already signed and underway.”
All of these new locations are expected to open by year-end, with staggered launch dates beginning in June. All are indoor sites, although the company is also exploring a few summer pop-up activations.
The confidence behind this expansion is rooted in a data-driven approach and strong community engagement. “We have now a year and a half worth of data to really support our decisions around scale,” said Munro. “We built a network of almost 60,000 members within the GTA.”
Fairgrounds has used its pilot phase to test everything from pricing and programming to community events and brand activations.
“We really wanted to give access to these sports that have typically been inaccessible to the masses,” he said. “If you look at a spectrum of public infrastructure on one side and private clubs on the other, there really is nothing in the middle.”
Munro added that broader social trends are also fueling demand for the sports. “People are looking [to] disconnect from screens. They’re looking to connect with one another, they’re looking to be active. The two sports we’re talking about, pickleball and paddle, are sort of rooted in community and social behaviour.”