About the LRA

The Leaside Residents Association (LRA) is a not-for-profit organization representing the residents of the neighbourhood of Leaside in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We aim to enhance the livability of Leaside for all residents. Learn more about us, including the area we cover!


Latest Leaside News

Zoom meeting on a laptop

Ward 15 Don Valley West virtual candidates meeting

Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 7-9 p.m.

This is your opportunity to hear from eleven* candidates running to represent us as Toronto City Councillor for Ward 15 before the November 4,  2024 municipal by-election:

Send us your questions for the candidates by email no later than Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m.

Read more to register to attend the Zoom meeting, send questions and see the list of candidates.

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Ontario Place after tree removal - satellite view

Province releases Therme deal details, while 865 trees are bulldozed at Ontario Place

Under cover of darkness, Infrastructure Ontario began the removal of 865 trees at Ontario Place on the evening of Wednesday, October 2, 2024. Within a single day, workers had cut down the vast majority of those trees.

The work—which includes the removal of every single tree on the western portion of the waterfront site adjacent downtown Toronto—is part of the approximately $200-million in site preparations that taxpayers are funding to prepare the land for Therme, an Austrian spa company, to develop a stadium-sized indoor waterpark on the site.

The next day, October 3, the Province released the details of its 95-year lease with Therme, which journalists and grassroots organizations have…

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City of Toronto Vote sign

Ward 15 By-Election Survey Responses

The Ward 15 By-Election set for November 4, 2024, will decide on a candidate to succeed Councillor Jaye Robinson as Ward 15 representative on City Council.

Under the auspices of FoNTRA, a By-Election Planning Committee will be hosting a virtual debate on Zoom on Oct. 16, 7-9 p.m.. Since there are 16 candidates registered, which would make an effective debate a challenge, in order to refine a select list of candidates the BEPC devised a short questionnaire to be completed by all registered candidates. Read on for survey responses and check back often to see more by-election news.

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589 Eglinton Ave. 40 storeys

OLT approves height bump from 35 to 40 storeys at Eglinton & Mann

A proposed development at 589 Eglinton Avenue East has secured approval from the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) for its settlement offer with the City of Toronto from March, 2024. The approved plan increases the height from 35 to 40 storeys and the number of residential units from 442 to 470.

Initially submitted as a 35-storey proposal in November, 2022, the application faced delays prompting an appeal to the OLT. It was resubmitted with the same storey count but a revised design in July, 2023 This culminated in a hearing in March, 2024, where a settlement offer was approved. The OLT’s endorsement led to the latest Site Plan Approval resubmission in July, 2024.

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Viva La Leaside street festival poster - antique cars

Leaside is getting its own street festival!

Leaside’s first-ever the street festival, takes place Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1, 2024, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at and around 25 Commercial Road, hosted by the Motorista Creative Society in collaboration with the Leaside Heritage Preservation Society

Celebrate Leaside’s rich heritage and lively community. Enjoy live music, experience captivating local art, and savour delicious food from local vendors. You’ll also have the chance to view exhibits on Leaside’s industrial past.

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1837 Bayview site with City tree removal sign

Leaside residents say higher tower project left them blindsided

A group of residents in a midtown Toronto neighbourhood is vowing to take their fight against a developer to the city’s ombudsman.

The Leaside Residents Association and the Broadway Area Residents Association had been working with city staff and the Gupta Group on a proposed residential tower to be built over a row of five lots on Bayview Avenue just north of the new Leaside stop on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT route.

But in June, about three months after a deal had been struck with Gupta for a 22-storey tower, the developer went to the city’s committee of adjustment and applied for a “minor variance” that would add five storeys to the project. The committee agreed to let Gupta add three more, for a total height of 25 storeys.

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Committee of Adjustment

Have you just received a notice from the Committee of Adjustment about a neighbouring property and don’t know what to do?

Check out our guidelines and explanation of the procedures and let us know if you need assistance!

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to receive news from the LRA about Leaside issues.

We will also try to keep you informed of any issues specific to your street or immediate vicinity, including Committee of Adjustment applications, LPAT hearings, etc.

Character Guidelines

Thinking of renovating, adding, or rebuilding? Consult the character guidelines developed to help owners, architects, and designers in gaining an understanding of what makes Leaside’s natural and architectural attributes valuable and how to extend these to new development.