Fed-Up Residents Want Esplanade Shelter Out of their Backyard

Residents who’ve become neighbours with the some 200-plus homeless clients in the 45 The Esplanade shelter — formerly the Novotel Toronto Centre (AKA “The Novotel Hotel”) — have had enough. 

They’ve had enough of the violence, human excrement, discarded needles, ear-piercing chaos, and general debauchery that now characterizes the once booming and vibrant five-minute neighbourhood. And they simply don’t want to endure it for another year.

The Novotel and 45 The Esplanade shelters were leased to the City in response to the pandemic-inspired social diversion measures in the City of Toronto shelters. The shelter opened its doors on February 20, 2021. Neighbourhood residents and business owners say it’s been nothing short of a nightmare ever since. One they may not now You can get up anytime soon. 

The lease on the property was initially set to expire in December 2021, but — pointing to pandemic concerns — the City extended it to April 30, 2022. Now, there’s been yet another extension of the shelter approved. The city staff proposed recently to extend the lease until December, and then to April 2023 if necessary. It is likely that it will be deemed necessary.

The item was considered by the City’s Economic and Community Development Committee on March 24, 2022 and was adopted with amendments. Despite strong arguments and loud voices opposing it, it was approved. Then, on Wednesday, Toronto City Council unanimously approved the extension of Toronto’s temporary shelter leases, including 45 The Esplanade.

“With council approval of the recommendations put forward in the ‘COVID-19 Shelter Transition and Relocation Plan Update’ report, staff are authorized to extend the lease agreement at 45 The Esplanade to April 2023, if required,”A statement to STOREYS in the City

“It Feels Like Skid Row”

Neighbourhood residents I’ve spoken to personally (who don’t want to be named publicly) feel “gaslit”By the continual lease extensions. “This used to be one of the best neighbourhoods in the city to live and work for young professionals,”One resident agreed. “Now, I’m afraid to walk my dog on the streets after dark; it feels like Skid Row.”

In a viral video that made its way through social media channels last year, one local condo resident voiced the sentiment of many others, when she outlined the utter chaos that’s ensued on city streets. Reddit communities also highlight the harms caused by shelters like drug overdoses and violence.

READ: Bedbugs, Drug Abuse, and Child Neglect: Living in Hell at Toronto’s Lido Motel

“Safety to the public is paramount; the massive dollar amounts being spent are concerning. Tourism is being impacted. Our general levels of safety for businesses and residents in the areas are in rapid decline. Still, the city doesn’t listen. They need to be reminded that they work for us,” reads an April 4th email from the London on the Esplanade (LOTE) condo management to its residents — one of many that they’ve sent out as of late. The condo’s two residential buildings sit directly across from, and around the corner from, the shelter, respectfully. 

The shelter also sits across from one of the city’s most patio-centric and tourist-filled streets. The strip is known for its extensive sidewalks, dining options such as The Keg, Bier Market, and The Old Spaghetti Factory, which are all popular with Toronto residents. And, judging from their comments in community meetings since the arrival of the shelter, business owners aren’t thrilled either. Restaurants are frequently accosted on their patios during the warmer months. They are also vandalized often. Dinner now comes with a show thanks to the screaming and fighting that takes place across the street.

A Systemic, Larger Problem

To be clear, the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood has always been a mixed-income neighbourhood, one characterized by a harmonious balance of co-op housing and glassy new condo buildings — some housing multi-million dollar penthouse units. Residents are becoming increasingly frustrated with the chaos brought on by the shelter, even though they have been open to the idea for some time. This isn’t what the signed up for; nor what they’re dropping countless dollars in housing costs to endure, they say.

Personal observation suggests that the police presence that was initially increased in the fall has dwindled. Interestingly, however, the street disruptions and drug use seem to be increasing as the weather warms. 

Before she moved in to the new condos at 75 The Esplanade, a neighbourhood  resident named Holly had heard the horror stories about the temporary shelter next door. “There was a lot of hearsay about the troubled state of the neighbourhood,”She said. As a result, she hasn’t been too shocked with what she’s seen in the two months since she moved in. “Someone had told me that the chaos and out-in-the-open drug use really comes in waves; that it’s more noticeable at the end of the month, when government subsidy cheques come in,”She spoke. “I can confirm I have noticed this.”

Of course, this points to a larger systemic problem of rampant addiction and mental health issues among the city’s homeless population. The shelter clients often appear to be under the influence of serious drug abuse, as evident by their chaotic behavior, overdoses that can be seen in the streets and the discarded needles they have. Holly says that Holly is often contacted by people looking for information. “anxious”Real estate agents working in the elevator are concerned about the potential impact of the shelter upon prospective residents. 

The LOTE condo management group has been encouraging residents to contact City Council for weeks to voice their disapproval of the extension. “Just state that you strongly oppose this proposal because you have personally been subjected to loss of your own health, safety, and property and/or business over the past two years as a result of the heavy concentration of these hotels in your community. Any extension of this will be intolerable and against your rights to safety. The concentration of temporary hotels in one small area has not benefitted either the homeless, who have also been subjected to predatory behaviour at these hotels, or the neighbourhoods,”An email from LOTE is read.

The management team does acknowledge that Toronto’s homeless continue to sleep over grates and in tents on the streets, so the proposal doesn’t solve the problem. “Further, housing without being contingent on change in behaviour has not been proven to be successful in any other North American city where this has been tried before,”The email continues. The email states that the owners of the hotel are the only ones who seem to benefit from the situation, while many other businesses could have benefited from taxpayer funds during the pandemic. It’s a fair point.

“The community has been tolerant during COVID, but the residents and businesses were promised it would not go this long. There is no more pandemic. The way the proposal is written is manipulative (i.e. only until December). Then in December, they will say it is too cold so need to extend until the Spring, etc., etc. We have heard this for two years. ENOUGH! It is time for them to go into the permanent shelters and for hotels to start welcoming tourists and business clients once again,”The email is read. However, it should be noted that this email This wasSend before the onset “sixth wave”The city. 

However, pandemic or no, the sentiment remains: residents want their once peaceful streets back.

As for the future of the property, it looks like it won’t return as a bustling hotel once its homeless occupants finally pack up and leave. According to a development application submitted to the City in early January, there are eventual plans to replace the eight-storey building with two 36-storey mixed-use buildings.  

So, the local residents will have to decide what’s worse; constant disrupt and chaos or perpetual construction. And, if I was a betting woman, I’d say they’ll choose the latter.