At Front & Jasper in East Kensington, residents have long stared at the vacant former Bromley carpet mill, hoping for redevelopment and praying that it wouldn't catch fire. Though the surrounding neighborhood has improved dramatically in recent years, the building has remained a significant source of blight next to the York Dauphin El station. When new ownership stepped in a few years ago, neighbors were surely hopeful that this would change, but the status quo was maintained for quite some time.
In late 2012, according to Hidden City, owner Jesse Munoz came before the East Kensington Neighbors Association with a plan to convert the building into 45 condo units with retail and live/work space on the first floor. We would have to imagine that the plans for the building's renovation have changed somewhat, or perhaps they still aren't finalized. What we know right now is that there's some work taking place on the property, at long last.
According to the permits we can find, the current construction is in response to violations, and we don't see anything about use since permits were pulled for a nail salon in early 2013. So it seems the book has yet to be written on the building. But the fact that work of any kind is taking place at this property is undoubtedly a good sign, and could signal that interior work is coming soon. We'd have to imagine though, that before anything of substance happens inside the developers will have to come back to the community and then go to zoning.
Has anyone in the area heard anything recently about the plans for this building? Do you think that condos are a realistic play so close to the El?