Golden Mile Impact

We envision a future in the Golden Mile Greater Area where community members can live with dignity and benefit from changes happening in their own backyard. 

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32K new units

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280 acres

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76 buildings

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4OK new residents

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The Golden Mile Community Benefits Framework (CBF) is a community-informed response to the anticipated large-scale, transit-oriented development precipitated by theconstruction of the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT).

This document builds on years of local efforts to advance the community’s vision for inclusive development and is intended for investors, local property owners, political representatives, community advocates and other interested stakeholders to ensure private investments yield social, economic, and other benefits for residents in the area.
Download the Golden Mile CBF

Over the past 3 years, the Golden Mile Impact Network has been developing a Community Benefits Framework to build a proactive response to the redevelopment of the Golden Mile. The Golden Mile Community Benefits Framework is a community-informed response to the anticipated large-scale, transit-oriented development precipitated by the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT).


This Framework articulates a vision for the Golden Mile communities rooted in an Inclusive Development Approach and has been developed through a series of community workshops, events, forums, community power webinars, consultations, and committee/advisory meetings.

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Due to the limited opportunities and infrastructure currently in our neighbourhoods, the redevelopment process in the Golden Mile needs to be intentional about promoting inclusive development, especially for seniors, low income residents and racialized youth.

Resident

About us

Call to Action

We are continuing to learn from CBF’s across the city, such as Parkdale and Rexdale. We too call upon community members and workers to unite and ensure that new developments address local needs in the community. We call upon community organizations to pave the way for equitable development and participatory democracy. We call upon local planners and political representatives to champion our causes. We call upon developers and investors to work collaboratively with the community to ensure that new developments equitably benefit all residents.

The community highlighted and identified three interrelated priority areas and their for benefits and community-based solutions for the community:


  1. Housing Diversity: A range of housing solutions to address affordability and built options for diverse resident groups, family compositions, and accessibility needs.
  2. Local Economic Opportunities: A spectrum of employment and entrepreneurial avenues from pre through to post construction, supporting entry-level to sector specific talent to gain meaningful, decent work close to home and enabling cost-of-living affordability.
  3. Community Space: A variety of accessible, local indoor and outdoor spaces for community gathering and the provision of non-profit service delivery.


The community vision of inclusive development articulated in this Framework calls for deeply responsive infrastructure that is flexible and transformative – beyond simply creating renewed community resources, but scaffolding them as sites of opportunities; as physical spaces that facilitate inclusive and innovative economic activities, uplift integration of diverse housing and households, and provide added value to the experiences of all who live, work, or play in the Golden Mile.

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About the Golden Mile

GOLDEN MILE IMPACT

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Over 35,000 Proposed Units 

Today the stretch of Eglinton Avenue East between Victoria Park and Birchmount is a mix of chain stores, strip malls and large parking lots, surrounded mostly by walk-up apartments and single-family homes. But billions in public and private investments will transform the “Golden Mile”, into a new downtown that will have ripple effects on the surrounding neighbourhoods.


The development proposed in the Golden Mile is one of the largest ever to take place in Scarborough. As of September 2022, developers have proposed over 35,000 new residential units and over a million square feet of retail and office space close to the new Eglinton Crosstown LRT.


Find out more about how United Way Greater Toronto BMO and many other private, public and community partners are working together to increase economic opportunities in the Greater Golden Mile through the Inclusive Local Economic Opportunity Initiative (ILEO).

FAQS

Here are answers to some common questions. 

  • What are Community Benefits?

    Community benefits are social and environmental goods that benefit all who live and/or work in the community surrounding Golden Mile real estate and infrastructure developments, while effectively countering any anticipated adverse social impacts from the (re)development.

  • Who was involved in the creation of the CBF?

    The framework reflects the knowledge, innovation and expertise of almost 700 resident voices speaking 18 different languages.  This Framework has been produced by the Golden Mile Impact Network (Network), which comprises over 20 community-based organizations.

  • Do we add community-based solutions?

    The Golden Mile Impact Network identified the establishment of a Community Benefits Framework as a key direction for advancing unified community needs and demands from infrastructure investment and development.

  • Why is this work important?

    To ensure that local existing and new residents have a voice in the redevelopment of their community and opportunities to benefit through economic opportunity, affordable and stable housing and access to much needed programs and services. Community Benefit Frameworks can catalyze community development and involvement from the point of planning through development.

  • What is a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA)?

    A Community Benefits Agreement is a contract between a developer and community-based organizations representing residents’ interests. The agreement spells out the benefits the community will receive in return for supporting the developer’s project in their neighborhood. CBAs often include benefits such as guaranteed minimums for local hiring, inclusion of affordable units in new housing, and the development or improvement of parks or community facilities. These agreements can help ensure more equitable development, enabling existing residents to benefit from new activity and opportunities in neighborhoods threatened by gentrification and displacement. Right now we are a Community Benefits Framework and are working our way into the CBA phase. The framework can be used to negotiate a community benefits.

  • How long is the framework valid for?

    This work captured the needs of the residents. We tried to include emerging pandemic needs. Community needs will change we will keep in mind that the services are responsive to the needs. The CBF is designed to guide the next 20-30 years and one of the recommendations to developers is to stay on top of the changing needs. 

  • Where is the Golden Mile?

    The Golden Mile is a 113 hectare area situated at the southwest gateway to Scarborough. A historically commercial zone, the Golden Mile itself has few, existing residential units but it is surrounded by mixed-income, familyfriendly communities that are an attractive destination for diverse newcomer groups because of their affordability. City of Toronto designated Neighbourhood Improvement Areas sit to the east and west of the Golden Mile - Ionview and Victoria Village respectively.

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