With the arrival of the Finch West LRT, our community will be growing and changing in new ways, including new development. In response, Jane Finch Mall created jfm+ a visioning and engagement process to plan for the future of the Site, exploring changes that include a mix of housing, retail, and community amenities.
We've always worked hard to grow with the changes in our neighbourhood and support our community's needs by investing in a range of improvements, including community events, as well as new shops and services. While Jane Finch Mall will evolve, that commitment isn't changing.
jfm+ is a visioning and engagement process to plan for the future of the Site and is currently comprised of: the long-term owners of Jane Finch Mall; a community engagement team with deep roots in the Jane Finch community, who are passionate about our neighbourhood's future; and a planning and design team dedicated to reflecting the shared vision of our community in the plan for the Site.
We have been working with Jane Finch Mall tenants, neighbours, and our larger community to develop a shared vision for how the Site can continue to play an important role in our neighbourhood.
Any changes introduced will build on the ways that Jane Finch Mall supports our community today.
The jfm+ process goes beyond a typical development planning process to understand how the Site, positioned in the heart of Jane and Finch, can continue to play an important role in our community. After three years of public engagement, we have submitted an application to the City. The filing of our application does not signify a crossing of the finish line, but is a key milestone in our planning and redevelopment journey. Visit our News & Events page to stay informed about what we've heard to date, how we've incorporated this feedback into our ideas and what comes next.
We know Jane Finch Mall sits at the crossroads of our community. Our plan will maintain the Site as a community anchor, be transit-supportive, while providing a mix of new uses, including new housing, shops, community amenities, parks and open spaces.
After connecting with more than 2,000 community members through one-on-one conversations, walking tours, working sessions, two community-wide virtual community events and Open Doors sessions, a wide range of themes emerged:
Stay up to date on what we've heard from our community members so far and what comes next on our News & Events page.
Let us know how you want to help shape the future of Jane Finch Mall.
The Mall will remain operational for approximately the next 10 years during the plan's first phase, and some parts of the Mall will continue to remain, even as changes occur on other parts of the Site during future phases.
Any changes planned for the Site will build on the ways that Jane Finch Mall supports our community today, including places to shop and gather, as well as new amenities and homes
We're not making any changes right away. The jfm+ concept plan proposes a phased development process that will unfold over the next several decades. The plan will deliver on long-term, incremental change that benefits and reflects what we heard from the Jane Finch community and supports City of Toronto public policy for the neighbourhood.
The plan has early development occurring along Finch Avenue West. The Mall will remain operational for approximately the next 10 years during the plan's first phase.
Our first priority throughout the ideation and planning process has been to hear from our community and learn more about their needs. Over the course of three years, we connected with more than 2,000 Jane Finch community members through one-on-one conversations, walking tours, working sessions, community-wide virtual events and Open Doors sessions to develop a shared vision for how the Site can continue to play an important role in our neighbourhood.
This is a long process, and we'll keep our community informed and updated every step of the way.
Jane Finch Mall has a very long, vibrant history in the Jane Finch area since opening in 1968. We know the community makes the shopping centre, and we've always worked hard to grow and evolve with this neighbourhood and support our community's needs by investing in a range of improvements, including community events as well as new shops and services.
While Jane Finch Mall will evolve, this commitment isn't changing. We have been working with our community to develop a shared vision for how the Site can continue to play an important role in our neighbourhood. We have submitted an application to the City that plans for the future of the Jane Finch Mall Site and reflects what we heard from the community.
With the construction of the Finch West LRT, our future is going to look a little different, so we're planning for how the Jane Finch Mall Site will evolve to better serve our community.
This process began with conversations with tenants and neighbours. Over the course of three years, we connected with more than 2,000 Jane Finch community members through one-on-one conversations, walking tours, working sessions, two community-wide virtual events and Open Doors sessions in the jfm+ Community Engagement Space to develop a shared vision for how the Site can continue to play an important role in our neighbourhood.
Throughout our conversations, a wide range of themes about Jane Finch Mall and the future of the Site have emerged. Based on the community's input, we developed a series of Principles to guide the plan and identified community benefits pillars that the plan will advance.
We have also worked with the community throughout the concept development to reflect key community input in the plan, while balancing key public policy priorities and the interests of the property owners.
After three years of public engagement, we have submitted an application to the City. The filing of our application does not signify a crossing of the finish line, but is rather a key milestone in our planning and redevelopment journey. This application is one step in a long process, but will allow great things to start to happen here.
As things progress over the coming years, we will continue to engage with and update our community, through meetings, activities at the Community Engagement Space at Jane Finch Mall, events, jfmplus.ca and our jfm+ social channels.
Our first priority throughout this visioning and planning process has been to hear from our community and learn more about their needs. Over the course of three years, we connected with more than 2,000 Jane Finch community members.
Drawing from the emerging framework ideas in Phase 2 of the consultation process and feedback from the community, the jfm+ team explored how we can bring these ideas to life. Our proposal describes a plan for development of the Site over several decades. Planning for the Site is integrating phasing strategies to ensure that important community shops and services are maintained on Site throughout redevelopment.
The future Site will be mixed-use. The jfm+ concept plan includes new affordable and attainable homes, retail shops and services, community spaces and parks on the Site for current and future residents over the decades to come.
Through the jfm+ visioning and engagement process, we heard how important it is to keep community amenities like the grocery store and pharmacy, and to ensure that the Site continues to be a special place for community gathering. These core elements will remain part of the future Site.
We've also incorporated additional indoor and outdoor communal spaces, including a plaza open to the Jane and Finch intersection for events and gathering, and two large public parks covering over two-acres of land on either side of the proposed east-west street and generous streetscape to support spill-out spaces for retail shops.
The Mall will remain operational for approximately the next 10 years during the plan's first phase, and some parts of the Mall will continue to remain, even as changes occur on other parts of the Site during future phases.
The filing of our application isn't meant to signify a crossing of the finish line, but instead to be regarded as a key milestone in our planning and redevelopment journey. Opportunities for community input will continue to be possible at each stage of the planning and development process.
After connecting with more than 2,000 community members, through one-on-one conversations, walking tours, working sessions, two community-wide virtual events and Open Doors sessions a wide range of themes have emerged. The community feedback has informed the creation of the following redevelopment Principles for the Site:
It's up to you. You can connect with us through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn. Keep an eye on our social channels for opportunities to participate at upcoming events.
You can also fill out the form above to let us know how you prefer to participate in the conversation, and be kept up to date on the future of Jane Finch Mall.
For Mall tenants, we will continue to discuss the process at regular tenant meetings to keep everyone up to date.
Existing tenants are at the core of this process, and retail uses will always be an integral element of the Site.
Our proposal describes a plan for development of the Site over several decades. The Mall will remain operational for approximately the next 10 years during the plan's first phase. Existing tenants will not be impacted right away or all at once, and any impacts would be through a phased approach as portions of the Site are updated over many years. This will ensure important community shops and services are maintained on site throughout the development period. This work is a natural extension of the investment made in the Mall to-date. We are continuing to evolve to meet the changing needs of our community.
Tenants have been engaged throughout this process so we can better understand their needs and ensure that plans create spaces that are supportive of local retailers.
Our tenant-focused engagement activity includes regular and topic-specific meetings, connecting in the jfm+ Community Engagement Space and maintaining open lines of communication between existing tenants and owners day-to-day via Jane Finch Mall management staff.
With the arrival of the Finch West LRT, we know that changes are coming to the neighbourhood and that our community has concerns regarding how growth and development will affect the community, both now and in the future.
Gentrification is an issue across the City, and we understand that it is a major concern as change comes to the neighbourhood. While development of the Site will not solve gentrification, it will respond to City policies and deploy additional strategies to minimize negative impacts on existing residents, including a long-term phased approach to bring growth and benefits to our community, including affordable housing, retail and community spaces.
We are not new to the neighbourhood. We recognize our community's concerns, and the importance of maintaining the character of the Site. We're committed to both preserving and reinforcing what's most important to the people who live here.
We have heard that affordable housing is important to the community, and we're committed to providing affordable and attainable housing options on the Site.
The development of the Site will be subject to the City's policies and regulations regarding affordability, including inclusionary zoning, as applicable. Units will be distributed throughout the Site, and we want to prioritize local residents first and foremost for access to any affordable units. Affordable units will be delivered based on the City's definition of affordable rental and ownership, and we will continue to explore opportunities for a range of affordability on-site through the development processes.
We will continue to explore opportunities for a range of affordable and attainable housing options on-site throughout the development processes. We look forward to working with all levels of government, nonprofits and other partners to determine the specifics, as we progress through the planning and redevelopment process.
We have been in active discussions with the City to coordinate and find alignment between this process and the Jane-Finch Initiative.
We are aware of a number of community benefits initiatives here in the Jane Finch neighbourhood and across the City, including the Black Creek Fair EconomiesCommunity Benefits Framework. We are reviewing and learning from these initiatives.
We are monitoring development activity in the area, including the Jane Finch Community Hub & Centre for the Arts project, to learn from that process and ensure the outcomes on the Mall Site can complement what happens with the Community Hub.
We are actively engaging with grassroots community groups, organizations and various network tables including the City's Jane-Finch Initiative's Community Advisory Committee.
It is a priority that new development on the Jane Finch Mall site delivers new community benefits.
After more than three years of engagement with the local community, we've taken what we heard and identified five community benefit pillars that our development proposal will advance. We've committed to ensuring the future Site supports:
Further details will be explored as the development proposal takes shape through an ongoing engagement process including convening with committees of local residents and development partners to further discuss a variety of delivery options as plans advance and are refined.
Development on the Site will be subject to a community benefits charge (CBC), which will be determined based on City regulations. The CBC charge is paid to the City in cash or through on-site benefits, such as those identified in our five pillars. The CBC charge is in addition to requirements for new parks on the Site. It can fund things like the community space, or daycare.
We have heard that community programming in new open space is important to build a sense of ownership and belonging. The jfm+ plan includes both indoor and outdoor spaces, including two large public parks covering about two-acres of land on either side of the proposed east-west street and generous streetscape to support spill out spaces for retail shops. The plan also includes approximately 5,000 square feet of dedicated indoor community space that the community can design and steward, overlooking a large community plaza that opens to the corner of Jane and Finch.
The plan ensures that new indoor and outdoor community spaces are located, designed and scaled to address important community priorities.