Today - with condo developments marching west along the lakeshore, pockets of new retail appearing and dollops of public money being invested - an overlooked district at the edge of Lake Ontario shows signs of fresh vitality.
At Humber Bay Shores, a former motel strip, proposals for 3,000 condo units will be seeking city-council approval in the next few months. Further west, a revitalization study on Mimico goes to council in mid-2010 for approval. In New Toronto, Humber College is concluding years of renovations worth $100-million at its satellite campus at the former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital. In Long Branch, a new 16-storey condominium is under construction opposite a GO Train station.
Along with the revitalization study known as Mimico 20/20, developed at the urging of councillor Mark Grimes, (Ward 6, Etobicoke-Lakeshore) there will be a new $1.9-million 300-metre ice skating trail in Colonel Sam Smith Park set to be a recreation "destination" for southern Etobicoke.
What has been winning universal praise by local residents and businessowners are new public investments, such as a $75-million Toronto Police Service training facility and the ongoing expansion of Humber College.
"We are very much involved in the community," says Humber vice-president of finance and administration Rani Dhaliwal, with 8,000 students predicted for the lakeshore campus by 2014, up from 5,800 currently.
This once-ignored district close to the lake, with car and transit links in and out of the city, has also caught the eye of saavy developers.
"From a quality-of-life perspective, it is a fantastic spot," says Daniel Guizzetti, president of Empire Communities, which has three condo towers under construction near Lake Shore Boulevard and Park Lawn Road.
In early 2010, the city will propose Official Plan changes to rejuvenate Mimico-by-the-Lake over the next decade.
The proposal flows from a city-sponsored study earlier this year, carried out by Urban Strategies Inc. with local input, which recommends:
-concentrating the core of Mimico-by-the-Lake between Allen and Albert avenues, with new north-south links south of Lake Shore Boulevard to the lake;
-breaking up existing large parcels of land so they can be marketed for future development;
-introducing new east-west pedestrian and car connections south of Lake Shore Boulevard along the water's edge;
-expanding waterfront park areas to the east and west of Amos Waites Park;
-upgrading Lake Shore Boulevard to give it a more "main street" feel;
-retaining existing rental housing but diversifying the mix of residential and commercial buildings;
-intensifying development on the north side of Lake Shore Boulevard, while protecting existing neighbourhoods.