In the gym of one of the oldest elementary schools in Toronto, the community got a look last night at four new visions for Regent Park.
"This [community]is not going to be an island any more," said Mitchell Kosny, chair of the board of directors for the Toronto Community Housing Corporation.
"It will look and feel like any other neighbourhood in Toronto."
In late March, the housing agency asked five architectural firms to submit designs for the first of hundreds of buildings that will transform one of the poorest social-housing projects in Canada into an eclectic mix of affordable housing, parkland, commercial space and market-rate apartments.
Yesterday, those competing designs (minus one entrant who was disqualified) were revealed at a public presentation at Nelson Mandela Park Public School. The winner will be chosen by a panel of five judges, including fellow architects and a resident of Regent Park.
The successful design, to become part of the first phase of development -- four square blocks at Dundas Street East and Sackville Street -- is to be announced tonight.
Stephen Teeple, the president of Teeple Architects Inc., was disappointed that his design was kicked out of the competition. He said his grand Chicago-style scheme broke the rules because his floor plate was too large -- a conscious decision that made for a squatter, more accessible residence.
"Our decision was a bit of a critique of the decision to use a point tower [a tall building with a small floor plate,] he said, adding that such buildings were isolating to elderly residents. "If you were old, would you want to live there?"
The region was zoned for a tall tower but, Mr. Teeple said, "just because you could do it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.
"You have to look at who's going to be living there."
Mr. Teeple planned for lower buildings that would define the streets and make them easier to walk through.
"Toronto has been more like that traditionally," he said. He called the decision to disqualify his designs and keep a tall residential building "a little bit silly."
Wrecking balls will begin swinging in November and already some of the 7,500 residents who call Regent Park home have been relocated. The $1-billion project will demolish and rebuild almost all of the 30-hectare lot in the middle of Toronto, building new roads, residences and public spaces.
Built in the 1950s, Regent Park was once hailed as a haven for the poor. When it was designed, the idea was to build a community set apart from the rest of the city. But the confusing cul-de-sacs isolated the area from the wealthier neighbourhoods surrounding it. The lack of thoroughfare streets has limited traffic, making many sections vulnerable to crime and vandalism.
Also, the aged buildings are falling apart and many residents complain of infestations of cockroaches and vermin. Drug dealers, prostitutes and violence are common in the community, where half of the residents are children.
The airy, glass design from architectsAlliance is intended to last more than 50 years and to avoid looking like social housing, partner John van Nostrand said.
"The main thing is to make it look as ordinary as possible," he said.
The plan to reinvent this failed experiment of modern planning is remarkable, said Bruce Kuwabara, partner at Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects.
What Regent Park lacks is coherent public space, he said. The new design would fix that by building a large central park between Oak and Dundas Streets.
The rules for the competition were strict, demanding minimum dimensions for bedrooms and kitchens.
"We couldn't do less for these people," Mr. Kuwabara said. "Whoever wins will have come up with something very significant and thoughtful."