Canadian-Anishinaabe sculptor Michael Belmore’s Mishibizhiig: The Underwater Panther to feature in new, unnamed city park.
For the past decade, the Grange Community Association has participated in the planning process for the development of Lanterra on Simcoe Street. On this site is a POPS – Privately Owned Publicly Accessible Space along Artists Alley, which includes work by the Canadian-Anishinaabe sculptor Michael Belmore whose Mishibizhiig: The Underwater Panther granite sculpture will be a highlight of the park.
The new park is a major component of the Relic Linear Park System, a partnered project of the GCA, Campbell House Museum, and the City of Toronto. The GCA and Campbell House Museum have proposed a bilingual commemorative name for the new park – Asini-Aadisookaan-aki / Stone Spirit Park.
Learn more on The Campbell House website
Toronto’s Grange Community Association
The Grange Community Association (GCA)is a volunteer organization of residents committed to strengthening and preserving the quality of life, the natural environment, and the distinctive character of Toronto’s Grange neighbourhood (bounded by University and Spadina, east to west, and College and Queen, north to south). We work to preserve the vital residential and commercial character of the community, and we support lawful, balanced and innovative development for the future. Our motto is “Better Buildings, Better Spaces, Better City.”
The GCA undertakes its programme of work through representational community engagement, recognizing the following values:
- Diversity as a community strength
- Decisions by consensus, while recognizing the
concerns of those most impacted;
- Cooperative action for mutually beneficial
solutions; and
- Preservation of the vital residential,
commercial, and institutional character of the community, together with
balanced and innovative development for the future.
The GCA was inaugurated in December 2008 at a public meeting where the Grange community approved the creation of a sixteen-member founding Executive made up of residents active in community affairs. Members of the inaugural Executive are listed on this page. While there has been some turnover, an Executive of roughly this size continues to execute the GCA programme. An annual general meeting is held each spring.
Since 2008 the GCA has been strongly supported by Ward 20 Councillor Adam Vaughan, who introduced a better model for community involvement in neighborhood planning. Interim Councillor Ceta Ramkhalawansingh and current Councillor Joe Cressy have continued to effectively represent the complex network of community, institutional and commercial interests in the Ward. This has helped the Grange Community Association – at the heart of Ward 20 – to navigate City government, access planning tools, engage effectively in development planning, address specific building applications, champion public space and heritage conservation, and represent Grange interests at Community Council, the Committee of Adjustment and various planning tribunals.
With the advent of the 25-Ward structure for Toronto, imposed by the Provincial government in late 2018, the GCA catchment now lies within two adjacent Wards, with Joe Cressy as Councillor of Ward 10 and Mike Layton Councillor of Ward 11. The GCA will continue to work closely with both.
