Dundas Street
Old Hotel /Taverns along Dundas Street East Start Auto and Rewrap
There is a good mix of architectural styles along this stretch. There is potential for mid rise development on the west side of Parliament and Dundas similar to the new development in Regent Park. The redevelopment of the historical property at King and Berkeley Street below is an excellent example of how a heritage building can incorporated incoprorated into new condo development.
Freshco at Dundas and Parliament is a good example of multi storey housing with commercial development on the ground floor. Daniels Corporation the builders of the New Regent Park recently been awarded the 2012 Tarion Award in the High Rise Builder of the Year. for details visit Tarion's website http://www.tarion.com/About-Tarion/Tarion-Awards-of-Excellence/Pages/default.aspx 
The old hotel on the north west corner (see above left) is a good solid building surrounded by a mishmash of commercial buildings to the north and the east. There are many old hotel/ taverns in the area that could and should be incorporated into new mid rise buildings around the perimeter.
Dundas Street has more than its share of low end rentals, rooming houses and group homes. There is very little owner occupied housing other than the Imperial Optical Condos between Ontario and Seaton. An improvement plan for the area should encourage some condo conversions of existing properties along the strip.
The Royal Oak Hotel 376 Dundas Street East (see above center)and been recently purchased by an experienced hotel operator who is moving forward with a complete interior gut and renovation. Area residents recently met with Haseeb Mushtaq the new owner and he presented plans for a 21 room mid range hotel with a cafe on the street level. He intends to operate the hotel and lease out the cafe/lobby area and boulevard patio to a experienced cafe/coffee shop operator. Formal plans have been presented to the City Planning/Permit Department and interior demolition is underway. We will keep in contact with the new owner and keep area residents informed of new developments. Contact information for the new owner Haseeb Mushtaq (Sam) is haseebmushtaq@yahoo.com.
The intersections of Berkeley, Ontario and Seaton all have interesting commercial buildings with wide boulevards on the corners that could lend themselves to a variety of shops or businesses. The two storey building housing Start Auto and Rewrap Upholstery sits on a large lot which will no doubt be building interest to developers. Maybe a new low rise incorporating incorporating mixed housing and commercial lofts while still incorporating Start auto and Rewrap on the ground floor? We do not want to neighborhood these successful neighbourhood businesses.
This is an example of a mixed used development at Sumach and King Street East which includes a Car Dealership on the ground floor and high end condos above.
The Seaton to Sherbourne blocks are in need of some more serious improvements. There is very little along this block that relates to the residential side streets around it. The intersection of Dundas and Sherbourne is routinely noted as one of the most dangerous corners in the city. No doubt those statistics take in the problematic hostels and social housing buildings in the immediate area. With the increased pedestrian traffic between the downtown core and the new Regent Park, we should see improvements in the commercial properties along this stretch. There is also the potential for Ryerson University and George Brown College expanding into the Sherbourne/Dundas area. The Garden District to the West of our area has challenges around George Street and Filmore's Tavern/Hotel and changes there could dramatically improve Dundas Street East.
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