. Vanishing Storefronts: How Development Threatens Weston Road’s Immigrant Businesses.

Zane Silk (Urban Studies // St. Michael's College).

Weston is home to many first and second-generation African and Caribbean immigrants, who are concentrated in the post-war apartment buildings on Weston Road.¹  Over decades of immigration, the growing presence of newcomers from countries like Jamaica, Somalia, Guyana, Nigeria and Ethiopia has established many culturally significant businesses on Weston Road. Three types of businesses best reflect the impact of these communities on the businesses in the study area:

• Salons and Barbershops: 12 out of 18 primarily serve the Black community. 
  
• Grocery Stores: 7 out of 9 advertise themselves as carrying African or Caribbean foodstuffs. 
  
• Independant Restaurants: 10 out of 20 serve African or Caribbean cuisine. 

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Pro-Gentrification Forces

The Weston Resident’s Association predominantly represents wealthier Westonians who live east of the railway tracks in single-family homes.¹ Due to their unease with opaque storefronts and the broad sense that few stores or restaurants cater to them, the WRA is essentially critical of existing independent businesses.

Large developers have bought up many parcels on Weston Road.² The WRA sees the incoming developments as an opportunity to diversify and upgrade the main commercial strip to host larger commercial and retail spaces.  However, this threatens to displace culturally significant businesses that serve essential roles in the lives of low-income and immigrant households.¹ 

.New Developments 

The opening of the UP Express line in 2015, which allows for travel from Weston to Toronto’s Union Station in 15 minutes, has driven developers to buy the relatively cheap land near the Weston station.³ As of 2023, there are 10 planned residential developments in Weston. 

The majority will offer condominiums that are likely unaffordable to the residents of the rental apartment towers that line Weston Road. Instead, they will target young professionals priced out of the central city but still looking for easy access to downtown.

 

If all the proposed developments are approved and built, 4,543 residential units will be added to Weston.² This would raise the number of households in the neighbourhood from 7,920 to 12,463, an increase of 57%.¹ The increase in population will be highly concentrated in dissemination areas where Weston’s poorest residents live.



 Elevation of the east side of Weston Rd. between the Dollarama and Little Ave. It is the site of the planned 1956 Weston development, which, in the current iteration, will provide 2 retail units compared to the existing 7 businesses.

New planned developments threaten to displace many currently existing businesses, replacing them with fewer and larger retail units that will likely primarily cater to middle-class condo residents. Furthermore, the planned buildings will worsen the pedestrian realm by introducing large garage entrances and monotonous facades at the pedestrian level.

Despite construction having yet to begin, some businesses on parcels of land where developments are planned have already closed. Once construction is underway for all the proposed towers, the developments will have resulted in the closure of 26 businesses, 6 religious institutions and 5 community organizations. In their place, only 17 new retail units will be provided upon completion.
 

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