I am a senior living in a…

I am a senior living in a designated heritage building operated by TCHC and have lived here, paying market rent, for 37 years. I love my home and my community and as my husband and I get older it is imperative we stay in this neighbourhood close to everything that is important and vital to our health and comfort. We don’t drive and need to be close to our family, doctor, dentist, optometrist, shopping and now, especially as my husband has cancer, the hospital where he is being treated. If the Ontario Heritage Act changes and our wonderful home loses heritage status we could be in danger of it being torn down or designated for some other use. Right now it is a perfect blend of market rent, rent geared to income and fully subsidized tenants. It is a community that works well and looks out for each other. It is a model for affordable housing.
If my husband and I were forced to leave we would have no place to go. We could never find anything equivalent to what we have now nor could we afford to live in Toronto on our pensions. This possibility has me terrified. Also, it would be devastating to the history of Toronto if a building like ours and the others on my block were torn down or gentrified. They were all built in the mid to late 1870’s and are beautiful and have been recently restored. I understand that Toronto needs to move forward but surely not at the expense of our history. European cities seem to mange to preserve their heritage and I am sure we can too.