Andre Bermon –
Announcement of the Moss Park library came as bittersweet news for residents in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood. A library branch at 171 Front Street East that has been a community fixture for decades will permanently close when the new library opens at Queen and Parliament Streets in 2028.
In December, the city revealed its purchase of a three-storey commercial building at 339 Queen Street East, formerly the headquarters of WE Charity, to build a new district library branch.
In an email statement to the bridge, Toronto Public Library said the Front Street East branch is “drastically undersized” and “unable to meet the needs of the community.”
The planned 30,000-square-foot district library, roughly six times the size of the current St. Lawrence branch, will offer expanded programming, larger collections, technology access and digital literacy training, along with dedicated spaces for teens, young children and community events. It will serve the rapidly growing population in the Moss Park and Corktown areas, fuelled by their close proximity to the future Ontario Line subway corridor.
According to TPL, St. Lawrence neighbourhood residents expressed concern about the distance to the Moss Park library, though it will be less than a kilometre from the existing branch.
Pat Maltby, who lives at the Windmill Co-op on Scadding Avenue, told the bridge she looks forward to the new facility, but said the Front Street location was convenient. Having limited mobility, Maltby – who uses the library a couple of times each month – said travelling to the new branch would require taking the bus up and down Parliament Street.
“Many of us have this problem,” Maltby said, alluding to the sizable senior population in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood.
In response TPL said it can’t financially or operationally maintain an additional library. However, it is committed to “exploring alternative service models that may help bridge the gap.”
Ward 13 Councillor Chris Moise stated that St. Lawrence neighbourhood “deserves its own library branch that is modernized, accessible and fit for purpose.”
He said the city had a site lined up at Front Street East and Berkeley Street, but the Ford government expropriated the land to build the Ontario Line subway and the Corktown (now Distillery District) transit-oriented community.
“Rather than integrate the library plan into their designs, Doug Ford instead sent us packing,” said Moise.
The city explored relocating the library to 125 The Esplanade, the southwest corner of Lower Jarvis Street and The Esplanade (where the St. Lawrence Market tent currently stands). A city staff report shows a stand-alone library building was considered, but the proposal was ultimately scrapped due to cost and the site’s limited footprint.
The best alternative the city could find was the building on Queen and Parliament, said Moise. “While that site is great for Moss Park and southern Regent Park, it’s not good enough for the people who live south of King.”
One option is to secure space for a satellite library branch that could include community outreach programs, or a book mobile service to allow people to order and drop off material.
“I’m an avid borrower,” said Maltby, adding that a nearby location where residents could pick up and return books “would be really great.”
“I remain committed to finding an appropriate site for the St. Lawrence, Distillery District and Canary District neighbourhoods to have a satellite library branch of their own,” said Moise. “That work is ongoing”
