Media members, NHL Alumni, and government officials all converged at Regent Park this week to introduce the third phase of the long-term Regent Park revitalization. Gene Jones, President and CEO of Toronto Community Housing, welcomed us at the Regent Park South Hockey Rink, where the highly anticipated plans for the area were announced to locals, as well as students from Nelson Mandela Public School.

“To those who have never been to Regent Park, welcome. As you can see by walking through the neighbourhood, this is a vibrant area. For its residents, Regent Park has always been a community, a place to call home. Now, with the revitalization taking shape, Regent Park is becoming a better community,” said Gene Jones. “The Regent Park revitalization has become like something I have never seen. In my 30 years of working in social housing, I can honestly say that there is no other development anywhere in the world that is like Regent Park.”

Organizers announced a new, state-of-the-art sports facility including a new soccer field that could also be converted to a cricket pitch, a basketball court, as well as a new ice hockey rink. The new athletic grounds will be paid for through a fundraising campaign with primary support from the MLSE Team Up foundation.

“Now with a place for the arts, for culture and for sport, we can truly say that Regent Park has it all,” said Martin Blake, Vice President at The Daniels Corporation, and one of the minds behind the area’s revitalization. “We at Daniels are very proud to join Toronto Community Housing, MLSE, and the Regent Park community, in celebrating this exciting milestone. No longer just a blueprint, this new space represents the very important fabric of Regent Park.”

In addition to the new athletic grounds, the new proposed third phase will include new city streets, more than 550 replacement rental housing units, and just over 2,000 condominium units. There will also be new retail space around Dundas St. East.

The revitalization of Regent Park is well underway. The area was once considered a run-down section of our city, but soon, it will be a vibrant, livable neighbourhood, with a mix of high-end social housing and affordable new condominium units. With phase one completed and phase two already in progress, the change is already evident. Paintbox Condominiums, One Park West, and One Cole have already welcomed new residents, and the new Arts and Cultural Centre is set to open in the coming weeks.

For more information about what The Daniels Corporation and Toronto Community Housing are doing at Regent Park, click here.

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