| Sorauren Avenue Park | |
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Sorauren Park entrance |
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| Type | Public park |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario |
| Area | 2.42 hectares |
| Created | 1995 |
| Operated by | City of Toronto |
Sorauren Avenue Park is a park in the Roncesvalles neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A reclaimed 'brown fields' site, it was created after the local community objected to City of Toronto plans to convert a former bus garage into a facility for storing City vehicles. The park opened in 1995 and now hosts several sporting fields, a farmer's market, a fieldhouse for community gatherings.
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The location was first cleared in the 1800s for a farm. After the building of bordering rail lines, the site became a desirable location for industrial uses. Among these was a linseed oil factory. The Toronto Transit Commission built a bus garage on the site in the 1940s, and used it until the 1970s. The TTC stopped using the facility and it was contracted out for soundstage use for television series. In the 1980s, the City was planning to use the site to store trucks and other vehicles of its public works division. The community, notably local schools, rallied to cancel the plan and convert the site to open space, of which there was a lack in the area. City Council endorsed the plan to convert the bus garage site, clean it of toxins and build a park. The park construction did not remove the concrete floor of the bus garage; instead it was filled over with soil.[1] The park cost $700,000 and was officially opened on September 17, 1995 by Mayor Barbara Hall and Councillor Chris Korwin-Kuczynski.[2]
The park has two mini-soccer fields for youth soccer, two tennis courts and one baseball diamond for sports. Open space is set aside for a dogs 'off-leash' area. In 2008, one of the former linseed oil buildings was converted to a fieldhouse,[3] and is used for community meetings and community usage. A farmer's market is set up each Monday for local produce and cookies.[4] In the wintertime, ice rinks are set up on the field.
The former linseed oil factory, on the south boundary of the park, along Wabash Avenue is currently vacant. It was purchased by the City with the intent to be converted to a community centre, possibly with an indoor pool. An environmental assessment is current underway for the project.