Moss Park TV - The George Street & Seaton House Revitalization

By Dimitrije Martinovic
(Dimitrije is a staff at FOCUS MEDIA ARTS CENTRE)

With the revitalization of Regent Park considered a success, the area west of Sherbourne Street, considered part of the Moss Park community, is witnessing a symphony of construction activity. George Street, once the privy of rooming houses, low-income housing and Toronto’s largest homeless shelter, is now getting a City of Toronto initiated makeover.  It now appears that governments are embracing the notion that the continued wellbeing of our communities requires a certain level of fiscal investment, and that the social safety net needs to be expanded, not diminished.

The center piece of this construction activity is the George Street Revitalization project, located west of Sherbourne Street on the northern part of George Street, in the Moss Park area. Initiated by the City of Toronto, the revitalization project prominently features the modernization of Seaton House, the City’s oldest and largest homeless shelter.  

Seaton House has operated as a men’s shelter since 1931 when it was located at 320 Seaton Street and was moved to 339 George Street in 1959. Throughout its history the facility has provided a range of services and supports for transient men looking for work, and to a population comprised of men who were experiencing chronic homelessness, along with health and mental issues, and substance abuse issues. Seaton House presently has the capacity for 484 beds, although at times this figure reached 700, and it is fair to say that Seaton House has struggled meet the increasingly complex needs of its clients.

In 2013, City Council approved the idea of replacing the existing Seaton House facility with a new one. The new facility will include:  
* •    A long-term care home with 378 beds
* •    A 100-bed emergency shelter for men
* •    An innovative 130-bed “transitional living” service for men and women who need more care than traditional supportive housing can provide, but less than what a long-term care home involves
* •    A service hub for program clients as well as members of the surrounding community
* •    21 units of affordable housing with supports

According to the City’s plan, “The George Street Revitalization (GSR) will see the reinvention of the northernmost block of George Street and transform Seaton House men’s shelter into a world-class facility providing specialized care for vulnerable populations, including a long-term care home, a transitional living facility, an emergency shelter, affordable housing, and a community hub serving residents of both the site and the local neighbourhood.

GSR will be the catalyst for a more safe and vibrant community for all in the heart of the historic Garden District in Moss Park.

In addition to the redevelopment of the Seaton House facility, the George Street Revitalization will feature Seniors Services for homeless seniors and ground breaking services for healthy aging.  According to Aderonke Akande, from the City of Toronto’s Social Development, Finance and Administration division, the idea is to create a community hub, that brings together multiple services under one roof that meets the needs of a specific community or neighbourhood. Considering the number and variety of services that the new centre will be offering, integrating these services will be essential to how people will be able to make the most of what the facility has to offer, and how different social service agencies can better support individuals in an integrated way.  Having all those agencies located in one place, has the potential to dramatically improve the experience of clients as they work to resolve their health needs and as well as their long-term housing needs.

The expectations for the new centre are certainly high from the standpoint of the City of Toronto. Finding a solution to the institutional inadequacies that became associated with Seaton House, over crowing, rampant drug use, and the administrative mismanagement that seemed endemic, proved to be irreconcilable without a complete overhaul.

Like the revitalization of Regent Park, the goal of which was to transform Canada’s oldest social housing complex into a mixed-income, mixed-use neighbourhood, the George Street Revitalization in Moss Park seeks to re-envision the way social services are delivered: under one all-inclusive and integrated state-of-art facility.