Hassan Awadh says the last thing St. James Town needs is a 50-storey condo tower.“I look out from my balcony and all I can see are highrises,” says Awadh, 50, who has lived in the area with his wife and four sons since 2008.There are huge lineups for TTC buses in the area, particularly on Wellesley St. just west of Parliament St., and the local Food Basics and FreshCo supermarkets are overflowing in the evenings — signs of how tightly packed the community is, Awadh says.In fact, St. James Town is considered one of the most, if not the most, densely populated neighbourhoods in Canada.That’s a key reason a new development application by Greatwise Developments Corp., calling for a 51-storey condo highrise, four townhouse blocks and two midrise buildings including a 10-storey rental building — 890 new units in all — has local residents, service providers and city planners nervous.A total of 2,230 units already exist in the neighbourhood.Read more:Class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of St. James Town residents displaced by fire St. James Town fire evacuees grateful for public’s generosity but fearful of their futureSt. James Town residents displaced by fire must be out of hotels as early as Friday“I mean, you’ve got to be kidding me. There’s not enough services in the area for the people who are already here,” says Vickie Rennie, 61, who has lived for 48 years near the 4.3-hectare parcel of land at the northwest corner of Wellesley and Parliament Sts. where the proposed development would unfold if approved by the city.There are four rental highrises there already — 240, 260 and 280 Wellesley St. E. and 650 Parliament St., all dating from the late 1960s. An Aug. 21 fire at 650 Parliament displaced more than 1,500 residents, forcing them to local community centres, hotels, relatives’ homes and other Greatwise buildings in St. James Town.The blaze caused “catastrophic” damage to t ...
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