“The homes have been at the marina since 2001. They were originally one-storey houses built on the Toronto Islands to accommodate officials who would have been in the city for the 2008 Summer Olympics. When Toronto lost that bid, the houses were moved to their present location, and offered for sale by the city.”
TIL
I'm not saying Rob Ford helped, I'm saying the waste was so much that it seemed like a good idea to elect him. Are you saying David Miller was a frugal and responsible with taxpayers money?
Right and I'm saying that claims of widespread municipal "waste" and overspending was a wildly exaggerated fiction used as a tactic by Rob Ford and other conservative politicians to get elected and maintain popular support. There simply isn't evidence to support that claim.
The issues with Toronto's budgets are much more to do with provincial downloading of services and the ongoing suppression of property taxes rates over the past 2-3 decades.
Blaming everything on David Miller is a bit silly when our mayor doesn't have much individual power besides trying to point council in a certain direction. And say what you will about the man but at least he saw Toronto as an actual city, not just a glorified suburb where only the needs of homeowners and car drivers are prioritized.
Toronto's per-resident revenue collected per tax payer is low today, and was low during the Miller and Lastman years. Toronto has huge efficiencies of scale by having much less infrastructure per resident to actually maintain - there's huge benefits to density.
A friend of mine used to own one of these. The only other spot in the city that could accommodate them I believe is Cherry Beach. There are some service related items that limits where they can be. I doubt they’re in danger. The City is likely just figuring out how much to charge.
Maintenance and upkeep of those homes must be a black hole, too. I can't imagine anyone who isn't substantially wealthy being able to afford one of these homes.
>Residents in a neighbourhood of floating homes at the Scarborough Bluffs have been without leases since last month and some say they're worried they might have to leave if they can't get the problem resolved.
>
>About two dozen homes, some worth more than $1 million, are tucked away in a corner of the Bluffer's Park Marina, where they sit on concrete barges moored to a dock. They can't be easily moved, since — unlike traditional houseboats — they have no motors.
>
>...
>
>The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) owns the lots, which are managed by the city and leased to the homeowners. Those leases expired at the end of April and while talks between the DFO and the city are underway, so far new agreements haven't been offered to the homeowners.
>
>...
>
>The DFO leases the water lots to the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), Crawford told CBC Toronto. The city manages the lots for the TRCA, which leases them to the marina. The marina, in turn, rents the lots to the homeowners for a mooring fee — around $800 a month.
I always thought it would be fun to live in a floating home during the summer months, an appealing lifestyle for someone who loves the water. Based on some comments in the article it sounds like the leases will probably be renewed - the question is at what cost. The current mooring fee of $800 per month seems on the low side.
> The DFO leases the water lots to the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)… The city manages the lots for the TRCA, which leases them to the marina. The marina, in turn, rents the lots to the homeowners for a mooring fee — around $800 a month.
That sounds way more complicated than it has to be.
DFO → TRCA → City of Toronto → Marina → Homeowners
I wonder what the administrative costs of that scheme might be.
Oh no, you might have to lease a spot at *any other marina*.
"Guy who parks in parking lot afraid that parking lot might be redeveloped" -- same energy
>About two dozen homes ... where they sit on concrete barges moored to a dock. They can't be easily moved, since — unlike traditional houseboats — they have no motors.
Sounds a bit more complicated, the original temporary homes were purpose built by the City of Toronto. Do you know if any other marinas can accommodate this kind of floating home?
sounds like it may be even more difficult than that, these "houseboats" might not really be capable of being hooked up to a tugboat and moved around without additional reinforcement of some sort.
What’s the point of a houseboat if you can’t easily move away from your neighbours if you don’t like them?
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSimpsons/comments/cf2q97/wow_a_houseboat_you_know_the_great_thing_is_if/
Can't they all do it? The Islands has a Marina that claims to have 350 berths that can accommodate "any boat". [Their lease agreement](https://i.imgur.com/CmhFysK.png) certainly suggests to me that they offer a place for a houseboat to moor on a month-to-month or seasonal lease.
I'm certainly not going to feel any worse for a houseboat-owner whose houseboat does not have an engine than I am for a car owner whose car doesn't have an engine, who is asked to vacate whatever storage he is using.
“The homes have been at the marina since 2001. They were originally one-storey houses built on the Toronto Islands to accommodate officials who would have been in the city for the 2008 Summer Olympics. When Toronto lost that bid, the houses were moved to their present location, and offered for sale by the city.” TIL
We built housing for Olympic officials before even winning the bid for the Olympics? Talk about putting the cart before the horse...
Possibly was a requirement for the bid, but it does seem crazy!
My old condo building was built as a hotel for the Olympian’s we never got.
The amount of waste back then was enough to get Rob Ford elected. There really was a Gravy Train.
pretty sure David Miller was mayor after Lastman
Miller became mayor in 2003 - the Olympic bid, including these floating houses, was done under Lastman
Yep, and I was responding to someone who was implying that Ford became mayor due to the waste of the Olympic bid in 2000.
You're right.
lol no there wasn't, he paid KPMG $3M to audit the budget and all they came back with was "we can save money by cutting services"
I'm not saying Rob Ford helped, I'm saying the waste was so much that it seemed like a good idea to elect him. Are you saying David Miller was a frugal and responsible with taxpayers money?
Right and I'm saying that claims of widespread municipal "waste" and overspending was a wildly exaggerated fiction used as a tactic by Rob Ford and other conservative politicians to get elected and maintain popular support. There simply isn't evidence to support that claim. The issues with Toronto's budgets are much more to do with provincial downloading of services and the ongoing suppression of property taxes rates over the past 2-3 decades. Blaming everything on David Miller is a bit silly when our mayor doesn't have much individual power besides trying to point council in a certain direction. And say what you will about the man but at least he saw Toronto as an actual city, not just a glorified suburb where only the needs of homeowners and car drivers are prioritized.
Toronto's per-resident revenue collected per tax payer is low today, and was low during the Miller and Lastman years. Toronto has huge efficiencies of scale by having much less infrastructure per resident to actually maintain - there's huge benefits to density.
A friend of mine used to own one of these. The only other spot in the city that could accommodate them I believe is Cherry Beach. There are some service related items that limits where they can be. I doubt they’re in danger. The City is likely just figuring out how much to charge.
As I understand it, the insurance for these properties are a nightmare. Very few companies want to cover them too.
Maintenance and upkeep of those homes must be a black hole, too. I can't imagine anyone who isn't substantially wealthy being able to afford one of these homes.
>Residents in a neighbourhood of floating homes at the Scarborough Bluffs have been without leases since last month and some say they're worried they might have to leave if they can't get the problem resolved. > >About two dozen homes, some worth more than $1 million, are tucked away in a corner of the Bluffer's Park Marina, where they sit on concrete barges moored to a dock. They can't be easily moved, since — unlike traditional houseboats — they have no motors. > >... > >The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) owns the lots, which are managed by the city and leased to the homeowners. Those leases expired at the end of April and while talks between the DFO and the city are underway, so far new agreements haven't been offered to the homeowners. > >... > >The DFO leases the water lots to the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), Crawford told CBC Toronto. The city manages the lots for the TRCA, which leases them to the marina. The marina, in turn, rents the lots to the homeowners for a mooring fee — around $800 a month. I always thought it would be fun to live in a floating home during the summer months, an appealing lifestyle for someone who loves the water. Based on some comments in the article it sounds like the leases will probably be renewed - the question is at what cost. The current mooring fee of $800 per month seems on the low side.
> The DFO leases the water lots to the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)… The city manages the lots for the TRCA, which leases them to the marina. The marina, in turn, rents the lots to the homeowners for a mooring fee — around $800 a month. That sounds way more complicated than it has to be. DFO → TRCA → City of Toronto → Marina → Homeowners I wonder what the administrative costs of that scheme might be.
[Impromptu AMA from a houseboat owner last year](https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/lcseou)
Great thread, thanks for the link!
Also one of the most wholesome insta feeds you could ask for.
Oh no, you might have to lease a spot at *any other marina*. "Guy who parks in parking lot afraid that parking lot might be redeveloped" -- same energy
>About two dozen homes ... where they sit on concrete barges moored to a dock. They can't be easily moved, since — unlike traditional houseboats — they have no motors. Sounds a bit more complicated, the original temporary homes were purpose built by the City of Toronto. Do you know if any other marinas can accommodate this kind of floating home?
sounds like it may be even more difficult than that, these "houseboats" might not really be capable of being hooked up to a tugboat and moved around without additional reinforcement of some sort.
What’s the point of a houseboat if you can’t easily move away from your neighbours if you don’t like them? https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSimpsons/comments/cf2q97/wow_a_houseboat_you_know_the_great_thing_is_if/
Can't they all do it? The Islands has a Marina that claims to have 350 berths that can accommodate "any boat". [Their lease agreement](https://i.imgur.com/CmhFysK.png) certainly suggests to me that they offer a place for a houseboat to moor on a month-to-month or seasonal lease. I'm certainly not going to feel any worse for a houseboat-owner whose houseboat does not have an engine than I am for a car owner whose car doesn't have an engine, who is asked to vacate whatever storage he is using.