With a population of about 15,000 people on an area just over one fifth of a square kilometre, St James Town is probably the most densely populated piece of real estate in the whole of Canada. Not only are there a lot of people living in St James Town but they are a very mixed group of people and many are new immigrants (St Jamestown represents one of the major concentrations of new immigrants in the city). Rose Avenue Public School, the local school, boasts that it has the most diverse group of students anywhere in the Greater Toronto area. There are children here from dozens of different countries.

One of the unique aspects of St James Town in the Toronto context is that its 18 high-rise buildings are owned by a mix of public and private landlords. Four of the larger buildings are owned by Metro Toronto Housing Authority, and the other 14 buildings are privately owned. Many of the privately owned buildings were seen as “up market” addresses when they were first occupied in the 1960s. A number of them still boast swimming pools in their basements, although most have not been used for years.

St James Town is still seen by many of its residents as a good place to live, since it is centrally located, rents are affordable, and, although there is a paucity of recreational facilities within St James Town itself, the diversions of downtown are nearby. When the high-rise towers of St James Town were built in the early 1960s, they displaced the kind of housing that takes up much of the current South St. James Town, i.e. that area south of Wellesley and down to Carlton Street. Obviously, the displacement of detached houses, semi-detached houses, and row houses has had a marked effect on the urban landscape, and there was considerable protest against the change when it happened. Even today, many feel the scale of development is inappropriate. However, against this one must weigh the fact that many more people are now within easy access of the downtown area. And any discussion with the residents of St James Town will reveal that there are benefits to the high-rise life, not least of which are the views.

Jim Ward