Here's a little something I put together as a writing sample for a Toronto blog...
Executive Director Kevin Lee of Scadding Court Community
Centre (SCCC) was looking for a way to revitalize a fairly dead section of
Dundas St east of Bathurst, running along the edge of the centre. He came across the idea of using old shipping
containers as instant storefronts on a field trip to Ghana and the seeds of
Market 707 were planted. The first ones were installed in 2010 and featured a
handful of food vendors and retail. As
summers went by the concept started to snowball and some favorite vendors –
including cheap and cheerful bike repair and Korean Bubble Tea - established
themselves, while others came and went.
Despite initial concern that the containers were drab and
downmarket, they struck a chord with young entrepreneurs looking for cheap rent
and a way around the typical Toronto red tape.
In the summer of 2013, SCCC offered one-month non-food pop-ups for
anyone who wanted to give their idea a go: in came clothing, crafts, catering
and electronics, as well as longer term vendors of cupcakes, Filipino shaved ice, and crepes.
Programmers at SCCC started creating events around the
market to build buzz, including Friday night concerts and seasonal festivals. The culmination was a crowd-sourced and
funded patio design contest. The winning design team, LGA Architectural
Partners, had their Ikea-inspired recycled shipping pallet furniture installed
October 2013, on time and under budget, using eager community volunteers. The resulting space is now an inviting
destination Lee hopes will attract visitors from outside the immediate
vicinity; the design also went on to win the Special Jury Prize at the 2013
Toronto Urban Design Awards. Lee is now setting his sights on bringing
containers to a moribund corner of North York to see if they can work their
magic there.
No comments:
Post a Comment