"LRTs displace all the poor people"?

[CTGal1011]

Our house was at one time a duplex. We converted it back to a single family dwelling.  Are we part of the gentrification problem? I don't think so.  I don't believe the house as a duplex was at all appropriate for renters. A sketchy side entrance, only one exit for the upper unit? It was unsafe for tenants as it was.

I don't think gentrification is necessarily an evil, and I do think the downsides can be mitigated through constructing enough new housing. But what you're describing most certainly is gentrification. And generally the conversion of houses with two or three apartments to single-family houses is a reduction in housing supply and density, not in itself a great thing. Were the renters of the apartments you considered unsafe able to find comparable housing at a comparable price in a central neigbourhood?

Ideally, Cedar Hill would be able to stay as a mix of housing types and different kinds of people. That should include new developments that can increase the number of people that can live there, so it's not zero sum.

It has been a legal duplex in title only since 2005. At one time there was the main floor, and the basement was used as a second unit. However, it flooded back in the mid 90's. The city closed off the drain in the basement after a massive crack in the foundation that caused the flood was fixed. The basement could no longer be used as a separate unit for that reason. The non-functioning bathroom was then removed from the basement. It was basically left with a kitchen and bare walls, just concrete, since 1995. Not sure what happened to the renters at that time. However, the owners decided to put in a dormer in the upstairs attic to be able to keep it as a duplex. They added a dormer, and a bathroom to make it a "bungaloft". It was rented as a bachelor unit from 1996 until 2005 (no parking available). Then, the owners became instant parents to three little ones through adoption, and required the space (main floor has two bedrooms, and FACS wouldn't allow the 3 children to share one room as there were 2 girls and a boy). The long-term tenant moved to a residence on Allen St in Waterloo (we STILL get War Amps mail for her). The owners put the house up for sale 2 years later and moved out East to NS. When we purchased the house, we were told by the inspector that the front porch AND side stairs (that served the bachelor loft) would have to be replaced in order to use it as a legal duplex again. As the house is only 1100 square feet, and we have three children, we maintain the insurance on it as a duplex in the event we move and someone wants to bring it up to code.