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Your city just approved 10 tents for 900 Eglinton East. Twice.

Your City Hall is approving… tents?

Okay, so, normally we're talking about big developments or infrastructure. But looking at the latest building permits, something quite specific jumped out at me. The Bani Hashi Society, a group I confess I've never had to cover before, has received two separate permits to install five temporary tents each at 900 Eglinton Avenue East. These are for two distinct periods: June 16 to June 27, 2026, and then again from July 26 to August 06, 2026. Each permit cost $6,500.

This is in Ward 3, for what's classified as a commercial type of permit. It's a small detail, sure, but it's interesting because it suggests a recurring event or a significant community gathering that requires such a setup. It’s not every day you see temporary tent installations making the permit list twice for the same location within a couple of months. What exactly is happening at 900 Eglinton Avenue East that needs this level of temporary infrastructure, and twice in one summer, you know?

Meanwhile, on the development application side, we’re seeing more residential growth pressure. An application for a residential apartment building at 1970 and 1980 Fowler Drive in Ward 8 is currently in process. This kind of infill is what we’ll continue to watch, given the city's housing crunch.

The real story is never on the Hill — it's always just off it.

Simone Okafor-Bouchard, MiTL Sports Desk

You know I'm going to bring this up with Mélissa tomorrow, tune in at mornings.live.

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