The Playground That St. James Town Forgot and Never Was

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With an astonishing four playgrounds available for children and youth, St. James Town is really lacking in parks and playgrounds. St James Town has a sea of tall residential buildings like trees in Redwood National Park. Having 19 high rise buildings and 4 low rise buildings with a population of approximately 17,100 to 25,000 residents, St James Town is one of the most highly densely populated neighbourhoods in Toronto.

With an immense population of youth and children, lack of playgrounds and parks can lead to negative impact on their health. In 2014, there was a plan to rejuvenate the tennis court beside 260 Wellesley St building and to replace the court with a massive playground. I remember the planning of the park. We had a party at our school organized by planners of the playground. At the party they presented the final designs of the playground being built that would replace the tennis court. Information was given to us to take home to our parents with petitions for them to sign and I vividly remember visiting the site of the playground. Everything seemed to be going well and a new playground was coming to St James Town...but it never did.

It is 2021, the tennis court is still there alive and well. Where is the playground that St. James Town forgot?

Recently I did a lot of digging for information about the playground and people responsible for it but there was barely any information. However, I struck gold, when I found a local newspaper on-line called The City Centre Mirror that had a section dedicated to the lost playground with the header of “Derelict St. James Town tennis court gets facelift from MLSE and Sentry”(pg. 2 - 3) in their Feb 26, 2015 issue.

In the article, it states,” MLSE, Sentry, Rose Avenue Public School announced funding to revitalize a tennis court near 260 Wellesley St E, converting the court into a multi-sport court.” I guess I was wrong about the playground. It was a multi-sport court! Memory is a funny thing. The article stated that funding was obtained for the new court. However, as of 2021, it has not been built.

The article provided the names of two local organizations in connection to the new court. They were, “Community Matters Toronto” and “St. James Town Youth Corner.”

So, I decided to contact them and asked, “What happened to the multi-court that was going to replace the tennis court in 2015?” I’m still waiting for a response.


In the end, St. Jamestown is lacking in parks and playgrounds. Green spaces play a huge part in people’s mental and physical health. A public park would be a great add on to a community filled with buildings. 


Written by
Biraj Jha

Journalist
FOCUS Media Arts Centre


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