Residential no longer planned for Lincoln Fields as city reflects on the future of Carling

When Theresa Kavanagh was first elected Bay Ward councillor in 2018, she had dreams for what Carling Avenue could become. A tree-lined street where people walked, rode their bikes, took public transit and lived. A definition of a 15-minute neighbourhood where you could take active transportation to get where you were going in a fast, reliable way. 

It’s a far cry from what Carling’s purpose has always been. 

Once a rural road which helped you get into the city, it was lined with motels and tourist cabins. After the Second World War, small family homes began popping up in the Carlington area, and later, shopping destinations followed: Westgate, Carlingwood, and, further west, Bayshore. 

But over the decades, shopping patterns changed, and so did Carling. The halls of Westgate became bare as the store closed up shop, leading to the city’s oldest mall closing last fall and currently under demolition. Small strip malls have also been coming down, making way for towering high rises to keep up with rapid intensification. 

Perhaps the catalyst for Carling's future was the Lincoln Fields development, which has undergone multiple iterations since the mall came down in 2021. The latest concept plans showed upwards of 11 high-rises being built, ranging from 9 to 40 storeys, with a large park in the middle. 

Kavanagh said she was excited to see life come to what has essentially been a large parking lot. Still, its future is now uncertain after the property developers pivoted their plans.