Community organization MABELLEarts breaks ground for park transformation project

MABELLEarts, a community organization in Etobicoke, broke ground on Saturday for their park transformation project — a vision that has been in the making for more than 14 years.

Executive director Leah Houston said the groundbreaking signals the start of an "incredible park transformation" at MABELLEpark — a vibrant art park and "beating heart" of the community.

"Residents have been coming together with artists, architects, builders, and mostly with each other to create a new kind of park — a park that can be responsive to people's needs, to their cultural backgrounds," Houston told CBC Toronto. 

"It's a place where we can connect, where we can give and receive care, where we can find work and employment, and where we can experience culture."

The groundbreaking celebration was held in partnership with Luminato Festival Toronto and Walk with Amal.

The MABELLEpark transformation project will feature a new clubhouse and performance stage, an upgraded and safer outdoor kitchen, a community garden designed in consultation with Indigenous artist and activist Val T. Vint, new accessible paths, more trees and upgraded lighting, benches and seating.  

According to the MABELLEarts website, MABELLEpark is the first park in Canada designed to respond to the unique needs and desires of residents living together in a high-density, low-income tower community. 

"Together we are charting a new course for park use and redefining the role of public space in low-income communities," the organization said on its website.

MABELLEarts said an investment of more than $1.3 million from the City of Toronto, combined with more than $700,000 from the federal government and gifts from partners, has put the organization more than two thirds of the way to its $3 million goal.

Houston said the park will serve "a whole bunch of needs for a whole bunch of people," and will see them coming together "in a really small space, figuring out how to live together." 

"The park is a place where we can come together and get to know each other, because COVID taught us that a connected community is a strong community," she said.

The organization operates multiple different programs, including a food bank for vulnerable residents in the area. Its food bank currently serves about 1,000 people in the community, according to the organization's website.

"During COVID, we started a food bank because we discovered that residents in the neighborhood didn't have food security. So, we were able to leverage the park and use it as a place to deliver food, to see how our neighbours were doing, and it just proved the concept for us that MABELLEpark is an essential piece of social infrastructure."

Bernadette Shuman said she has been with MABELLEarts for the past 15 years. She said she is looking forward to the new building.

"I know it's going to serve, like, many purposes because sometimes we have arts and crafts and sometimes we have, like, meetings and and seniors gathering, but because we don't have anywhere to sit and do it, you know, we go to the other apartment building's basement," she said.

But Shuman said they don't always get approval for those meetings, so their own building will be a welcome change. 

"When we have our building, oh my goodness, it will be the greatest thing ever for MABELLEpark," she said.

Yung Chang, a Toronto resident, said MABELLEpark has been an integral part of the MABELLEarts organization.

"The park is a focal point," Chang said."It really is a centre place, a meeting place for the community in this neighborhood."

Houston said the new clubhouse is expected to open in April 2024.