“I can wear a mask and have a stage name and still be authentic”—Orville Peck, p. 18 The old Regent Park was damned from day one. Built in the 1940s, it was intended as a post-war utopia, but the devil was in the design. Its architecture was depressing, and the complex was largely cut off from the city, devoid of essentials like grocery stores and community services. That flawed vision has been almost entirely reduced to rubble. The $1.5-billion revitalization—a combined effort of Toronto Community Housing, the Daniels Corporation and Tridel—has so far yielded thousands of mixed-income homes, a world-class aquatic centre, artist space, an MLSE-funded sports haven and an actual namesake park. And the last phases of demolition are finally underway. After 75 years, Regent Park has become what…
