Jolly Miller Park Now Open!

On May 24, I organized the opening of the new Jolly Miller Park in Hoggs Hollow with the York Mills Valley Association as well as Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the Toronto Parking Authority.

As a Councillor, I’m a huge proponent of preserving and beautifying Ward 25’s green spaces, which is why I am particularly excited about this new park.

This time, we didn’t pave paradise. We actually took down a parking lot, so we could put up a beautiful park!

This park is the product of a collaborative project by the York Mills Valley Association, the Toronto Parking Authority and Parks, Forestry and Recreation that has been in the works for many years. With its completion, the city, TPA and YMVA have delivered on a long-standing promise to return part of the historic Jolly Miller lands to the city and transform it into a park.

The space is designed to be a community hub and a gathering point for the Hoggs Hollow neighbourhood with built-in seating, lighting, beautiful planting beds. Its design also reflects the community’s unique history. In consultation with the YMVA, Parks staff designed the park to include a Miller’s Cottage ruin in recognition of the Grist Mill cottages that once dotted the Don River.

The park’s name also reflects Hoggs Hollow history, commemorating the former Jolly Miller Tavern, a watering hole for mill workers named after a happy local mill owner.

Many thanks to all who joined us for this celebration and special thanks to the YMVA, TPA and Parks for making it possible!

If you’re in the Yonge and York Mills area, please check out the new park and let me know what you think!