Something is growing in Rexdale.
Local Councillor Rob Ford sees it and salivates at the chance to turn his low-income community of new Canadians into a regional tourist destination.
Toronto's economic development department sees it and fantasizes about 9,000 permanent jobs and $150 million in annual property and sales taxes – critical when some say the city is near bankruptcy.
And local residents see it and dream of a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make a better life for themselves and their children.
It is a $350-million expansion plan for Woodbine racetrack on the largest swath of undeveloped, individually owned land in Toronto.
And what happens with this proposal may change the way hardscrabble neighbourhoods across the GTA deal with developers.
As plans for the 81-hectare development in the city's northwest corner germinate at city hall, a coalition of 35 community groups known as CORD (Community Organizing for Responsible Development) has been busy in Rexdale, knocking on doors at social housing projects, handing out leaflets outside mosques, temples and churches and stopping people in the street to spread the word.
They are rallying the neighbourhood to seek a groundbreaking "community benefits" deal with the developer that would guarantee locals get decent-paying union jobs, employment training, affordable housing, better public transit, more child care and community space.
In an unprecedented show of unity and yearning, almost 500 Rexdale residents filled a local high school auditorium last week to talk about their dreams for the project.
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