Politicians and city staffers are abandoning an effort to turn a municipally owned parking lot in the core into housing, and instead open up the parking for free to help spur economic activity in the neighbourhood.

Meeting as the strategic priorities and policy committee, city council voted unanimously on Tuesday to endorse halting all efforts to turn the lot behind Banting House at 641 Queens Ave. into what was proposed to be a mid-rise apartment building and some single-family homes.

After city staff held talks with the Old East Village business improvement area (BIA) and area residents, they recommended halting any development and instead opening up both the 641 Queens Ave. lot and the other city-owned lot at 434 Elizabeth St. for a free parking pilot project to “support the commercia

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