Residents of Leslieville in Toronto's east end may have won the battle against a big box store but some are now wondering whether they might have lost the war.

In March, a group of residents went to the Ontario Municipal Board to fight off a developer who wanted to build a retail complex on Eastern Avenue. The OMB sided with the residents.

Now residents have been told that instead of a retail outlet, the site could become the storage and maintenance facility for the Toronto Transit Commission's new fleet of light rail vehicles.

Amy Tigani, who lives near the site, says it won't just be unsightly. There will be round-the-clock noise and congestion caused by the streetcar tracks that will run across Eastern Avenue to and from the repair yard.

For her, the prospect is much worse than the failed plan to build a big box retail outlet.

"I was on the fence with the Smart Centres plan — I could see pros and cons. I see nothing but cons with this," she said.

At a community meeting, the TTC projected an economic benefit for Leslieville: The facility would employ 540 people, adding a customer base for local restaurants and stores.

Liako Dertilis co-owns the Red Rocket Cafe on Queen Street East, across from the existing Connaught maintenance yard near Queen and Greenwood Avenue.

"We want to be an anchor in the neighbourhood and certainly, you know, the TTC yard across the street is a very important aspect — the school up the street, the postal workers across as well," Dertilis said.

Andrew Pett, who lives in the neighbourhood, says he already puts up with round-the-clock noise from the Connaught yards and the Canada Post outlet. Adding a storage and maintenance yard for 204 new light rail vehicles would be too much.

"You have the tracks, you have the noise, you have the eyesore. It's really not good for our community," he said.

Pett says he, too, was undecided about plans to build a big box store but "now they want to put in a streetcar yard? How is that residential? … We're regressing in this area. We're going back to an industrial area."

The TTC is looking at five other options, most of which are in the Port Lands away from any residential areas, but it must pick a site soon. It needs to have a facility built by the time the first light-rail vehicles arrive three years from now.