The Ontario government has pulled back the curtain on the final designs for its revamp of Ontario Place, and revealed more details about its plans for the site.
“Today marks a big step forward in our plan to rebuild Ontario Place into a world class, year-round, family-friendly destination,” Premier Doug Ford said at a news conference at the site to unveil the designs Tuesday.
Images released by the province show drawings of a revamped west island housing a large spa and waterpark by European company Therme. The images show glass buildings sitting amid green walkways. Some familiar features, such as the Cinesphere pod, are still recognizable.
The images reveal a few features of the public realm elements as well, including a splash pad, playground and elevated boardwalk. Images of the revamped concert area and parking structure are also included.
According to the province, the revamped Ontario Place will include free public trails, expanded green space, playgrounds, interactive fountains, new beaches, event spaces and an updated marina, that will attract up to six million visitors a year.
Standing alongside Ford, Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma said the plans will create “a bigger and better waterfront destination with over 50 acres of public park space open to everyone, completely free of charge, all year long.”
The province announced its intention in 2021 to move forward with a redevelopment of the west island of the waterfront property into a massive private waterpark and spa.
The project, which hands Therme a 95-year lease on the publicly owned waterfront lands, has faced intense public criticism.
Government officials have emphasized the public realm features of the redesign, some of which were revealed Tuesday.
Ford also said Tuesday he has double checked the deal with Therme in the wake of a New York Times report suggesting the company misrepresented itself in its bid.
“I did double check, and I’m very, very satisfied,” Ford said.
Ontario Place was a bustling amusement park for kids and families in the 80s and early 90s, before languishing with neglect and falling into disrepair.
Ford says $400M parking garage will yield ‘massive return on investment’
The province also revealed more details about the new parking structure for the facility, an element of the project which had drawn criticism, with opposition claims that it would cost $1 billion in public money.
Ford said Tuesday that it will be four or five storeys, with an event space on the roof, and will have room for 3,500 vehicles – 1,000 more than originally contemplated.
The cost to build the parking structure will be around $400 million, Ford said, adding that it is expected to return $60 million in gross revenue every year.
“That’s a massive return on investment. We’ll have it paid off, and then $60 million – or more, I predict, mark that – will be going right into Ontario coffers to pay for health care, education, infrastructure. It’ll be absolutely phenomenal.”
While there was talk about locating the structure on the Exhibition Place grounds, the renderings show it adjacent to the main site. Ford said the move had nothing to do with negotiations with the city.
“This is just more convenient, and it’s going to have more capacity, rather than people walking all the way through Exhibition (Place), maybe in cold weather,” he said.
While reporters challenged the idea that the large squarish structure would “blend in” with its surroundings as Ford described, he said people would “barely even see” a parking structure.
“You’re going to have the massive sign that says ‘Ontario Place.’ You watch, it’s going to be probably the number one place where people will take pictures,” Ford said. “They’ll take pictures all over the place, but they’re going to be standing in front of that massive, beautiful sign, similar to the Toronto sign at City Hall.”
In a statement, Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner called the plans for the garage “nothing short of nonsensical” and said they will only add to gridlock.
“The Ford government has bulldozed a cherished urban forest and now plans to replace it with a massive $400 million parking garage – all to serve a luxury spa that Ontarians never asked for,” Schreiner said.
“Ford is forcing through a project that makes no sense, especially when the site is just steps from the well-connected Exhibition GO Station and one of the future stops on the Ontario Line. Instead, this parking lot will usher in even more traffic, increasing congestion and adding to Toronto’s gridlock.”
Officials said construction on the new facility could start as soon as spring 2026. Ford said he’s hoping the revamped Ontario Place could open as soon as 2029, but that is not an official projection.
Science Centre design not finalized
Absent from the plans Tuesday were designs for a new Ontario Science Centre. The Ford government shuttered the old science centre at Eglinton Avenue and Don Mills Road last year, citing serious structural problems with the building, and said it would move the attraction to Ontario Place.
Surma said the province is currently seeking a builder for the new facility and expects to have a recommendation in the fall.
In the meantime, she said the Science Centre is “looking at what programming will look like” until it has a new permanent home in a few years time.
No decision has been made about an interim space and Surma said the situation presents an opportunity to take the exhibits across the province.
“There are many municipalities and organizations that put up their hand and reached out to government saying they would like the exhibits to come to them,” she said. “So the Science Centre and the hard-working staff there are evaluating that.”
In terms of the existing building, she said work is being done to preserve it and the province is undertaking discussions with the city on its future.
“Well, I think the plans will truly be up to the City of Toronto as they are the owners of that property,” Surma said.
“However, we moved all of the exhibits out to preserve them. Construction workers are currently in the building, making sure that they are mitigating some of those challenges in terms of functionality for the building, and we are starting discussions with the City of Toronto, but ultimately, we need to make sure that the building somehow manages to continue to stay intact as we determine what the future holds.”
