The new Ontario Place has been one of the most hotly contested topics in Toronto, especially since Doug Ford announced the Science Centre would be moving there. The Ontario government unveiled the final designs for the new Ontario Place on Tuesday — and some of the design choices are baffling Torontonians. Highlights from the report include more than 50 acres of free public trails, expanded green space, new beaches and even an updated marina, but critics are taking to social media over what they see as a waterfront betrayal: a massive, five-storey, above-ground parking garage that will cost taxpayers about $400 million.
“Honestly the site is going to be well serviced by public transit, with the new Ontario Line subway, Lakeshore GO trains, and multiple street car/bus routes. That is what makes the… parking garage even more confusing,” one Reddit user complained, echoing other users about the costs, scale and even placement of the lot.
“Why build a parking structure above ground and block the lake view?” another user asked. “This is the Toronto waterfront commission fiasco all over again! Blocking off water views so that they can build larger and larger condos on the property.”
The new designs also included a rendering of what the updated Budweiser Stage will look like — the music venue is set to transform into a year-round indoor-outdoor space, with the ability to host up to 20,000 people in the summer and almost 9,000 in the winter.
Renderings also show multiple new parklands and trails, event spaces and even a one-acre splash fountain. However, some social media users noticed the Ontario Science Centre was barely mentioned in the plans — a rendering of the building was notably absent from the release.
“So atp [at this point] the Science centre isn’t even a thing anymore. Welp I’m just going to say my goodbyes now since I firmly believe it’ll continue to be brushed under the rug and never be finalized,” a Reddit user wrote.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Premier Doug Ford said that the publicly owned, 3,500-space parking structure, located on the mainland near Brigantine Cove, will generate about $60 million in gross revenue every year, as well as help the public access Ontario Place’s many attractions (including the much-criticized Therme Canada waterpark and wellness destination).
Critics are seeing the entire project as a sort of sweetheart deal for the Austrian-based Therme Group.
“Do you want to pay $400,000,000 for a parking garage so wealthy Torontonians and suburbanites can park on the waterfront for their day at the “spa”/waterpark?” Another Reddit user questioned. “All proceeds go to a shady foreign company with seemingly next-to-no assets and ties to Ford/Deco labels!”
Ontario Greens leader Mike Schreiner has also weighed in on the issue, calling the latest renderings “nothing short of nonsensical.”
“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 in a statement.
“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…This is not revitalization. It is a reckless misuse of public land and a waste of money.”
You can read more about the new parking structure here.
