Toronto’s executive committee moved to seize control of redevelopment plans for the Port Lands, as Mayor Rob Ford lauded an “amazing” new blueprint for 400 hectares of underused waterfront real estate.The flashy “high-level vision” unveiled by consultants hired by the Toronto Port Lands Company (TPLC) includes some of the ideas promoted last week by the Mayor’s brother, Councillor Doug Ford, such as a monorail connecting union station to the shore, a Ferris wheel, a sports complex in a decommissioned power plant and a shopping mall. The possible blueprint also calls for a new marina south of the Keating Channel, a roundabout on Cherry Street, an observation deck on the top of the smoke stack at the Hearn generating station and dozens of high-rises on what are now derelict industrial lands.
Officials called it a launching point for the city to dream differently about its waterfront, which is currently in the hands of an agency called Waterfront Toronto. It plans to phase-in redevelopment over 25 years. That’s far too slow for Mayor Ford, who vowed to turn the Port Lands into a destination for tourists and families in 10 years.
The executive voted Tuesday to make the TPLC, an arms length city agency that owns land on the waterfront, the lead on revitalization efforts.
“This is a plan that is going to create jobs, revitalize the Port Lands. If you look at what you saw today it’s absolutely amazing. We’re going to go out, we’re going to consult, but this is step one. People have been talking and talking for years and years and years. We’re not talkers. These two beside me are doers,” Mayor Ford told reporters later, flanked by councillors Peter Milczyn and Michael Thompson. “It’s a proven fact, we’re moving the ball down the field; we’re getting things done and we’re going to make this city just like a gold mine.”
But the Mayor may face a fight later this month, when city council considers whether to follow the executive’s lead. Centrist councillors Ana Bailao, Josh Matlow and Mary Margaret McMahon have already raised concerns about changing plans based on information presented thus far.
Critics say there may be merit to some new ideas, but consider the tighter timeline to be a fantasy, and insist that abandoning current plans would flush millions of planning dollars down the drain.
“The headline for me is Dubai comes to Toronto, and I don’t only mean that in terms of what this looks like, but the way this is being done, which is extraordinary,” Ken Greenberg, part of the architectural team that designed the master plan for the Lower Don Lands, said during a media briefing with Waterfront Toronto officials. It was organized by Councillor Adam Vaughan, a Ford foe. “That is, you have an Emir, or some group of people who hire international consultants of their own choosing, the public is not involved in any way, they’re presented with a fait accompli and that’s it,” said Mr. Greenberg.
A visibly irked Councillor Joe Mihevc accused TPLC of “mucking around” with a visioning exercise that is apparently outside of its mandate; TPLC president Michael Kraljevic said he obtained authority from his board. Mr. Kraljevic estimated the vision presented Tuesday would take 10 to 15 years to build. It is not clear how much it could cost.
Questions remain, however, over how the city will first address the flooding issue in the area before anything is built. The Waterfront Toronto plan would “naturalize” the mouth of the Don River with marshland and habitat for birds and other wildlife, and create a new route for flood waters to flow in the event of a monster storm, such as Hurricane Hazel. Waterfront Toronto officials are presenting a financing plan to its board this week, but the agency does not have the $634-million in the bank to start the work now.
The vision presented on Tuesday retains more of the land for development purposes. It is not clear if an environmental assessment would have to be redone. City Manager Joseph Pennachetti has suggested the city turn to the private sector to front end the cost of flood protection.
“This is an opportunity for Canada and Toronto to redefine a 21st century waterfront for the world,” said Eric Kuhne, of CivicArts.
The TPLC hired the international design firm and prominent Toronto architect and urban designer Mark Sterling to come up with an alternate vision. They stressed it is not a plan but a “collection of ideas” that could be considered.
Meanwhile, a Toronto resident filed a complaint with the city’s lobbyist registrar accusing Australian mall giant Westfield Group of breaking city rules when it allegedly spoke with Councillor Doug Ford over a possible development in the Port Lands, without registering as a lobbyist.
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Source: National Post
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