Province, wellness spa developer share vision of the future Ontario Place
Posted July 10, 2023 4:32 pm.
Last Updated July 10, 2023 8:58 pm.
The future of Ontario Place was a key issue in the Toronto mayoral race with many candidates criticizing or outright rejecting Doug Ford’s plan. But what exactly is his government’s vision?
As refurbishment work begins on the aging infrastructure, CityNews went on an exclusive site tour with the Minister of Infrastructure, MPP Kinga Surma, and a representative of Therme, which is the company that will build a wellness spa and water park on the Western portion of Ontario Place.
Ontario Place first opened to great fanfare in 1971 and was a popular destination in its heyday.
But over the decades, it has become dated and obsolete. It was finally shuttered in 2011 by Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government and now sits shabby and neglected.
Premier Doug Ford vowed to change that.
A plan was eventually announced earlier this spring for a redeveloped Ontario Place that includes the new location for the Ontario Science Centre, an expanded year-round amphitheater built by LiveNation, a public beach, bars, restaurants, a new marina and the massive spa by Therme.
The new marina, according to Surma, will be a centre piece. “It will be rehabilitated, we’ll have wonderful pier, we want beautiful boardwalks, patios, restaurants. We want [it] to be a wonderful spot where people can sit down and enjoy the views”
She adds the areas that have been left as asphalt and unusable will be transformed into public space and play areas.
“The design really, really works to reflect that … very much [of it is] in disrepair, very old, in need of some loving care. But this is an iconic location, even though it’s been empty, largely, it’s a beautiful location, still a beloved part of Ontario. And people are very protective of it,” said Surma.
The new beaches, marinas, shops and boardwalks will all be on the eastern side of Ontario Place, which would be free for those who visit to roam, except for the new year-round concert stage, operated by LiveNation.
Part of the vision for the area that is causing the most controversy is the Therme Group’s spa and wellness centre. The Austrian company has been given a 95-year lease to build and operate a water park and what is described as a European-style bathing centre on the western part of Ontario PLace.
The group’s original vision is undergoing a redesign after pushback from Toronto City Council. The concept, however, is expected to be the same.
Therme Group Canada’s Senior Manager of Communications and Public Engagement, Simon Bredin, tells CityNews the initial cost for entry will be $40 per person. The building itself will be six stories high and account for 13 to 14 per cent of the site overall.
“It’s more of a communal, community wellbeing type activities, so less sort of like one-on one-treatment in that traditional sense and more kind of like a place that you can hang out with friends and family with water as the centerpiece,” said Bredin.
“I know City Council didn’t love the idea, but all I can say is that we’re having lots of conversations with City officials to try to be sensitive to their concerns,” he added. “We’ve been listening really closely … we’re hoping to respond to that feedback in a meaningful way.”
As part of the deal with the provincial government, Therme is spending roughly $200 million on shoreline and environmental remediation on the Western Island and will be responsible for maintaining it over its 95-year contract.
It will also create new public space, including turning a 100-year-old breakwater on the western side into a pier. “The new big plaza pier will have washrooms, concession stands … kayak rentals on this side,” said Therme consultant Mark Kolberg.
Therme will also create a festival-type space with an amphitheater and capacity for 4,000 people.
“I think what we want to create is a space where people can spend all day, whether they go play in the park, take a walk, spend time on the beach, go to the public realm space, maybe finish off with a concert or have dinner,” said Surma.
Ontario Place is also one of the starting points to the newly under-construction Ontario Line. “I think it’s often underappreciated that there’s a lot of work that’s happening on the island to enable Ontario Place, but equally the connectivity on a modern multimodal basis of transit is going to be pretty important to the future of the island.”
Despite the daunting task of changing the concept of a beloved iconic spot, Surma said when you believe in what you are doing, she doesn’t find it daunting. “I think this will be once redeveloped, something that will be treasured.”
“People want to enjoy this space that’s been sitting here, this used to be space where millions will come, everyone has memories, in order to do that we have to have activities, that’s not happening, and we’re also adding vegetation aquatic habitats, improving water … I believe we are truly improving the environment at Ontario Place, and we are securing it for years with the shoreline improvement.”
The government says the new Ontario Place will be ready to open in seven years, however there are still some questions and criticisms remain including the length of Therme’s lease on prime public land, the lack of an environmental assessment on the West Island where the spa will go and whether the province will expropriate City of Toronto land.
In Part 2 of this series exploring Ontario Place, CityNews will look for answers to some of these questions.
