Critics say Ontario Place plans shouldn’t proceed

Ontario Place is finally being transformed after being closed for over a decade, but the new plans come with great controversy.

Premier Doug Ford’s vision for the landmark includes a new year-round stage for concerts from LiveNation, relocating the Ontario Science Centre to the waterfront property and a large water park and wellness centre operated by Austrian company, Therme Group.

Some major critics are adamantly opposed to the plans.

The 52-year-old jewel on the waterfront has been neglected and largely empty ever since the Dalton McGuinty government closed it 11 years ago.

“I think what we’re witnessing is a mugging in broad daylight, a hijacking of public land for private interests of very dubious value,” said Ken Greenberg, an urban planner and member of the group Ontario Place for All, who are adamantly opposed to the government’s plans.

“What we get is an Austrian spa, which is not original, it’s a franchise,” he said. “They all look identical, they are in rural areas outside cities surrounded by gigantic parking lots.” The Therme water park and wellness centre will be six stories high and take up 19 per cent of Ontario Place’s 155 acres.

Therme has opened up four similar wellness centers, with two more planned in the U.K., but this will be the first in North America and the first in an urban setting.

“If you took BMO field stadium and made a big box, that’s the volume of this thing,” said Greenberg. “It would occupy the entire West Island.”

The province has signed a 95-year lease with Therme. CityNews asked the Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma why the lease is so long.

“They’re making a significant investment for the site,” answered Surma. And if something goes wrong, for example, if Therme goes bankrupt, she said, “We always negotiate in the best interests of taxpayers.”

Therme spokesperson, Simon Bredin, said company leadership is confident in the vision, and that it will be successful for many decades to come. “So much of our product is about that connection to water, and I really think that is kind of a timeless piece that you’ve seen throughout history,” said Bredin.

Toronto’s mayor-elect, Olivia Chow, has vowed to fight the plan. But the question remains whether Toronto has any power to stop it.

The city owns 6.4 acres of land that is necessary for the Ontario Place plans. The province is proposing a swap that would give the same amount of land for Toronto to use at an adjacent park.

City staff has recommended city council accept the offer. But if an agreement between the governments is not reached, the provincial government could expropriate it from the city.

Surma said she hopes to sit down and have a conversation with Chow before it comes to that. “City staff were in favour of the land swap … [but] it was deferred. I’m assuming the new mayor will take a look at it,” added Surma. “It’s certainly beneficial to the city because the swap includes expanding Inukshuk Park.”

Critics also argue there is a lack of transparency surrounding the Ford government plans, pointing out no environmental assessment is necessary on the Therme design because it is a private project.

There are also few details on the planned six-level, 2,100 car, underground parking garage, which will be paid for by taxpayers. “This would sit on Lake Shore Boulevard, which is already extremely congested, ironically when Ontario Line is doing a major subway station, plus all day GO Trains at 15-minute intervals, plus the 509 LRT building an enormous garage, with the expectation … that a lot of people will come to Therme by car,” explained Greenberg.

And there are no numbers to back up the minister of infrastructure’s claim that it is more cost-effective to move the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place rather than renovate the existing site.

“What’s important to recognize is we have an old facility that needs a significant amount of investment. We believe a better option is to bring it here and give a home that is more cost effective and adds more value to the site,” said Surma.

She added construction could begin on the Science Centre in 2023. Ontario Place is expected to be complete in seven years, potentially after Ford is no longer premier of Ontario, but it could be his lasting legacy.

Ontario Place For All believes the western portion of the lakefront property should be similar to Trillium Park to the east, at a fraction of the cost of building the wellness centre. Greenberg cites a financial analysis the group commissioned in 2019 that concludes creating a greater waterfront park would have longer economic benefits. The group believes its vision could become as iconic as Central Park in New York or the Millennium Park in Chicago.

“It’s an accumulation of bad judgement, bad decisions,” said Greenberg.

However, the Therme contract has been signed, and infrastructure work has already started. Greenberg said at this point, there’s really only one way it could be stopped.

“One thing that could happen is the environmental stuff is so egregious and so wrong that the federal government is being asked to step in,” he said. “I think that is the one possibility, so we shall see.”

With files from Meredith Bond