Two options for a new sports complex to be built in the Port Lands have gone to city council for discussion, one of which, a stacked, four-storey design, goes with the strong recommendation of both the
Waterfront design review panel and a public meeting held late last week.
The site at the corner of the on Roadway and Commissioners Street, has been the focus of some controversy, including enthusiastic comment from several mayoral candidates who oppose the project entirely, more or less on the grounds that it would suburbanize Toronto's newest urban neighbourhood.
But John Campbell, Waterfront Toronto's president and CEO, says that if council approved the four-storey version, that won't be a problem.
"If you were in Toronto in the 70s when the Eaton Centre was built, there was no attention paid to the outside of the building, and it sterilized Yonge Street," he says. "My concern is to make sure the arena doesn't do the same thing. This will be an urban street in the future."
Though he says the city is still costing out the entire project, Campbell says that Waterfront's contribution will be $34 million.
The four-storey design is by
Bob Goyeche of RDH Architects.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: John Campbell
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