Ontario Place redevelopment coming along ahead of Canada 150 celebrations

Ontario Place has been off-limits for years, but on Wednesday reporters were given a sneak peek at what will soon become a major lakefront park and trail.

About 7.5 acres of Ontario Place's land will be turned into park space by next summer, with the opening set to coincide with Canada's 150th birthday celebrations.

For now, crews are working on massive landscaping projects, like building up a hill that will serve as a lookout and hoisting massive boulders — the heaviest of which weighs 45 tonnes — into place. Eventually, some 1,200 mature trees will also be planted in the area, which is currently a drab parking lot.

The site will also feature nods to the area's Indigenous roots with a special stone-lined walkway, which will have moccasins carved into the granite.

The redevelopment work is only being done on one-tenth of the Ontario Place lands.

Tourism Minister Eleanor McMahon said the province will be careful about what gets built on the prime land near Lake Ontario. Condos and casinos, she said, have already been ruled out.

"We have the luxury of being picky about who we choose to partner with to be here," she told reporters.

McMahon said the province would like to generate some revenue from the site and will be talking with companies focused on innovation.  

The province closed the park in 2012 in order to cut costs.

Ontario Place opened in 1971.