Here's the latest on the province's plan to move the Science Centre to Ontario Place
Here's what we know, don't know, community reaction and what happens next
The Ontario government has big aspirations for two iconic provincial properties in Toronto that have seen better days.
The government's plan to redevelop Ontario Place into a "world-class, year-round destination" and relocate the Science Centre to the former theme park's waterfront site were the talk of the town this week.
But despite a big announcement Tuesday where Premier Doug Ford and other members of his government laid out their latest vision, there are still many unanswered questions about the future of the controversial plan.
Here's what we know, what don't we know and where things could go from here.
How did we get here?
The province announced in July 2021 it would partner with three private companies to build an indoor water park and spa complex, a revamped concert venue and an "adventure park" as part of its plan to reimagine Ontario Place.
Three companies were selected: Austria's Therme, which specializes in water parks and spas; Quebec outdoor recreation firm Écorécréo; and Live Nation, which operates the existing music venues on site, Budweiser Stage and Echo Beach.
On Tuesday, Ford, members of his government and company representatives revealed the next stage of that redevelopment plan. The latest vision includes a new home for the Science Centre, an expanded amphitheatre, a public beach, bars, restaurants, a new marina, a pier, and a massive spa.
Under the proposed plan, the current Science Centre building at the corner of Eglinton Avenue East and Don Mills Road in northeast Toronto would eventually be demolished and replaced with housing.
Why is the province moving the Science Centre?
The Science Centre building was first opened in 1969 and is in need of repairs, according to John Carmichael, chair of the centre's board of trustees.
Carmichael said a pedestrian bridge between two of the centre's buildings has been closed for several months awaiting repair, and the building isn't equipped with wi-fi internet.
One of the front entrances is also currently closed for maintenance, requiring visitors to take a shuttle to the rear entrance to access the exhibits.
"We know it's expensive. We know that there is a good deal of work required, as you can imagine with any building of this age," Carmichael said in an interview Wednesday on CBC Radio's Metro Morning.
WATCH | Ford says current Science Centre site 'doesn't cut it':
Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma says a business case that showed it would be more cost-effective to build a new Science Centre at Ontario Place, rather than invest in improvements at its current location.
But when pressed for actual numbers in an interview Wednesday by Metro Morning guest host Jill Dempsey, Surma declined to provide specifics.
"We are verifying all of the numbers," Surma said. "Before we share that information with the public, we want to triple check all of the information."
Ford said Tuesday the province will work with the city of Toronto to build housing on the Science Centre site, although he couldn't say how much or what kind of units it would include.
"There's going to be thousands of units there," he said.
The Science Centre currently sits on about 36 hectares of largely ravine land that's owned by the city and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. It was leased to the province in 1965 for a 99-year term of $1 per year, the city told CBC Toronto.
The city says the terms of the lease only permit the Science Centre to demolish and build new structures for the purpose of operating as a science centre. That means the province would need to renegotiate the lease in order to build anything else, including housing.
What do those living near the Science Centre think?
Ford's proposal is garnering opposition from some who live in the community near the Science Centre.
Ahmed Hussein, CEO for the Neighborhood Organization, said newcomers, youth and low-income people in the Flemingdon Park and Franklin Park neighbourhoods have all benefited from its proximity.
"We're really disappointed because this is a gem in our neighbourhood," Hussein said. "We need attractions in the suburbs. We don't need to move everything to the downtown."
Moving the Science Centre downtown will make it more difficult to access for people in Flemingdon Park and Franklin Park because it adds an additional cost, Hussein said.
"We have to understand there are people who are not able to go to downtown," he said.
Ahmad Alam, a Grade 10 student in the area, didn't mince words about the decision.
"I was pissed when they said, they're going to move it. I thought it was pretty stupid," he told CBC Radio's Here and Now. "The Science Centre here on Don Mills [Road] is like the only thing we have."
LISTEN | Kids in Flemingdon Park say they need the Science Centre to stay:
Paromita Roy is in Grade 11 and is the student council president at the nearby Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute.
"I think it would affect the neighborhood a bit because now you don't have the attraction that kids can look forward to," she said.
Hussein would like to see more consultation with the community about the Science Centre's future, as he said there hasn't been any so far.
"We just heard the news as everybody else," he said.
What will the new Science Centre look like?
The simple answer is: we don't know yet.
No detailed design plans have been released, though the province says the Science Centre will find its new home in a "custom-built, state-of-the-art facility," as well as the Cinesphere and the pods that were part of the original Ontario Place.
A development application currently before the city references "a single storey building ... to host science-based programming potentially in partnership with the Ontario Science Centre."
An image included in that application shows a Science Centre building on the mainland.
The province says additional details will be released "at a later date."
Ford's office confirmed to CBC Toronto that the new Science Centre will be around half the size of the previous one.
The current six-storey building is approximately 568,000 square feet, while the new centre will be around 25,000 square metres, with the new building taking up about 18,000 square metres and the pods and Cinesphere taking up 7,100 square metres.
Construction on the new centre will begin in 2025 with its opening expected for 2028, the Science Centre said in a statement this week. The current facility will remain open in the interim.
What needs to happen before the construction starts?
The province's proposal has to make its way through the city's development application process and ultimately be approved by city councillors.
Infrastructure Ontario submitted a development application on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure in November 2022, the centrepiece of which is Therme's 65,000-square-metre, seven-storey indoor private "wellness centre" and water park.
City staff published a status report in late March with some of their initial feedback on the application. They highlighted that the proposed 22,000-square-metre, 26-metre-high entrance building that would connect the mainland to the West Island (where the spa will be built) is so big that it "overwhelms the public realm."
Staff also concluded that a five-level underground parking garage would defy established city and provincial planning policy that stresses public transportation over private vehicles.(Ontario Place is one of the terminal stations of the Ontario Line, a 15.6-kilometre subway line that would run from Ontario Place in the west to the current Science Centre in the east).
On Thursday, councillors on the city's government committee voted to defer a decision on whether to swap land with the province to facilitate the the redevelopment until the city council approves the development application and the province has provided council with a copy of the lease with Therme.
The city says staff continue to engage Infrastructure Ontario about the issues raised in their report and from public consultations.
With files from Haydn Watters and Here and Now