Item - 2018.EP8.3

The Board of Governors of Exhibition Place:

1.  Approved the concept of an elevated bridge connecting Beanfield Centre to Hotel X. 

2.  Directed the Chief Executive Officer to take all necessary actions to give effect to this approval and work with City Planning to address all matters set out on pages 2 and 3 of the January 16, 2018 letter related to "Design Considerations"; "Heritage" and "Procedure" (Appendix B to the report (January 16, 2018) from the Chief Executive Officer, Exhibition Place).

3.  Approved entering into an agreement with NORR Limited to act as the Board's consultant in the site plan application for the elevated bridge at an upset cost of $186,515.00 and on such other terms and conditions approved by the Chief Executive Officer and the City Solicitor.

Greg Haist, Architectural Designer, NORR Architects and Planners, gave a presentation on Exhibition Place South Bridge Feasibility Report.

This report provides information on the proposed elevated bridge connecting Beanfield Conference Centre and Hotel X to provide an enclosed pedestrian connection for attendees meeting in the Conference Centre and staying in the on-site hotel.  Construction of this elevated bridge will allow these two facilities to meet the industry requirements to be considered a "self-contained conference facility" as detailed in Appendix A to this report.   

As soon as Hotel X started construction in 2013, the Board directed staff to explore options for a covered pedestrian connection from Hotel X to either Beanfield Centre or to Enercare Centre.   Exhibition Place engaged NORR Limited to undertake the study and seven possible options were explored: four tunnel options (along with several sub-options variants of one of the tunnel options) and three bridge options. 

While the NORR study was considered by the Board in 2014, because of the delay of the opening of the hotel, this matter was put on hold.  However, with the imminent opening of the hotel in 2018 and the allocation of Capital Program funding for a pedestrian connection in 2019, it is important to finalize with City Planning and City Heritage all issues related to this matter as soon as possible so construction contracts can be tendered.

Two recent meetings were held with City Planning / Heritage staff since November 2017, one of which was on site at Exhibition Place.  Following these meetings, Exhibition Place received a letter from Mr. Corwin Cambray, Acting Manager, Community Planning dated January 16, 2018, which is attached as Appendix B.  In that letter the City's outlined its concerns with the bridge option and concluded it did not support the proposal.  However the letter also stated that should the Board proceed with a site plan application for the bridge option, prior input and consultation with the City, as set out in the letter, would be required in working with the Board towards any agreed solution, in addition to development of all supporting technical documentation identified. 

As detailed in this report, Exhibition Place with its consultants, NORR Limited and ERA Architects Inc. have explored seven different options and Exhibition Place staff believe that for the necessary functioning of the hotel and conference centre, the elevated bridge is the only viable option.  The proposed location of this elevated structure is at the southerly part of Newfoundland Drive between the second floor of the Hotel X tower to a window on the Beanfield Centre second floor.

However, Exhibition Place staff and its consultants also concur that there are multiple planning / heritage issues to be resolved, not the least of which is the final design of the bridge.  The architectural expression of the bridge in the NORR study was not developed beyond a basic premise that focused on transparency of the structure and the suitable connection to the existing buildings. The intent was always to engage with City Planning and City Heritage in the further architectural development of the bridge and connection.

NORR Limited, consultants to the Board on this project, will attend the meeting and deliver a presentation on the preferred elevated bridge proposal developed to date, as reviewed by City Planning.