Item - 2021.RA21.1
Tracking Status
- This item was considered by CreateTO on March 8, 2021 and was adopted without amendment.
RA21.1 - Midtown Toronto Storm Sewer Relief Project - Strategic Partnership to Advance City Building with the Toronto District School Board
- Decision Type:
- ACTION
- Status:
- Adopted
- Wards:
- 8 - Eglinton - Lawrence, 12 - Toronto - St. Paul's
Board Decision
The Board of Directors of CreateTO:
1. Directed the Interim Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO, in consultation with the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, the General Manager, Toronto Water, and the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services to negotiate a term sheet between the City of Toronto and the Toronto District School Board for the City's acquisition of a portion of the Toronto District School Board ("TDSB") owned property known as Memorial Park (the "Subject Property") on terms and conditions acceptable to the City's Solicitor which may include:
- a project timeline and layout that mitigates student and community disruption while also ensuring City access to all required funding for the project;
- the amount of funding provided by the City to be directed toward a new school in the neighbourhood, in exchange for the property interest;
- facilitating TDSB access to the City's lands, or a portion thereof, post transfer and following completion of the Midtown Toronto Storm Sewer Relief Project (MTSSRP);
- City input and involvement in design and location of any potential new school to maximize City-building opportunities.
2. Directed the Interim Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO to work with the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, the General Manager, Toronto Water, and the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services to secure a temporary access agreement with the Toronto Lands Corporation for the Subject Property to allow for preliminary due diligence, in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.
3. Directed the Interim Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO, in consultation with the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Lands Corporation to review other publicly owned property in the area of the Subject Property which could be leveraged to maximize city building opportunities in the Forest Hill and Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhoods and report back to a future CreateTO Board meeting with a precinct plan.
4. Directed the Interim Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO in consultation with the Director, Indigenous Affairs Office and the Executive Director, Social, Development, Finance and Administration to explore any opportunities to leverage development to meet the needs of vulnerable and equity seeking groups along with Indigenous communities.
5. Directed the Interim Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO to work with Environment and Energy Division on TransformTO implementation opportunities for both mitigation and improved resilience, such as, opportunities for renewable energy, energy storage, electric vehicle charging, and net-zero emissions buildings as a part of this project.
Origin
Summary
The City of Toronto has experienced wide spread surface and basement flooding as a result of extreme storm events. On August 19, 2005, over 4,200 basement flooding complaints were received by Toronto Water, as a result of an extreme storm which exceeded a 100 year event. In April 2006, City Council approved the Basement Flooding Protection Plan (BFPP) requiring a comprehensive engineering review be undertaken to address chronic basement flooding problems in 41 separate Basement Flooding Study Areas located across the City. The Basement Flooding Protection Program (BFPP) was expanded to be City-wide following the severe storm of July 8, 2013. This expansion resulted in the creation of new Basement Flooding study areas, bringing the total to 67 study areas.
In June 2017, the City approved the proposed alignment and the preliminary design for the Midtown Toronto Storm Sewer Relief Project ("MTSSRP"). The approved design for Midtown Toronto Storm Sewer Relief Project (MTSSRP) includes a new storm water storage tank, a deep wet well, and a high inlet capacity catch basin ("Attachment 2").
Over 2,400 residents across 75 hectares in mid-town Toronto will benefit from the construction of the Midtown Toronto Storm Sewer Relief Project (MTSSRP). In particular, increasing the capacity of an overloaded storm sewer system will protect buildings from potential flooding and sewer backup, reducing both property damage and the devastating effects on families.
The preferred location for the installation of this critical infrastructure is the Toronto District School Board ("TDSB") owned property known as Memorial Park (the "Subject Property"). The Subject Property ("Attachment 1") is used as a playfield for North Preparatory Junior Public School along with Forest Hill Collegiate and also serves as informal green space for the local community. As the proposed work would effectively remove a significant percentage of the outdoor recreation space that supports student programming, the City would work with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) on a temporary plan for North Preparatory JPS for the period of construction ("Attachment 3") to mitigate any disruption to the school and to the local community. CreateTO, in consultation with the Toronto Lands Corporation ("TLC") acting on behalf of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), have been in discussion over the last couple of months to evolve a plan that would not only deal with the temporary loss of outdoor space, but also make whole the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) from a land value perspective. This plan would open up the opportunity for significant city building over and above the benefit of the installation of the Midtown Toronto Storm Sewer Relief Project (MTSSRP).
The plan would see the City of Toronto become the owner of a portion of the Subject Property required for the installation of the below grade infrastructure. In exchange for acquiring a portion of the Subject Property, the City of Toronto would provide funding to Toronto District School Board (TDSB) towards the construction of a new public school in the general neighbourhood. Funding would come from Toronto Water's capital program for the Midtown Toronto Storm Sewer Relief Project (MTSSRP).
Along with contributing funding towards a new public school, the City, in conjunction with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), would explore options to include City building opportunities as a part of any potential redevelopment of the portion of the Subject Property. The City of Toronto has significant land holdings in the immediate area ("Attachment 4 and 5"); the ability to include City uses in conjunction with the redevelopment of the site as a result of the Midtown Toronto Storm Sewer Relief Project (MTSSRP) would not only demonstrate a, "whole of government" approach to service delivery, but it would provide an opportunity to leverage Toronto Water's work to provide other strategic city building opportunities.
There is a sense of urgency to this work, as Toronto Water needs to start Phase 1 of their field investigation work by the end of March, 2021 and Phase 2 by September 2021 in order to meet project delivery timelines. The recommendations in this report reflect the negotiations with the Toronto Lands Corporation (TLC) and have been prepared in consultation with them. The Board of the Toronto Lands Corporation (TLC) is scheduled to consider a companion report on March 4th, 2021. This approach will allow CreateTO and the Toronto Lands Corporation (TLC) to move forward with the project and meet the pressing timelines of Toronto Water.
Background Information
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2021/ra/bgrd/backgroundfile-164343.pdf