Item - 2022.EX32.10

The Executive Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council endorse the building program for the new reimagined St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, as more particularly itemized in Attachment 2 to the report (March 30, 2022) from the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO.

2. City Council direct the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO and the Chief Executive Officer, TO Live, along with the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to:

a. explore options for and complete the schematic design process to reimagine the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, informed by the existing, secured funding as outlined in the TO Live State of Good Repair budget and the building program outlined in Attachment 2 and the heritage approach and principles outlined in Attachment 1 to the report (March 30, 2022) from the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO;

b. complete an updated Class D cost estimate;

c. provide an update to the project budget and funding strategy;

d. explore the opportunity for a renovation budget for the existing building. 

3. City Council direct the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO, and the Chief Executive Officer, TO Live, along with the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to report back to the Executive Committee and City Council in the second quarter of 2023 with updates including: the completed schematic design, the project costs based on a Class D estimate, the business model and funding strategy.

At its meeting on April 12, 2022, the Board of Directors, CreateTO considered Item RA30.2 and made recommendations to City Council.

Summary from the report (March 23, 2022) from the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO:

At its meeting of January 20, 2020, City Council adopted EX12.6 which directed CreateTO, in consultation with TO Live, to prepare a building program, Class D cost estimate, business model and funding strategy for a reimagined St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts ("STLC") a civic asset, managed by TO Live, located at 27 Front Street East in the heart of the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood. The purpose of this report is to provide the Board of Directors of CreateTO (the "Board") with an update on the work, directed by City Council and recommendations for next steps. 

The report will also be considered by the TO Live St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts Redevelopment Board Committee and the TO Live Board on April 5 and April 14 respectively.

The work completed to date reflects Phase 1 of the City's Major Capital Project Approval Process, (Preliminary Assessment/Feasibility) which includes:

-  Development of a building program, informed by a robust consultation process with a broad range of representatives in the arts, culture and creative spaces and the St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood Association and BIA;

-  Development of a heritage approach and principles to guide the future reimaging of the STLC;

-  A test fit of the building program, to ensure the cultural heritage of the site can be celebrated, while providing the new spaces to support the evolving and changing needs of the arts, culture and creative sector for the next 60 years;

-  A Class D cost estimate to inform a preliminary project budget,

-  A financial model that operationalizes the new vision for the STLC; and

-  A funding strategy to support the construction of a new reimaged STLC. 

The STLC has played an important role in the evolution of the City's cultural fabric. Constructed by the City of Toronto as a Canadian centennial project, the STLC opened its doors in February 1970. For 52 years the building, along side its counterpart, Meridian Hall, has served performers and hosted performances that have entertained citizens and visitors. Today, following the impacts of the pandemic, a new cultural landscape is emerging that calls for a reimagining of the STLC that builds upon the renewed values and themes heard through the consultation process, and which aligns with the TO Live five year Strategic Plan - programing priorities; flexible spaces; equity, access and affordability; creative process; and delivery systems that will support the next generation of artists, performers, creatives and the local community.  

The reimagined STLC will create a cultural ecosystem where renewed cultural spaces, innovative spaces and gathering spaces will anchor the STLC as a cultural and civic hub along the important Front Street cultural corridor. A reimagined STLC will support the following key objectives:

-  Reimagine an aging, outdated facility that no longer serves the functional needs of the cultural and creative sector and the local community;

-  Create a new state-of-the-art cultural hub and community asset for the City that will be fitted out with cutting-edge broadcast technology and livestreaming equipment, virtual and augmented reality technology and high speed connectivity to support the next generation of creatives and generate economic activity in Toronto;

-  Create flexible spaces that will:

-  Serve the dynamic needs of artists (local or otherwise) and contribute to their artistic development, innovation and collaboration;

-  Provide flexible theatre spaces, rehearsal hall, studios and workshops, lobbies and outdoor spaces that will be used and animated throughout the day and night;

-  Enable the versatility of spaces to serve performance and presentation, creation and incubation to best serve the local artistic community as well as enable TO Live to showcase the world's most innovative artistic programs through presentation; and

-  Bring together, a variety of partners - local artists and organizations, performers, educational partners, anchor tenants and the local community in open and accessible spaces;

-  Build cultural capacity in the City, that will secure longevity of space for the creative community;

-  Support the cultural and retail importance of Front Street East as a "Cultural Corridor and Retail Priority Street" in the City's Downtown Plan;

-  Contribute to the enhancement of the Front Street public realm with improved connections to Berczy Park, Scott Street and Meridian Hall;

-  Target Toronto Green Standards, Version 3, Tier 4 and establish new sustainable performance standards for this architype;

-  Develop a business model that will provide affordable access to the performing arts sector, communities and neighbourhood that will be representative of the citizens of Toronto; and

-  Develop a funding strategy that will draw support from federal and provincial governments and fundraising to minimize the capital requirements from the City.  

The next steps will require City Council's approval to advance to Phase 2 of City's Major Capital Project Approval Process, (exploring options for design, site investigation and due diligence, to inform a project budget and schedule).

At its meeting on April 14, 2022, the Board of Governors of TO Live considered item CT32.1 and made recommendations to City Council. The Board of Directors of TO Live also forwarded the report (April 13, 2022) from the President and Chief Executive Officer, TO Live [CT32.1b] to the Executive Committee for consideration with the recommendations from the Board of Directors of CreateTO and the Board of Directors of TO Live.

Summary from the report (March 30, 2022) from the President and Chief Executive Officer, TO Live:

At its meeting of January 20, 2020, City Council adopted EX12.6 which directed TO Live and CreateTO to prepare a building program, Class D cost estimate, business model and funding strategy for a reimagined St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts ("STLC"), a civic asset managed by TO Live and located at 27 Front Street East in the heart of the St. Lawrence neighbourhood. 

The purpose of this report is to provide the Board of Directors of TO Live (the "Board") with an update on the work directed by City Council, and the recommendations for next steps. 

The work completed to date reflects Phase 1 of the City's Major Capital Project Approval Process (Preliminary Assessment/Feasibility) which includes:

-  development of a building program informed by a robust consultation process with a broad range of representatives in the arts, culture and creative spaces and the St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood Association and BIA;

-  development of a heritage approach and principles to guide the future reimaging of the STLC;

-  a test fit of the building program to ensure the cultural heritage of the site can be celebrated, while providing new spaces to support the evolving and changing needs of the arts, culture, and creative sector for the next 60 years;

-  a Class D cost estimate to inform a preliminary project budget;

-  a financial model that operationalizes the new vision for the STLC; and

-  a funding strategy to support the construction of a new reimaged STLC.
 

The STLC has played an important role in the evolution of the City's cultural fabric. Constructed by the City of Toronto as a Canadian centennial project, the STLC opened its doors in February 1970. For 52 years, the building, alongside its counterpart, Meridian Hall (originally named the O'Keefe Centre), has served performers and hosted performances that have entertained citizens and visitors.

Today, following the impacts of the pandemic and a devastated cultural sector, a new cultural landscape is emerging that calls for a reimagining of the STLC that builds upon the renewed values and themes articulated by the community through the consultation process, and also aligns with TO Live's five year Strategic Plan - flexible spaces; equity, access and affordability; creative process; and delivery systems that will support the next generation of artists, performers, creatives, and the local community. 

This advances the Council direction to prioritize a more equitable recovery and inclusive economy articulated through the COVID-19 Impacts and Opportunities report and Building Back Stronger: Report of the Economic Cultural Advisory Group.

The reimagined STLC will create a cultural ecosystem where renewed cultural spaces, innovative spaces and gathering spaces will anchor the STLC as a cultural and civic hub along the important Front Street cultural corridor. A reimagined STLC will support the following key objectives:

-  Reimagine an aging, outdated facility that no longer serves the functional needs of the cultural and creative sector and the local community;
 

-  Create a new state-of-the-art cultural hub and community asset for the city that will be fitted out with cutting-edge broadcast technology and livestreaming equipment, virtual and augmented reality technology, and high-speed connectivity to support the next generation of creatives and generate economic activity in Toronto;
 

-  Create flexible spaces that will:
 

-  serve the dynamic needs of artists (local or otherwise) and contribute to their artistic development, innovation and collaboration;

-  provide flexible theatre spaces, a rehearsal hall, studios and workshops, lobbies and outdoor spaces that will be used and animated throughout the day and night;

-  enable the versatility of spaces to serve performance and presentation, creation and incubation to best serve the local artistic community as well as enable TO Live to showcase the world's most innovative artistic programs through presentation; and

-  bring together a variety of partners - local artists and organizations, performers educational partners, anchor tenants and the local community in open and accessible space.
 

-  Build cultural capacity in the city, that will secure longevity of space for the creative community;
 

-  Support the cultural and retail importance of Front Street East as a "Cultural Corridor and Retail Priority Street" in the City's Downtown Plan;
 

-  Contribute to the enhancement of the Front Street public realm with improved connections to Berczy Park, Scott Street and Meridian Hall;
 

-  Target Toronto Green Standards, Version 3, Tier 4 and establish new sustainable performance standards for this archetype;
 

-  Develop a business model that will provide affordable access to the performing arts sector, communities and neighbourhood that will be representative of the citizens of Toronto; and
 

-  Develop a funding strategy that will draw support from federal and provincial governments and fundraising to minimize the capital requirements from the City.  
 

The next steps require City Council's approval to advance to Phase 2 of the City's Major Capital Project Approval Process (concept design, through an international design competition, site investigation and due diligence to inform a project budget and schedule). Subject to City Council's approval, a design competition would be launched in the third quarter of 2022 with a recommended design team and project budget reporting to Executive Committee and City Council in the second quarter of 2023.