Item - 2022.EX34.4

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1. City Council endorse the Priority Downtown Parks and Public Realm Work Plan as summarized in Attachment 1 to the report (June 24, 2022) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, and direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, in consultation with the General Manager, Transportation Services, General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, and other Divisions and Agencies, as appropriate, to report back to City Council on individual projects at major milestones, including on finalized project costs and a financial strategy, to inform future budget submissions for relevant City Divisions.

2. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, General Manager, Transportation Services and General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, in consultation with other Divisions and Agencies as appropriate, to report back to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee and City Council in the third quarter of 2023 on opportunities and priorities for future Bentway expansion sites (under and adjacent to the Gardiner Expressway) between Dufferin St and Spadina Ave (such as and inclusive of the Bentway Bridge/Landing), including:

a. recommendations on the City’s role to support The Bentway Conservancy in operations, programming, fundraising, and design and construction of future expansion sites; 

b. coordination and alignment with the planned rehabilitation of the Gardiner Expressway deck; and

c. estimated project costs and a financial strategy to explore how The Bentway’s expansion projects can be included, where appropriate, in the City’s 10-year Capital Budget and Plan as part of a future budget process.
 

3. City Council direct the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation in consultation with other relevant Divisions, to report to the Executive Committee in 2023 on options to speed up the delivery of the Bathurst Quay and University Avenue parks; including phasing the University Avenue project by focusing on the northern section first.

This report responds to an October 2021 City Council direction to Parks, Forestry and Recreation, City Planning, Transportation Services, and Economic Development and Culture, to collaboratively advance the City Council-approved TOcore Downtown Parks and Public Realm Plan and, in particular, a direction to identify opportunities to secure large parks in and adjacent to the Downtown.

The report presents three priority large parks and public realm opportunities in the Downtown recommended to be developed through further due diligence, planning and consultation: Bathurst Quay signature waterfront park, Rail Corridor Public Realm Master Plan and University Avenue / Queen's Park Crescent.

These three projects advance the implementation of "Transformative Ideas" in the TOcore Downtown Parks and Public Realm Plan (PPRP). They will support the City's recovery and rebuild by fostering economic development and private and public investment, improving quality of life in growing high-density residential and employment districts and transforming Toronto's public spaces.

The report seeks Council direction to proceed with the recommended Priority Downtown Parks and Public Realm Work Plan outlined in Attachment 1 to this report, which includes a series of immediate next steps related to ongoing due diligence, technical studies, and stakeholder consultation; and proposed near, medium and longer-term stage-gated milestones for advancing these generational opportunities over a ten-plus year work plan.

The three Priority Downtown Parks and Public Realm Projects include the following initiatives, as described in further detail in Attachment 1:

- Bathurst Quay signature waterfront park: advancing Council directions contained in both the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Plan and PPRP, and building on the momentum of ongoing revitalization projects in the Bathurst Quay neighbourhood, this significant new waterfront park will transform the under-utilized City-owned Spadina Quay parking garage (539 Queens Quay West) and adjacent Portland Slip water lot properties. The consolidation of these two properties creates an opportunity to construct an approximate 1.3 hectare (3 acre) signature new park at a central and highly accessible waterfront location. The construction of a new park at this location will also serve to link together a network of existing and emerging park and community assets in the surrounding area, including the Toronto Music Garden, the revitalized Canada Malting property , Ireland Park, the Corleck arts centre, the Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre and Little Norway Park. City staff are recommending that this project advance in the near term, in support of a planned closure and decommissioning of the existing Spadina Quay parking garage, and plans to create decking over a portion of the Portland Slip water lot.

- Rail Corridor Public Realm Master Plan: this forward-looking vision and strategic document will proactively guide the City's planning and negotiation efforts in response to various possible 'decked' and/or 'overbuild' park, public realm and connection opportunities over and adjacent to the rail corridor in the downtown core - from Fort York in the west to Union Station in the east. Building on previous analysis, this planning exercise is proposed to commence in the near term, with results used to guide potential partnerships with private-sector and institutional landowners, setting the framework for the phased and coordinated construction of a connected rail corridor park and public realm network over a medium-to-longer-term build-out.

- University Avenue / Queen's Park Crescent: A reimagined University Avenue and Queen's Park Crescent will provide a continuous linear public space and green connection between Downtown's Financial and Health Science Districts, Queens' Park, and the University of Toronto. This transformative opportunity is contemplated as a longer-term and potentially incremental endeavour. This report recommends a work plan to expand upon the foundational work that is already underway in order to protect and assess this opportunity, including an engagement strategy, a capital project coordination strategy for all public and private sector projects throughout the project area, and a Cultural Heritage Evaluation. This next phase is proposed to commence in the near term, with results used to inform future planning and capital project development, leading to a phased approach towards potentially implementing the University Avenue Transformation concept envisioned in the PPRP.

A stage-gated work plan approach, with realistic and achievable milestones, set according to near-term (under 5 years), medium-term (5-10 years) and longer-term (10+ years) time periods, will ensure that City Council direction is secured at appropriate decision points and that these transformative opportunities are aligned and implementation-ready when external constraints are addressed and resources are allocated. Further strategic capital planning among City Divisions will identify alignment and interdependencies of divisional projects in order to realize project delivery efficiencies and to minimize disruption.