Item - 2022.RA30.6

The Board of Directors of CreateTO:  

1.  Recommends City Council authorize the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO, in consultation with the City Manager, the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and other Divisions as needed, to engage and if required, enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with representatives from the entity named in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (March 30, 2022) from the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO ("the Entity"), and to participate in a Campus Master Plan review exercise that includes the exploration of the feasibility of a post-secondary campus and City-building opportunity in the Mount Dennis area and potentially other areas of the City in relation to the Campus Master Plan review.

2.  Recommends City Council request the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO, to update the Board of Directors of CreateTO in the third quarter of 2023 with the results of this work, next steps and recommendations.

3.  Recommends City Council direct that the confidential information contained in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (March 30, 2022) from the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO remain confidential until after the recommendations have been adopted by Council unless it has otherwise been made public.

4.  Directed that the confidential information contained in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (March 30, 2022) from the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO remain confidential until after the recommendations have been adopted by Council unless it has otherwise been made public, and at the discretion of the Chief Executive Officer.

April 27, 2022 - Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (March 30, 2022) from the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO is now public and can be accessed under Background Information.

The Board of Directors of CreateTO recessed its public session to meet in closed session to consider the item as it pertains to a position plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the Board of Directors, CreateTO or the City of Toronto.

The purpose of this report is to respond to City Council's request to CreateTO to identify lands in the Mount Dennis area that may be suitable for a post-secondary campus and to seek direction for CreateTO and City staff to engage in a collaborative exercise with a local post-secondary school to review the feasibility of a campus project in the Mount Dennis area, as part of a broader City-building initiative.

Also, as directed by City Council, Economic Development and Culture reached out to Toronto based post-secondary institutions and the entity named in Confidential Attachment 1 ("the Entity"), has come forward identifying an interest in investigating the feasibility of a campus investment project in the Mount Dennis area, as part of its Campus Master Planning exercise that is currently underway. 

The feasibility exercise by the Entity and the necessary due diligence work by CreateTO and the City for this opportunity will determine whether a collaborative project involving a post-secondary investment in the Mount Dennis area may be possible.  A campus project represents a strong opportunity for CreateTO to lead a potentially transformational City-building initiative that could deliver not only a campus/satellite campus but also wide-ranging social, economic, environmental and cultural benefits to the Mount Dennis area, and potentially other parts of the City where the City partners with the Entity on real estate solutions.