Toronto Convention Venues Expanding

Convention facilities expanding

To ensure the region’s capacity keeps pace with demand, the four major convention facilities in the Toronto area are planning major expansions and renovations in the coming year.

• Metro Toronto Convention Centre plans a $4-million renovation project in 2007 that will reconfigure and refinish the pre-function space outside Constitution Hall.

• Direct Energy Centre is planning a major expansion that will add to the Automotive Building to create a Conference Centre with 58,500 square feet of ballrooms and 22,500 square feet of meeting rooms.

• Toronto Congress Centre will undertake a massive expansion in 2007 that will double its total exhibition space to more than one million square feet. The 500,000-square-foot expansion includes 40 new meeting rooms and a 25,000-square-foot ballroom.

• International Centre is adding an $11.5-million state-of-the-art Conference Centre to enhance its existing 500,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting facilities. The 50,000 sq. ft. expansion offers 12 new meeting rooms, a 17,000 sq. ft. ballroom and a business centre. The Conference Centre is scheduled to open in January 2008.

Louroz

If you ask me, we need to a total make over of the north building of the Convention Centre. I love all the glass, but the brown is depressing. Also if your walking by it, you have no clue where the main entrance is and you don't even know its a Convention Centre.

Louroz

FM:

Totally agree with you there - in fact I would go further and say that both the north and south building needs a complete revamp, perhaps as part of an expansion scheme that would see the bulk of new space above the railway tracks. Think a floating glass box...and the site of the North building reduced to being the formal entranceway, instead of the dump that it is.

AoD

The chances of anything being done to the north building of the convention center is quite small. The main reason being that they are going to be facing a large cost to the south building. After a recent conversation with the structural engineers of the MTCC I found out that the south building is sinking. Approximately 7 years from now the south building will have to have a major overhaul. I have no idea what the solution will be.

Tear it all down? The complex is a nightmare anyways.

AoD

That entire area is a windswept nightmare - especially in the winter months. Front Street is way too wide and the new condos to the west do nothing to genuinely enhance the bleak and barren feel of the "neighbourhood". Hopefully with the addition of the Ritz-Carlton to the north things will improve in the future.

After a recent conversation with the structural engineers of the MTCC I found out that the south building is sinking.

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That is pretty sad. It is almost brand new. I wonder what difference it makes if an underground building is sinking. I would think that most of the repercussions would be on the surface.

I am there again tomorrow.
I will try and find out more details.

Funnily enough, I think the N building of the Convention Centre suffers from the same old "Toronto problem", i.e. it (and the city which surrounds it) is so goshdarn successful, it's an ironic disincentive to demolish/rebuild--at least, compared to some of those US-style quick-urban-fixes from the 60s70s80s...

I heard about this awhile back. I guess they need to compete with the larger US cities, such as Chicago, which are expanding to accomodate bigger shows. From what I recall the International Centre near the airport is in dire need of some newer and more spiffy facilities.

Where's the south building- is that the one on Bremner with the big woodpecker?

under the park/roundhouse - the building beside the woodpecker is just the entrance

I really like how they decided to expand underground, allowing for the nice parkland above.

I think a redo of the Front Street facade, and building over the tracks to increase space (and accessibility?) is a great idea. I wonder what the air rights situation would be for a spot so close to la CN tower.

Why not incorporate the Roundhouse building into the equation? I am sure that there is plenty of money to do that, not to mention it would add a piece of historical Toronto into the mix.

p5

Why not incorporate the Roundhouse building into the equation? I am sure that there is plenty of money to do that, not to mention it would add a piece of historical Toronto into the mix.

p5

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Isn't that the Steamwhistle Brewery?