Nathan Phillips Square is the site of some of Toronto's heavier foot traffic, and the pedestrian infrastructure of our premier public square was crumbling after years of heavy foot traffic, requiring repair for various elements of the square's service infrastructure. Subsequently, work to revitalize the classic modern design of Nathan Phillips Square has been ongoing since the Spring of 2010, split over several phases. 

Rendering of the Nathan Phillips Square Revitalization, image courtesy of Perkins+Will Canada / Plant Architect Inc.

The first two phases involved the demolition of the Peace Garden, the dismantling of the monument, the installation of power, security, water, gas and communication infrastructure under the square, along with waterproofing the garage underneath. Also in the first two years was the landscaping the western area of the square, creating a new stage and skate rental pavilion, and new water-jets installed in the square.

Since last Summer, work has been under way on the third and fourth phases of the revitalization, which is being led by architectural firm Perkins + Will and landscape architects Plant. The lengthy revitalization process is set to conclude by the Spring of 2015. A future phase will bring a new restaurant to the square.

Peace Garden area at Nathan Phillips Square, image by Forum contributor salsa

Plenty of work has been done since our last update in July when the Winston Churchill statue had just been relocated to the northwest quadrant of the site. Since then work has been completed on the landscaping of the southwest quadrant of the site, visible in the image above, and construction of the relocated Peace Garden area. Planting the Peace Garden will take place next Spring.

Work is also largely complete on hard and soft landscaping, including benches, trees and planters in the Queen Street Forecourt. A new vent grill was recently installed along the Queen Street West sidewalk, replacing the long elevated grill that hindered north-south circulation before the revitalization.

New Queen Street sidewalks, seating and ventilation grill, image by Forum contributor salsa

The third and fourth phases have also included the reconstruction of the sidewalk and traffic island at Queen and Bay Streets, a rebuilt layby along the site's Queen Street frontage with new vehicle barriers, and ongoing work on the garage access building at the southeast corner of the square. Other finishing touches to come include the installation of furniture throughout the square.

New sidewalks along the site's Queen Street frontage, image by Forum contributor salsa

Additional information and renderings can be found in our dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Projects & Construction Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.