Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR

nice pics sean. the station looks beautiful and quite upscale. i guess it helps not having a harvey's in the great hall.
 
TTC Union Station upgrade

Are there any updates on the progress the TTC has been making on the Union Sation subway platform expansion? I believe a watermain was relocated from Front Street (or Bay Street?), but there doesn't seem to be any more construction currently taking place. Does anybody know what the holdup is?
 
I'm pretty sure they're going on as intended -- the whole boarded over section of the sidewalk in front of Union Station is where most of the construction is happening..
 
Couldn't find a proper thread to put this in, so here it is..

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/540918

GO Transit offers to buy part of Union Station
TheStar.com - GTA - GO Transit offers to buy part of Union Station

Agency would get space for new head office, while city gets funds to help renovate station

November 21, 2008
Paul Moloney
Tess Kalinowski
staff reporters

A GO Transit deal to buy part of historic Union Station from the city may help pay for badly needed renovations to the building and give GO the prime head office address it has been seeking.

The regional transit agency is offering to buy about 90,000 square feet of vacant space in the west wing of the city-owned station for an undisclosed price. GO already owns the train shed, track area and the rails from about Strachan Ave. to the Don River.

"If the Air Canada Centre is centre ice for the Leafs, this is centre ice for GO Transit," said GO board chair Peter Smith. "The city's going to deliver to us a base building that we can outfit to meet our specifications.

"We know there's an opportunity to play a prominent role in the revitalization of Union Station."


If the sale is approved by Toronto City Council next month, and by the province, it would mark the beginning of a new partnership between the city and GO to revitalize the transportation hub, which sees more daily traffic than Pearson International Airport.

The Great Hall and maintenance of the station would remain under the city's jurisdiction, as would a proposed retail development. Under the agreement, GO would pay for creating a northwest path that, along with improvements to the concourse area, would help ease rush-hour crowding as commuters try to reach the subway and downtown office towers.

GO, which would move about 150 of its 200 office employees into the station in 2013, wasn't interested in a lease, Smith said.

"GO is a natural partner," said Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby, chair of city council's government management committee, which is to review the proposal today.

"I can't imagine any member of the committee being concerned that this is bad or something."

GO currently leases space on Bay St. near the lake and had been working with a developer to buy space to build its own offices near the station, but that plan fell apart.
 
The most interesting thing in that article is the talk about the new northwest PATH connection. We knew it was coming sooner or later, but this firms up the plans somewhat
 
I don't know if selling the west wing to GO is the best choice. It seems like it would limit the city's options in future revitalizations. I remember the LP Heritage plan had a big atrium with a hotel there. Of course it's not like they're selling it to a private company. It's just the provincial government and I'm sure they'd co-operate in the future.
 
unimaginative2 said:
I don't know if selling the west wing to GO is the best choice. It seems like it would limit the city's options in future revitalizations. I remember the LP Heritage plan had a big atrium with a hotel there. Of course it's not like they're selling it to a private company. It's just the provincial government and I'm sure they'd co-operate in the future.
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As far as I'm concerned this is a win-win. Toronto had their chance to revitalize the station on their own and they blew it. GO is a great partner for them.

Still have the east wing right?
 
This does not smell good,the city is slowly losing control of the grand station and eventuly the rail corridor;Its a shady deal that stinks.The province in the last 10 years hasnt had any money to spend on any GO Transit improvments. What makes anyone think that things will change.
 
Automation Gallery said:
The province in the last 10 years hasnt had any money to spend on any GO Transit improvments. What makes anyone think that things will change.
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What are you talking about? There's been billions in capital spending towards service improvements and expansion within the last 4 years.

Major improvements I can think of off the top of my head:

- union station renewal
- new locomotives and buses
- switch heaters
- at least six expansion projects on multiple existing lines underway (new tracks, new stations) and six more to come
- extension to Barrie

Most of these aren't even part of MoveOntario 2020, which includes even more improvements, like the Pearson rail link.
 
unimaginative2 said:
I don't know if selling the west wing to GO is the best choice. It seems like it would limit the city's options in future revitalizations. I remember the LP Heritage plan had a big atrium with a hotel there. Of course it's not like they're selling it to a private company. It's just the provincial government and I'm sure they'd co-operate in the future.
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For some reason, the notion of plunking a "big atrium with a hotel there" in part of Union Station gives me the shudders. Maybe limiting the city's options is a *good* thing...
 
Perhaps, though that wing was originally designed to be an atrium. They just plunked some stuff down on top of the windows that used to be there and made it a fake skylight. I agree with you that there should be a limit to renovations, especially in the historic parts of the station.
 
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