Thanks for posting the document. It's a very nice comprehensive summary of the whole situation, and matches what was heard at the meeting.
I'm feeling very optimistic about this now. Phase I looks like a done deal. The budget is already there, and it is mostly basic infrastructure and demolition work that has to be done anyway for public safety, with few frills. Nobody will be able to credibly oppose it, not even Rob Ford and the Toronto Sun. Yet it will still produce some immediate public benefits by opening up the east promenade to Ireland Park, eliminating the true eyesores which are the western buildings, and doing emergency work on the silos themselves.
Phase II will probably be slowed down by inevitable public consultations and NIMBYism as the residents debate just how many development rights they are willing to sell off in exchange for public amenities, but at least it will be self-financing and permanently save the silos from decay.
That said, people do need to be realistic. This is going to be a nice but modest project. The Toronto Museum is not going here, assuming it ever gets built; that decision has already been made. The document anticipates about $10 million from the land sale, some of which will be needed to repair the silos, and the rest is already being eyed for ordinary community improvements like a pool. Wouldn't an aquarium or other museum cost several tens of millions, if not fifty or one hundred, not to mention the operating costs? Where is the City going to get that money in this budget situation?