Housekeeping move makes for lakefront `milestone'
Jun 26, 2007 04:30 AM
Christopher Hume
Simple is good, but on Toronto's waterfront, things are anything but.
So the decision yesterday to transfer ownership of 10 hectares of the East Bayfront from the Toronto Economic Development Corp. to the city was good news.
As John Campbell, CEO of the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp., says: "The city has been doing some internal housekeeping. It's important because it simplifies the situation. It streamlines the process so developers know who they're dealing with."
The bad news is that TEDCO retains ownership of the foot of Jarvis St., where it has made a sweetheart deal to design and build a $150 million office building for Corus Entertainment.
The damage has been done there, but now the TWRC can continue with plans for mixed-use development from Jarvis to Parliament Sts.
"When the TWRC was formed," Campbell admits, "there probably wasn't enough thought given to how our mandate meshed with other agencies."
No doubt about that. Insiders describe a situation in which various public entities – more than 20 including TEDCO – are unable to agree on the ends and means of waterfront revitalization. On many occasions, these agencies have been at odds with one another, each scrambling for supremacy, each insisting that things be done its way.
This is hardly the way to create a great waterfront. Already we have seen serious compromises – Corus – and terrible lost opportunities. The foot of Yonge St., for example, will now be the site of a huge condo complex, exactly the wrong thing.
But now at least Campbell and his agency have established their claim to an important stretch of land south of Queens Quay along the shore of Lake Ontario. Their hope is to enter into long-term leases for commercial buildings, with a smattering of residential. From its founding in 2001, the TWRC has insisted the waterfront be developed as an employment centre as well as a residential neighbourhood.
This is as it should be, though one can't help but wonder whether revitalization might have been better able to grab the collective imagination if the land in question – which is, after all, close to the central waterfront – were slated to become, say, a park. But not just any park.
Look at what Chicago accomplished with Millennium Park, which has re-energized that city's downtown core and captured international attention. Of course, that facility cost a hefty $240 million (U.S.), which came mainly from the private sector. But the result is fabulous and universally admired.
No one here would dare suggest that Toronto take on such a project.
To be fair, plans for the East Bayfront do include Sherbourne Park, though it's unlikely to be nearly as ambitious as Millennium.
Still, yesterday's decision, which goes before full council next month, is a step in the right direction, That, coupled with the ceremonial groundbreaking of the West Don Lands flood protection berm yesterday, got the week off to an excellent start for the waterfront.
In both cases, the idea is that the public sector will focus on building the infrastructure to increase future land values, which will encourage private developers to invest.
As Campbell explains, the TWRC will handle public housing, parks, developer agreements and the like, leaving builders to assume the risks of demand and construction.
"The land isn't worth that much today," he argues. "We want to add value. And developers want to make sure they're not going to get caught up in jurisdictional disputes.
"It's a major milestone. We knew it was in the works, but we didn't think it would happen so quickly."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email
chume@thestar.ca