Though this has been raised in the Westin Hotel thread..
From CreateTO meeting of 13 March 2020
Re: RA11.2 Proposal for Long-Term Land Lease - City Owned Property at 11 Bay Street I am writing in support of recommendations by the Chief Executive Officer of CreateTO to undertake negotiations regarding the lease for the City owned property at 11 Bay Street, in order to advance the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal (JLFT) Master Plan project that was initiated by former Deputy Mayor Pam McConnell. The recommended lease negotiation represents an opportunity to continue the city-building work of Deputy Mayor McConnell and the community to revitalize the Ferry Terminal into a functional gateway to the Islands, an attractive and high-quality public place befitting how special and important our waterfront is for all Torontonians, and an iconic landmark raising Toronto's tourism profile and promoting City-wide economic development. The Ferry Terminal is the gateway to Toronto Island Park, one of our city's most treasured destinations, with more than a million visits every year. On busy days in the summer, up to 20,000 people ride the ferry in a single day. However, it has long been recognized that the ferry terminal isn't reaching its potential as a welcoming and functional transportation gateway. Deputy Mayor McConnell began advancing the revitalization of the Ferry Terminal in 2012. She organized a Working Group and together they quickly took on the task of laying the groundwork for an international design competition to reimagine the Ferry Terminal as a modern transportation facility and iconic waterfront destination for Toronto. She secured the funds to undertake the competition, a collaboration of the City of Toronto and Waterfront Toronto, which received submissions from 33 design teams from 12 countries. In May 2015, the team of KPMB Architects, West 8 and Greenberg Consultants Inc. and their proposal –called Harbour Landing –was selected as the winning entry. The proposal successfully created a signature waterfront park and iconic ferry terminal that enhances accessibility and complements proximity to the water’s edge while offering spectacular views of the lake.
Deputy Mayor McConnell immediately organized funding for a first phase of the project, which was the extension of the Queens Quay waterfront promenade public realm design to the edge of the ferry terminal. This work was completed in 2019. In addition, Deputy Mayor McConnell was instrumental in embedding the Ferry Terminal revitalization as one of Waterfront Toronto's Signature Projects to be prioritized in their Strategic Plan. The prominent location of 11 Bay Street, with frontage on Queens Quay across from the Ferry Terminal in the heart of Toronto's waterfront, is a rare strategic opportunity to link the intensification of an underutilized City owned property with the an important city-building project on our shared waterfront that will benefit and be enjoyed by all Torontonians. If the Board approves the recommendations from the Chief Executive Officer of CreateTO, it will be necessary to launch a public consultation process on the development proposal for 11 Bay Street. As the local ward councillor, I will be pleased to help facilitate timely and productive conversations with neighbours and stakeholders, including the local business improvement area and residents' association. A high standard of public participation as well as following good planning principles are both highly important when we are talking about the future use of publicly-owned lands. I respectfully recommend the Board adopt the staff recommendations to pursue these negotiations.
Sincerely,
Joe Cressy Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York
From:
http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2020.RA11.2