From the National Post
City moves to begin $640-million Union Station remake next year
By Allison Hanes, National Post
Nine years after acquiring historic Union Station, the city appears ready to soon begin a $640-million remake of the Beaux Art landmark, including addition of a new mall.
City council’s executive committee will next week be asked to finalize plans for the landmark train station that stalled after a deal with private investors sputtered out three years ago, then relaunched in 2007 with the city going it alone.
If loose ends are tied up this summer, the massive overhaul would start in early 2010 and be completed by 2015, a much tighter timeline than initially envisioned.
Unfinished business include securing federal funding, provincial approval of GO Transit’s deal to buy part of the station, and city council’s endorsement of a leasing deal with a property management company for a retail concourse.
Yesterday, federal Finance Minister Jim Flahery reaffirmed funding promised in January’s federal budget, if only in vague terms.
“The money is there, in the budget for infrastructure,†he said. “Certainly, Union Station is a priority for the federal government because it’s the hub of the GO Train.â€
A city report for next week’s executive committee meeting notes that while $615-million was allocated for the project in Toronto’s 2009-2018 capital budget, “total costs are now estimated to be $640-million and the project timeframe has been accelerated.’’ It warns
the longer the city waits to begin work, the higher the final price tag.
“Delays in commencing the construction phase of the project will add to the overall project costs,†the report added.
Despite the signs of progress, Councillor Karen Stintz (Eglinton Lawrence) said yesterday she remains skeptical about the project.
“When I think about Union Station, for me it’s the biggest example of the city’s inability to get things done,†she said.
Ms. Stintz questioned whether the city should even be redeveloping the iconic structure and crucial transit nexus, through which some 200,000 passengers flow each day, as opposed to Metrolinx, the regional transportation agency.
“It needs to be developed as a train station and we’re trying to develop it as a mall,†she said. “I don’t believe the city is in the best position to develop it as a transportation hub. I think that’s why we continue to spin our wheels on how we should develop this asset.â€
The pricetag of the complicated renovation has already swelled since Toronto acquired Union Station in 2000 from the Toronto Terminals Railway Company.
The city spent six years attempting to broker a deal with a private partner to invest $150-million in the ageing structure, including about $20-million for repairs and $130-million on a new retail concourse with new shops and restaurants.
But the deal with the consortium crumbled in 2006, as the tab for the basic repairs grew to $100-million.
In 2007, council revived a $388-million plan, including $137-million for a retail mall that requires excavating under the station and $27-million in repairs, heritage upgrades and improvements for transit users.
In December the city agreed to sell GO Transit approximately 102,000 square feet of office space including a portion of the first floor, and the north side of the second, third and fourth floors of the centre block.
The arrangement would require GO to carry out extensive renovations to the currently vacant portion of the building, but the purchase also signaled a new partnership to spur the complete overhaul of Union Station.
