Toronto Wellington Destructor Revitalization | ?m | ?s | TAS | SvN

This one is on the agenda for CreateTO's September meeting.

They have arrived at terms with a head lessee.

They are seeking approval to proceed.

Report Link here: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2021/ra/bgrd/backgroundfile-170337.pdf

While the lessee and various details remain confidential, we do get this from the above-linked report:

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Councillor Cressy is writing in support, with a public meeting planned for October.

 

Toronto plans to turn 'glorious' garbage incinerator heritage site into downtown community hub


Oct 20, 2021

The Wellington Destructor, the old garbage incinerator in downtown Toronto, is set to undergo a full blown trash-to-treasure transformation.

The city's plan to restore the 3,700-square-metre heritage building and lease it out as a cultural and community hub with office and retail space goes before the general government and licensing committee at city hall Wednesday.

"First of all, the destructor — talk about the coolest name for a new arts, culture and community hub ever," said Coun. Joe Cressy, whose Spadina-Fort York ward is home to the site, which is located on Wellington Street west of Bathurst Street.

"This is decades and decades in the making and we are on the cusp of repurposing this glorious heritage site. It's going to be a pretty special place once it opens."

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It will take close to $100 million to reclaim the site, city staff estimate in a report to the committee. The city's proposing to spend $32 million up front to do environmental remediation and restore the structure. A company would take on a long-term lease and will cover the remaining $67 million, plus pay back the city in annual instalments.

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After years of public consultation, Cressy said he envisions a restored space like the Evergreen Brick Works, a former quarry and industrial site in the Don River Valley, or Wychwood Barns, originally a streetcar maintenance facility near St. Clair Avenue West and Bathurst Street.

He said with support from Mayor John Tory, he's confident the Wellington Destructor plan will be approved by council later this month. Construction is set to run from 2023 to 2025.

"There's been an expressed desire to repurpose the space into a new arts, culture and community hub, but there's also been healthy skepticism — could the city actually do it?" said Cressy.

"Often we dream big, but we have struggled to implement those big dreams."

 
The October 18th, 2021 presentation has been posted online:



Additional concept rendering of a potential indoor space:


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The Wellington Destructor back in the day:


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A winter garden would be a really interesting venue. Combined with good event programming, it could be the kind of civic space we need more of in Toronto. The type around which we could then build dense residential communities. Not every spare piece of land needs to be another condo!
 
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I went to a Halloween rave in there about 5 years ago. Fascinating space.

Man.....having you for a dad would be rough! Your kids hit their teen years and Fridays at your place.......would see you checking on the kids at midnight.....and upon finding them asleep in their rooms..........you're like "Get up!" ......."what are you doing here....?"

"I was sneaking out to Raves at half your age!"

Kids: "But dad......that would be irresponsible..........."

Towered: " And? ; how do you think I met you're mother?"
 
And......... @AlexBozikovic has a good piece up on this over at the Globe and Mail, currently, non-paywalled: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/art...or-inside-downtown-torontos-new-cultural-hub/
The wildest bit from this article:
The 2 Tecumseth development site will frame the Destructor to the west, south and east. To the north, TAS and SvN will construct a new building in the Destructor’s front yard. They plan for this to be a mass-timber structure with a sawtooth roof, a low-carbon twist on a 19th-century factory building. This will contain offices, studios and a cafe, with industrial space in the basement. Mazyar Mortazavi, the CEO of the development company TAS, suggests the underground space could accommodate the city’s store of road salt and the trucks that distribute it – allowing the city works yard next door to be turned into a park.
 

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