Marathon Realty's land at the eastern edge of the Park is zoned for a hotel and residential/commercial uses. To the west is the 55,000 seat SkyDome stadium, home of Toronto's baseball and football teams, and the Harbourfront cultural complex is to the south.
The development of the Roundhouse Park area involves both the public and private sectors.
Public partners include the Convention Centre Corporation (a provincial organization) the CN Tower Corporation (a federal organization) and the City of Toronto. Private partners include Marathon Realty (the real estate arm of the Canadian Pacific Railway) and the business organizations who win the tender call processes being conducted by the City and the Canada Lands Company for the Roundhouse and Tower business.
The role of the Trust in this project was to describe the opportunity in its vision of the central waterfront, assist in the resolution of design and heritage issues including links to the waterfront, help create the consensus for decisions and develop the business scenario for the Roundhouse.
To reach this point has taken many years. Negotiations between the railways and the City to resolve the urban planning issues associated with the reuse of the former rail lands lasted more than a decade. Complex land deals were also required, and design issues were challenging.
It was only when the Convention Centre came forward to make the business case for the expansion of the convention facilities and the Province (supported by the City) selected the option now under construction that the elements for development fell into place.
Conclusion
The 50 communities situated on the Canadian shore of Lake Ontario are engaged in a dynamic process of waterfront regeneration based on the integration of environmental, economic and community considerations. The two regeneration projects discussed in this presentation illustrate the open, inclusive, multi-stakeholder, partnership approach that is the hallmark of the process.
