Toronto Nathan Phillips Square + Spirit Garden | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto

The title of this article doesn't fit the body. If the "reconstruction appears stalled", then why does the article number out each coming step of reconstruction, some of them as soon as this year?

Anyway, I'm glad to see that the contract was signed. That's a big step almost insuring that the city can't back out now.

Although the first step -- the green roof -- is something to look forward to, I was hoping for the mess on Queen St. to be dealt with first.
 
In the meantime, seeing that they're going for a methodical approach, I hope that they take cues from some of the other proposals along the way.

I liked how Rogers Marvel Architects' proposal shortened the walkway and built a glass sided stair at the main Bay St. entrance to the square:

rogers-p2-bay-lg.jpg


Also, I felt that Zeidler's fully glass walled walkways (at least the Queen St. walkways), opened the square to an uninterrupted view from the outside. The Plant proposal only partially adds glass to the walkway walls.
 
The title of this article doesn't fit the body. If the "reconstruction appears stalled", then why does the article number out each coming step of reconstruction, some of them as soon as this year?

Well, it is a Star headline.
 
I also hope they take the idea of having the flags on the Bay St side moved to the Queen St side. Though it wasn't part of the winning design.
 
In this recession, I'm assuming it's gonna be shelved for a year or two. I hope not but I have a feeling that people would revolt to see City Hall spending money on itself when things are looking grim.
 
It doesn't mean that Toronto's civic heart has to be left looking like a dump. Some paint, plantings and cleaning would go a long way.
 
In this recession, I'm assuming it's gonna be shelved for a year or two. I hope not but I have a feeling that people would revolt to see City Hall spending money on itself when things are looking grim.

I know what you mean, man, but it's really about spending money on the city and on a civic space we can all feel proud about. It's also about sprucing up our image for international tourism, which is a big business, recession or not.
 
it's worth noting that projects create jobs as well. I don't know what the dollar to job ratio is but it'll at least provide some jobs for the city. It's the same argument for any public works project - it kills two birds with one stone. Now is as good a time as ever to be building a lot of things and the square's revitalization is just one of them.
 
Toronto Star

City left holding bag on grand plaza plan
Search abandoned for partner to help pay Nathan Phillips cost

October 31, 2008
JOHN SPEARS
CITY HALL BUREAU

The City of Toronto has quietly put aside plans to raise money from private donors to redesign Nathan Phillips Square.

The renovation of Toronto's signature plaza will go ahead, city officials say – but how quickly and at whose expense is less certain.

When the city approved the square's redesign 19 months ago after a high-profile international competition, councillors were told $25 million of the $42.7 million cost would come from private donations.

But the city's capital budget, released yesterday, shows that all the funds will come from the city.

Councillor Peter Milczyn, who has been quarterbacking the redesign, said fundraising was shelved after the city got discouraging signals about donor fatigue from its partnerships office, which co-ordinates public-private sector projects.

"The advice we got was: Don't go out with a big fundraising campaign, because it's going to be a flop," Milczyn said yesterday.

That's a turnaround from March 2007, when the city held a high-profile event in the City Hall lobby to announce the winning design.

"We're confident we'll be able to raise the money to complete it as it should be," Mayor David Miller said at the time.

"It should be magnificent. That's what we deserve in this city, and I think building a partnership with Torontonians is the way to do it."

A news release yesterday said the city has earmarked $22.2 million for the square, and a further $21.1 million will come from "reserve funds." It said nothing about private donations.

Cindy Bromley, of the finance department, said the redesign will be paid for in part by profits earned by the Toronto Parking Authority and the city's street-furniture contract with a company that sells advertising on transit shelters.

A fundraising drive at some later date hasn't been ruled out, she said.

The city says the square's new look will be in place by 2012, but Milczyn was making no promises.

"It might take quite a number of years to do the whole thing, unless some philanthropist comes forward," he said.

Milczyn (Ward 5, Etobicoke-Lakeshore) said the partnerships office gave two main reasons against public fundraising.

It said donors are reluctant to give directly to governments, fearing that their money will be thrown into general revenue and siphoned off for other purposes.

Secondly, recent campaigns by the Royal Ontario Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario and some hospitals have left "limited philanthropic space" for other public endeavours.

That could be discouraging news for the Toronto Zoo, which has announced a $250 million fundraising campaign.

The winning design for Nathan Phillips Square involves a renovation of the elevated walkway around the square that has a sweeping staircase in the northwest corner. A designer compared the staircase, to be shaded in summer by a trellis, to Rome's Spanish Steps as a potent civic landmark.

Other features in the plan include a glass-roofed stage to be erected on the west side, and a restaurant near the reflecting pool.

A "disappearing fountain" would spray water from the pavement in another part of the square, and the roof of City Hall's podium would become a sculpture garden.
 
I hope they start with the stage/steps. Finally, the square will rid itself of those permanent-temporary stages.
 
I hope they start with some new sod in the Spring, a power wash and maybe some plantings. Hey, I'm just keeping it real.
 
Actually, you remind me of the neediest part for renovation of the square: the Queen st. sidewalk.

I hope that is where they start. Removing the grass and installing the stone sidewalk along Queen St. I imagine that this should be one of the least complex items to implement but the most realistic and quick.
 

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