Toronto Bathurst Quay Revitalization | ?m | 2s | City of Toronto | Kearns Mancini

Glad the group here saw this! We actually have a professional photographer (funding courtesy of the Waterfront BIA) coming down to the site Monday morning to record a time lapse of this before we 'fix' it.

But not to worry - now that we've seen the potential of this and the tremendous reaction (that tweet has been seen +100K times and shared around the world), there's already discussion underway how we could intentionally and permanently recreate this effect. Would be amazing to have multiple small lenses installed in various locations throughout the silos. Discreet enough so as not to clutter or distract from the clean concrete forms, and at different heights and angles to create different effects.

So much interesting potential here, and I think reinforces that sometimes we can accomplish more by doing less when it comes to old buildings. Will gladly share details on release of the time lapse by photographer Jonathan Gazze (who also shot our up-lighting test back in September 2021).

Cheers.

Thanks for sharing - are there any indication as to how well it worked at night? Not sure if the view of this captured the downtown core - but I imagine it could be quite amazing at night.

AoD
 
So much interesting potential here, and I think reinforces that sometimes we can accomplish more by doing less when it comes to old buildings. Will gladly share details on release of the time lapse by photographer Jonathan Gazze (who also shot our up-lighting test back in September 2021).

Cheers.
Nice that Jonathan Gazze has the gig. He's a great photographer worth following on Instagram @jgazze

42
 
Glad the group here saw this! We actually have a professional photographer (funding courtesy of the Waterfront BIA) coming down to the site Monday morning to record a time lapse of this before we 'fix' it.

But not to worry - now that we've seen the potential of this and the tremendous reaction (that tweet has been seen +100K times and shared around the world), there's already discussion underway how we could intentionally and permanently recreate this effect. Would be amazing to have multiple small lenses installed in various locations throughout the silos. Discreet enough so as not to clutter or distract from the clean concrete forms, and at different heights and angles to create different effects.

So much interesting potential here, and I think reinforces that sometimes we can accomplish more by doing less when it comes to old buildings. Will gladly share details on release of the time lapse by photographer Jonathan Gazze (who also shot our up-lighting test back in September 2021).

Cheers.
This is great. BTW, I recently posted a photo of my toddler playing on the lion at the playground there, and it got a million likes. Almost no one had any clue that there is such a nice playground right there. This little spot has so much potential.
 
Thanks for sharing - are there any indication as to how well it worked at night? Not sure if the view of this captured the downtown core - but I imagine it could be quite amazing at night.

AoD
Not yet as we only just discovered this on Wednesday. This particular part of the south silo is difficult and hazardous to reach due to 6-12" of sludge that isn't scheduled for removal until Spring. But the cold weather has frozen the sludge solid so we were able to travel further in without waders and that's how we discovered it. The crack also won't be sealed until the Spring, so until then we'll monitor what it looks like in different lighting conditions to help inform how best to possibly reproduce it in the future.
 
Not yet as we only just discovered this on Wednesday. This particular part of the south silo is difficult and hazardous to reach due to 6-12" of sludge that isn't scheduled for removal until Spring. But the cold weather has frozen the sludge solid so we were able to travel further in without waders and that's how we discovered it. The crack also won't be sealed until the Spring, so until then we'll monitor what it looks like in different lighting conditions to help inform how best to possibly reproduce it in the future.

Thank you very much sir, if I ever could see something like this happen in person then I may react similar to the double-rainbow dude.

pesto
 
Coming to Council next week. http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2022.MM41.17

MM41.17
ACTION​
Ward: 10​
Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Plan - Exploring a Partnership with OCAD University to Animate the Canada Malting Silos in 2023 - by Councillor Joe Cressy, seconded by Mayor John Tory
* Notice of this Motion has been given.
* This Motion is subject to referral to the General Government and Licensing Committee. A two-thirds vote is required to waive referral.
Recommendations
Councillor Joe Cressy, seconded by Mayor John Tory, recommends that:

1. City Council direct the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, in consultation with the Director, Waterfront Secretariat, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, working in partnership with OCAD University, to undertake a due diligence analysis of OCAD University's 'Global Centre for Climate Resilience through Art and Design' proposal at the Canada Malting property in order to confirm various technical matters, including: compliance of the proposed program with relevant municipal policy; relative to the proposed program, ability of the proposed tenanted space to meet requirements of the Ontario Building Code and Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and any necessary facility upgrades related thereto; and any additional regulatory, occupancy, liability and/or other statutory approval matters that must be addressed in order to permit the proposed short-term adaptive re-use program.

2. City Council request the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, in consultation with the Director, Waterfront Secretariat, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to report back to the General Government and Licensing Committee meeting on June 7, 2022 on findings and recommendations of above-mentioned due diligence analysis; and additionally, should the proposal prove feasible, include:

a. recommended terms for a short-term (up to five year) nominal lease of the interior of the north malting silo and adjacent exterior space as necessary to support OCAD University's proposed programming; and

b. an update on the future open and transparent proposal call process for the adaptive re-use and animation of the Canada Malting Silos, including how that process will be informed by the experience of the short-term partnership with OCAD University.

 


OCAD University and City of Toronto propose plan for Canada Malting Silos

OCAD University is partnering with the City of Toronto on a proposal to launch the Global Centre for Climate Resilience through Art and Design at the Canada Malting Silos building on the Toronto waterfront.

At next week’s Toronto City Council meeting, Councillor Joe Cressy will put forward a motion, which will be seconded by Mayor John Tory, to advance discussion with OCAD University about the plan to bring cultural and artistic activities to the property at the foot of Bathurst Street.

The proposed Global Centre plans to facilitate critical dialogues on climate resilience from the lens of art and design and will include activities such as public arts programming, program exhibitions, installations and symposiums, done in collaboration with Indigenous, local, national and international partners.

The proposed project was inspired by a manifesto released to the 2021 United Nations Climate Conference by the Climate Heritage Network to raise awareness about the need to activate those involved in arts, culture, and heritage to take climate action through communication and engagement.

“OCAD University believes that more lasting and consequential benefits will come from engaging the public in thinking about sustainability and climate resilience through the lens of art and design,” says OCAD U President and Vice-Chancellor Ana Serrano. “This proposed off-campus cultural and innovation hub will engage with Toronto’s major programmers and bring together artists and designers from around the world to present the university’s visions of sustainable living into a larger public domain.”

OCAD University is committed to advancing responsible environmental practices and promoting sustainability through its academic and administrative programs and practices, as identified in its Academic Plan 2017-2022: Transforming Student Experience.

"Thank you to OCAD University for bringing forward this plan that could help transform the Canada Malting Silos and this part of our waterfront," says Mayor John Tory. "I hope City Council will support this partnership and look forward to seeing the development of the Global Centre for Climate Resilience through Art and Design."

"The Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Plan is transforming a neglected part of our shared waterfront into a dynamic and creative destination. The City of Toronto's work to rehabilitate and repair the heritage Canada Malting Silos has opened up an exciting opportunity to explore a partnership with OCAD University to animate the interior spaces and exterior faces of the north silo. I am thrilled to support this effort and look forward to welcoming the public inside this waterfront landmark one day soon," says Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York).

The Canada Malting Silos heritage building on the Toronto waterfront offers an ideal location for the Global Centre with its close proximity to Lake Ontario. The public art programming will intersect with waterfront, creative city and urban planning initiatives, Great Lakes’ ecological and biodiversity matters, bird migration, wind and tidal power, transportation routes (boats, airport, transit and cycling) and a growing neighbourhood population.

OCAD U prioritizes nurturing relationships with Indigenous communities, elders, students and faculty, and is committed to collaborative actions on local, regional and global sustainability imperatives that develop more reciprocal relationships with people and land.

The proposed Global Centre intends to program exhibitions, installations and symposiums, together with local, national and international partners. Currently in discussion with Trans Europe Halle—an international, social incubator based in Sweden preserving abandoned buildings around the globe—OCAD U aims to leverage this new collaboration along with its existing partnerships and connections to facilitate curatorial programming and public engagement.

On the building's exterior, OCAD U envisions a year-round climate resiliency, audio-visual projection festival with potential Toronto film festivals and media arts partners that have shared programming visions.

The proposal includes exhibitions accessible to the public year-round. During the winter season, when fewer people spend time outdoors, the University may use this time to support research-creation or artist residencies and incubation.

The proximity to Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes could facilitate additional international collaborations with arts institutions and organizations in American Great Lake cities such as Buffalo, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Toronto City Council approved the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Plan in 2017 with a vision to improve the unused city-owned property with new public spaces, and to repair and revitalize the heritage-designated Canada Malting Silos located on the property into a cultural and community services-focused hub.
 
Coming to General Government Committee next week. See: http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2022.GL29.4

1. The General Government and Licensing Committee, in accordance with Section 71-11.1C of the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 71 (Financial Control), authorize the amendment of Purchase Order Number 6052656 issued to Brook Restoration Limited for the exterior rehabilitation of the Canada Malting Company south silos at 5 Eireann Quay, in the additional amount of $5,354,350 net of all taxes ($5,448,587 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries), revising the current purchase order value from $2,463,500 net of all taxes ($2,506,858 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries) to $7,817,850 net of all taxes ($7,955,444 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries), for the completion of the exterior rehabilitation of the south silos and allowances for unforeseen site conditions and volatile material cost increases.
 
Coming to General Government Committee next week. See: http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2022.GL29.4

1. The General Government and Licensing Committee, in accordance with Section 71-11.1C of the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 71 (Financial Control), authorize the amendment of Purchase Order Number 6052656 issued to Brook Restoration Limited for the exterior rehabilitation of the Canada Malting Company south silos at 5 Eireann Quay, in the additional amount of $5,354,350 net of all taxes ($5,448,587 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries), revising the current purchase order value from $2,463,500 net of all taxes ($2,506,858 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries) to $7,817,850 net of all taxes ($7,955,444 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries), for the completion of the exterior rehabilitation of the south silos and allowances for unforeseen site conditions and volatile material cost increases.
This was a housekeeping matter, but if interested in the context on this:

We tendered the south silo rehab work in two parts - Phase 1A and Phase 1B - in order to expedite contract award and allow the successful bidder to mobilize on the south silo at a time when we still only had Phase 1A funding available. This approach was needed to allow us to get about 6 months ahead in the project schedule, as if we had waited to award the south silo contract until the full 1A and 1B funding was available, we would have run into access and staging conflicts between the silo rehab and the adjacent plaza construction starting later this year. So with the full south silo rehab funding now available, this purchase order amendment allowed CREM to award the balance of the Phase 1B work as always intended.

Related - the north silo rehab will be a separate tender entirely, and will go out later this year.
 
City Council consideration on April 6, 2022
Notice of Motion
MM42.17
ACTION​
Ward: 10​
Supporting the Continued Implementation of the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Plan - by Councillor Joe Cressy, seconded by Councillor Mike Layton
City Council increase, on a one-time basis, the 2022 Approved Capital Budget for the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Initiative, by $419,520.98 gross, $0 debt, for implementation of the subproject Bathurst Quay Public Realm
 
City Council consideration on April 6, 2022
Notice of Motion
MM42.17
ACTION​
Ward: 10​
Supporting the Continued Implementation of the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Plan - by Councillor Joe Cressy, seconded by Councillor Mike Layton
City Council increase, on a one-time basis, the 2022 Approved Capital Budget for the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Initiative, by $419,520.98 gross, $0 debt, for implementation of the subproject Bathurst Quay Public Realm
Since 2017 Joe Cressy and his team have been critical in helping our team assemble the plaza construction budget from more than 10 individual Section 37 contributions. I can’t overstate the impact his support has had on advancing all of these projects. He will be missed.

Also, here’s a new CBC piece on our progress and the exploratory work we’re doing with OCAD right now on re-purposing the north silo.

 
Since 2017 Joe Cressy and his team have been critical in helping our team assemble the plaza construction budget from more than 10 individual Section 37 contributions. I can’t overstate the impact his support has had on advancing all of these projects. He will be missed.
That's awesome! It's cool that you were interviewed by Radio-Canada.
I have one question... was it not possible to complete the project without Section 37 funds / council motions? I'm just wondering why sometimes projects are fully budgeted for and sometimes council passes many motions in order to keep things rolling.
 

Back
Top