Toronto Ontario Place | ?m | ?s | Infrastructure ON

They're probably just waiting until everything is developed so they can sell them to developers or sign on a hotel partner.
 
It seems that the parking lots are being retained. Hopefully that changes - I gotta believe there's a business case to bury them by digging down one level and putting something on top.

Please, please get rid of the above-ground parking lots.

Ontario Place is built on fill. You cannot really dig down into it without running into a host of other issues.

Remember, at one point the lake reached the back of the Automotive Building.
 
what would be "world class" then if this isn't? I mean it's easy to be an armchair critic, but what do you do that doesn't cost billions of public financing and provides activities here that are actually going to be genuine attractiions? Therme seems like a fun new destination to me.

Turning the whole thing into a park isn't really world class to me, the whole area is already well stocked with parkland, and a giant park here would likely be relatively lightly used compared to facilities such as a new concert venue and massive indoor water park.
We are less of the armchair when we'll end up experiencing all from a pedestrian perspective though. Just saying.
 
While I’m glad the Cinesphere and pods are being retained, it’s sad that there are no concrete commitments to an overhaul and an ongoing maintenance budget for them.

Also, are we still going to have those giant parking lots along the Lake Shore?
Wish they would have extended the streetcar loop down to Ontario Place. The safari across the asphalt desert, populated with resting automobiles, was not an enjoyable expedition to reach Ontario Place when I took my kids down to it.
 
RIP the overgrown silos and landscaping around them on the West Island. That's actually my favourite architecture and area of Ontario Place, not the pods which I could take or leave, though I am glad the pods are being maintained and recognize their significance and knew in my heart that the silos would be destroyed likely no matter what the plan ended up being here.
 
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Additional rendering in the Globe I haven't seen elsewhere yet.

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Is making the amphitheatre be indoor/outdoor really a practical idea? Some of the newer NFL stadiums have large retractable curtain-like side windows, but any time I've mentioned something like that to allow the amphitheatre to continue being used through winter, I've been told it wouldn't be realistic, or would require the whole thing to be rebuilt -- in which case it would probably make more sense to build a completely new venue across the road inside Exhibition Place.
Either way, this makes that proposal for the 7000-seat theatre pointless, even if the proponents did have the money for it.
 
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Is making the amphitheatre be indoor/outdoor really a practical idea? Some of the newer NFL stadiums have large retractable curtain-like side windows, but any time I've mentioned something like that to allow the amphitheatre to continue being used through winter, I've been told it wouldn't be realistic, or would require the whole thing to be rebuilt -- in which case it would probably make more sense to build a completely new venue across the road inside Exhibition Place.
Either way, this makes that proposal for the 7000-seat theatre pointless, even if the proponents did have the money for it.

Even with a retractable wall, I would not want to be there for a concert in -30 degree weather that close to the lake.

You would need a fully insulated structure to make that work, something a retractable wall really cannot do.
 

Ontario Place has historically been a publicly accessible destination for recreation, entertainment, and leisure. Therme Canada | Ontario Place will carry on and improve traditions of public access to Ontario Place. Through the planned creation of over eight acres of public spaces, including a free-access public beach and enhanced pedestrian and cycling access, people will be able to better connect with the Lake.

Therme's bridge to the West Island will support the extension and enhancement of the William G. Davis Trail across the entire site, including providing a new link to the mainland from the West Island, allowing people to enjoy more of Ontario Place outdoors year-round.

Therme's investment is currently estimated to be CAD $350 million.

Also https://thermecanada.com has been set-up and is operational, although it looks like someone forgot to upload the renderings.

Edit: From their site, adult admission projected to be $39 a day and the principal architect is Diamond Schmitt, probably a lot more info here that I'm just too lazy to retrieve
 
Is making the amphitheatre be indoor/outdoor really a practical idea? Some of the newer NFL stadiums have large retractable curtain-like side windows, but any time I've mentioned something like that to allow the amphitheatre to continue being used through winter, I've been told it wouldn't be realistic, or would require the whole thing to be rebuilt -- in which case it would probably make more sense to build a completely new venue across the road inside Exhibition Place.
Either way, this makes that proposal for the 7000-seat theatre pointless, even if the proponents did have the money for it.
I'm only guessing from the rendering, but the indoor venue appears to be separate; located under the outdoor venue, and fully enclosed. The new outdoor venue is on its roof.
 
Is making the amphitheatre be indoor/outdoor really a practical idea? Some of the newer NFL stadiums have large retractable curtain-like side windows, but any time I've mentioned something like that to allow the amphitheatre to continue being used through winter, I've been told it wouldn't be realistic, or would require the whole thing to be rebuilt -- in which case it would probably make more sense to build a completely new venue across the road inside Exhibition Place.
Either way, this makes that proposal for the 7000-seat theatre pointless, even if the proponents did have the money for it.

I've been told by someone in the touring industry that for a North American market as large as Toronto, we have very few large venues. Many North American cities much smaller than Toronto have three or four 12,000+ seat arenas due to the number of sports and college teams. I reckon there is a market for more indoor arena-size space.
 

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