The Ford government released renderings for what Ontario Place could look like in a few years, the latest glimpse at the sprawling and controversial waterfront spa and public park project.
Plans include 50 acres of public park space and a five-storey above-ground parking garage that will cost taxpayers $400 million — but will generate $60 million in annual revenue, Premier Doug Ford said — but no opening date for the new Ontario Science Centre.
There is also no set date for when the overall project will open to the public.
"Hopefully 2029," Ford said. "I'm just gonna push it like crazy — make sure we move faster, quicker, immediate, and get things moving along, because I can't wait for this to open up."
The project has been contentious due to its cost to the public — about $2.2 billion, according to an auditor general report in December, which also revealed irregularities with the calls-for-development process — and the privatization of part of the waterfront for a massive spa and waterpark, to be built by European wellness company Therme.
Ontario Place will open "sort of in stages," Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma said.
Therme can start its construction "as early as spring" of 2026, she said. The government is still looking for builders for the public space and science centre, and "should have results by year-end" — meaning construction on both projects could start in spring or summer 2026, she said.
The Ontario Science Centre is currently operating two smaller pop-up locations, in Etobicoke’s Sherway Gardens and the Harbourfront Centre on Queens Quay West.
When the province ordered the former science centre building shuttered a year ago, it announced plans to set up a temporary location until the facility at Ontario Place could be built, and it issued a request for proposals for a potential site. However, Surma said Tuesday there "has not been a decision" to proceed with that plan, or to continue with the pop-up approach.
Meanwhile, Live Nation is still designing Budweiser Stage, which will be the "final piece" of Ontario Place's redevelopment, she said.
The parking lot
Ontario unveiled a 3,500-space, above-ground, publicly owned parking garage with five storeys, including the roof. It will be located at the site of a current parking lot.
After much ballyhoo about where the parking lot would be located, whether it would be buried or above ground, how many spots it would have, and how much it would cost, Ford said taxpayers will be on the hook for $400 million — about the same amount estimated in December's auditor general's report on the project.
It will be a sound investment, generating $60 million per year for the public purse, the premier said.
"It's incredible, the ROI (return on investment) on a parking space," he said. "And my dad taught me many years ago, folks, he said, 'Son, the best investment you could ever have is a parking lot. Very low maintenance, (you) have one staff, and you're just rolling in the cash.'"
Ford said the massive parking garage "will be blended into the surrounding area with a landscape berm."
"You'll barely even see a parking lot. We'll have stuff like, maybe, a fountain," he said.
"We're going to have a massive sign that says 'Ontario Place.' You watch, it's gonna be probably the number 1 place where people will take pictures," he said, adding that it will be "similar to the Toronto sign at City Hall, but larger, more colourful."
NDP MPP Chris Glover, who represents the riding that includes Ontario Place, said the province should operate the parking garage on a cost-recovery basis.
"So the idea of public parkland is that people should be able to access it. And if they're going to be charging for parking, then it shouldn't be ... for profit," he said.
The public space
The renderings detail what Ford said would be more than 50 acres of free-to-access public space, including trails, playgrounds, beaches, event spaces and a marina. Therme has promised to spend $200 million on public works on the west island.
Therme Canada spokesperson Adam Vaughan said it was a win-win.
"So what you're seeing here is a park the size of Trinity Bellwoods Park, and then you're adding Ramsden Park, and you're delivering it in a way that shields taxpayers from the cost," said Vaughan, a former Toronto city councillor and Liberal MP. "Speaking as a former politician, it's very hard to get private sector money to build parks in this city."
Others have argued the site would be better served as a purely public space — revitalized by the government without putting the public on the hook for potentially billions of dollars for a project that will likely enrich a foreign company.
"This is some of the most valuable real estate in the country, and we're giving it away to an Austrian spa company, along with a $2.2 billion cheque," Glover said.
(The $2.2 billion in public costs will not be paid to Therme, but will go toward building the new science centre, public parks, parking and site servicing, according to the auditor general's report).
The money thing
The auditor general's report revealed "financial concerns" with Therme in 2022, finding that it had less than one million euros in equity value and appeared financially "weak." Those have been resolved, Vaughan said, pointing to a report last week from Bloomberg News that Therme Group is setting up a joint venture worth more than one billion euros ($1.6 billion) with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners to invest in developing spa resorts.
Ford said he didn't care where Therme got its money.
"I don't know where they get their financing, but they seem to be moving forward and have financing. I'm not too sure, to be very frank with you, and it's none of my business as long as they come here," he said.
Glover said that was the most important part of Tuesday's press conference.
"I mean, that's absolutely shocking. It's so irresponsible. They're giving a $2.2 billion taxpayer subsidy to a private, for-profit Austrian spa company, and we don't know where they're getting their financing from. And this is a company that lied about their credentials," he said.
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