Celebration Common Would Continue Transformation of Ontario Place into Vibrant Year-Round Destination
The province is proceeding with planning and design work for a huge new green space on Toronto’s waterfront as it moves ahead with the transformation of Ontario Place into a vibrant, public, year-round waterfront destination.
As part of the broader revitalization of Ontario Place the province is seeking a design consultant for a Celebration Common on the East Island of Ontario Place. The almost 20-acre proposed Celebration Common, approximately the size of 14 football fields, would be a flexible green space for open-air cultural activities, festivals, community events and recreation in downtown Toronto.
The Celebration Common would connect Ontario Place’s West Island, the new Trillium Park and William G. Davis Trail and the recently reopened Cinesphere through a system of pedestrian and bike trails. Transforming the East Island of Ontario Place into a year-round, public destination would create a cultural and recreational destination for people in Ontario, welcome visitors from around the world and boost the local economy.
Planning a vibrant waterfront destination is part of Ontario’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.
Quick Facts
- The request for proposals is available on MERX and closes on December 21, 2017.
- Ontario’s Place’s Cinesphere reopened to the public on November 3 with regular, year-round IMAX screenings.
- In October 2017, the province concluded a 14-week call for submission process to find a partner(s) for its West Island.
- The Trillium Park and William G. Davis Trail opened in June 2017, welcoming people back to a spectacular piece of Toronto’s waterfront for the first time in over forty years.
Additional Resources
Quotes
“The legacy of Ontario Place was, and continues to be, one of cultural engagement, discovery and innovation. Moving forward with the design phase of the Celebration Common will bring us closer to our vision for an inclusive and lively recreational and cultural space on our beautiful waterfront. Whether it’s to discover the Trillium Park and William G. Davis Trail or to take in a movie at the iconic Cinesphere, I am thrilled to witness the progress we are making to transform Ontario Place and to bring people back to the site.”
“The launch of the planning and design phase of Celebration Common moves us one step closer to revitalizing Ontario Place into a vibrant, year-round destination along Toronto’s beautiful waterfront. This builds on the success of the new Trillium Park and William G. Davis Trail that many local residents and visitors have been enjoying since June of this year.”
“Ontario Place welcomes everyone to come and explore the current East and West Island and enjoy the waterfront as a place to be active or to unwind, while the transformation of the site continues to move forward. We strive to have our visitors experience the grounds as if it were their own backyard, every season.”
Penny Lipsett
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