If I'm reading the plans right it looks like they're raising the floors of the GO concourses to make room for the retail excavation below, making the ceilings much lower. Both the concourses and retail levels would have just over 12' ceilings. Looks like they could make the retail ceilings higher by excavating deeper, and connecting the retail level to the Front St promenade by ramps (the same way as the GO concourses will be connected to the Great Hall) instead of having it at the same grade.

Other than that, it looks like a really good plan.
 
MetroMan said:
I love how the Miller administration took Mel Lastman's last big mistake called UPG, managed to cancel a heartbreaking deal of giving away the station to private interests for 100 years in exchange for the wrong type of "upgrades", and now turns around and presents an honest proposal that puts transit first, uses the station as a bridge to the waterfront, pays for itself with the retail complex below and manages to keep the station in the city's hands.

Brilliant. Simply brilliant. Clap clap clap.
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With a price tag around $300 - $500 Million, no private investment and barely enough provincial/federal money to clean the windows, this proposal is visionary at best. Honestly folks, do you think a retail component, the size the city is planning, is going to help? The city has no business running this place and I fear will run into the ground (which they are proposing) Ughhh
 
billonlogan:

With a price tag around $300 - $500 Million, no private investment and barely enough provincial/federal money to clean the windows, this proposal is visionary at best. Honestly folks, do you think a retail component, the size the city is planning, is going to help? The city has no business running this place and I fear will run into the ground (which they are proposing) Ughhh
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All proposals are meant to be visionary. If this proposal doesn't work financially, what makes you think the UPG proposal does - it's not like hertiage restoration and state of good repairs is somehow that much cheaper when done under the private sector.

If there is a better case where debt should be incurred for the purposes of capital investments, this is it, considering the importance of the hub.

AoD
 
From the Globe:

HERITAGE SITE

Union Station overhaul to cost $388-million
City's plan would require considerable help from province, Ottawa
JENNIFER LEWINGTON

CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

November 20, 2007

The city's proposed renewal of Union Station carries a hefty price tag - $388-million, according to details released yesterday - with success closely tied to future negotiations with other governments and the private sector.

In a report to be debated on Nov. 26 by the executive committee, city officials put cost estimates on key pieces missing last week when Toronto Mayor David Miller relaunched a city-led effort to redevelop Canada's busiest transportation hub.

The project estimate includes $176.5-million for overall maintenance and heritage upkeep, $92-million for transportation, and $137-million in "revenue enhancement" upgrades to turn the 1920s-era building into a shopping destination. Once duplicated costs are removed from the equation the final price tag is $388-million.

A $150-million plan in partnership with a private consortium fell through last year. Unlike that controversial proposal for a 99-year lease with Union Pearson Group, the city now imagines a long-term lease agreement of between 25 and 50 years.
One key feature of the new proposal, which goes to council for approval in December, is a new 12,500-square metre mall excavated below the existing concourses at the station.

The price of the "dig-down" - part of the revenue-enhancement category - is $81.3-million, though more structural analysis will be required to ensure the proposal does not balloon in price.

According to the report, outside consultants Deloitte and Touche identify risks for both the public and private sectors.

For starters, the city has to bring in senior governments as major funding partners to pick up more than $200-million of the $268-million in combined costs for heritage and transportation. City officials hope to reach agreements by mid-2008.

The federal government earlier promised $25-million for heritage but the city now wants Ottawa to put up a larger, unspecified sum for heritage and transportation.

Through GO Transit - 96 per cent of whose rail commuters use the station - the province is expected to put up money to help the regional commuter service double ridership by 2027.

The consultants warn that governments will have to invest upfront dollars, for transit and other improvements, to make Union Station retail-ready for prospective private investors, most likely pension funds with real-estate affiliates.

Despite "considerable interest" from pension funds, the consultants conclude that "potential private sector entities are not interested in taking on the risk" of key improvements such as the new lower-level retail space.

The report also warns the city could face a "particularly high risk of greater-than-expected costs in constructing the new shopping level underneath the station."

Despite the upfront costs, Deloitte and Touche say governments could recoup the $137-million in "revenue enhancements" once an investor takes over managing the commercial space. As well, the city and other governments could recoup their costs through revenues from the new commercial tenants.

AoD
 
My trepidation about this plan comes from the fact that it seems to be driven by engineers. While digging under the concourse is a good idea, and you obviously need to determine whether that's possible, I think that it would have been smart to bring in an architect to make sure that this project is interesting and well-designed right from the beginning. If the city's going to go it alone on this project, why not have an architectural design competition, rather than leaving it up to city staff with some consulting engineers?
 
unimaginative:

I don't think there is any evidence that they aren't bringing in the architects to do that part of the job. Besides, digging down the station is exactly something for the geotechical engineers to figure out, not so much so the architects.

AoD
 
Digging down is fine, as long as the ceilings aren't cramped for the GO passengers.
 
I think that it would have been smart to bring in an architect to make sure that this project is interesting and well-designed right from the beginning.
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Time to get Calatrava... an architect and an engineer!
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
unimaginative:

I don't think there is any evidence that they aren't bringing in the architects to do that part of the job. Besides, digging down the station is exactly something for the geotechical engineers to figure out, not so much so the architects.

AoD
Click to expand...

I understand that, but I'd hate to see them try to hire an architect, only to hand the architect plans that have already been completed by an engineer. I really think we need more than an interior decorator picking floor and wall finishings here.

Calatrava, of course, would be fabulous. Didn't he say he'd never work in Toronto again after the Ryerson Computing building fiasco?
 
unimaginative:

Indeed, once they've finished the engineering studies, they should have a competition for the architectural design. Calatrava woud indeed be fabulous - I can just think of what he can do with the dreadful teamway spaces, considering he turned what is normally dingy parking spaces at MAM into a work of art, and I can see him using a predominantly white palatte giving the illusion of spaciousness. Gim him enough of a budget to play with, and I doubt a no means no...

I have a feeling GO/VIA wouldn't like that. Besides, a number of his projects went way above original budget estimates.

AoD
 
^^I completely agree- not having a competition would be disastrous- the way Union is now, at least in the GO concourse looks the way it does because of engineers- efficiency is all engineers are concerned with, most times at least. Nonetheless, we definitely need to have the scheme worked out by architects..

p5
 
From the Post:

It's Mayor's fault Ottawa won't pay: Transport Minister
Posted: December 07, 2007, 11:20 AM by Kelly Grant
Hall Monitor

It is Mayor David Miller’s fault that Ottawa has not come through with promised cash for new subway cars and hybrid buses, federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon said today.

In a breakfast speech to the Toronto Board of Trade, Mr. Cannon said the Conservative government is withholding a $350-million cheque for the Toronto Transit Commission, which his Liberal predecessors pledged in 2004, because Mr. Miller reneged on a promise to pay millions to GO Transit annually.

“Although Mayor Miller had previously agreed to this condition, earlier this year he changed his mind and refused to sign the agreement with such a provision,†Mr. Cannon told the crowd. “My wish is to see that project move forward without delay.â€

In more evidence of the Conservative government’s frosty relationship with Canada’s largest city, Mr. Cannon also suggested the Mayor’s call for one cent of the GST for cities is a lost cause and blamed City Hall for his government’s refusal to commit more than $25-million to restoring Union Station, saying the “governance structure†of the city-owned transit hub is flawed.

“In terms of this one cent campaign, I want to be perfectly clear,†Mr. Cannon said. “When we presented ourselves in front of the Canadian electorate, this party and this government committed to reducing the GST from seven to six to five per cent. We did not commit to increasing it or passing it over to any other level of government.â€

Municipalities are not Ottawa’s responsibility, he said. The minority Conservatives prefer to help fund local infrastructure through a dedicated pot of money for capital projects, through public-private partnerships and by giving municipalities a share of the gas tax, something Parliament voted to make permanent this week, he added.

Mr. Miller, who did not attend the speech and was not immediately available for comment, plans to respond to the minister’s comments in a statement later today.

Last month, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities released a report saying cities across the country are wrestling with a collective $123-billion infrastructure backlog. The report, coupled with complaints from municipal leaders that Ottawa has abandoned cities, prompted federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to call local politicians “whiners†and to stress that the federal government is not in the “pothole business.â€

Asked by a reporter whether that was a mistake, Mr. Cannon joked in French that the finance minister “never makes mistakes.â€

Photo of Union Station subway tracks by J.P. Moczulski, Reuters
______________________________________________

Hmm, so Municipalities is not the responsiblity of the Federal Government, and yet it decided to transfer gas tax for "infrastructure", oftentimes an area of municipal responsibility. Geez, I just love these double talks.

AoD
 
From the Globe:

TRANSIT
Ottawa calls city on its promise to form Union Station agency
Development deal is stalled without change in governance, Transport Minister says

JAMES RUSK

December 8, 2007

The federal government wants Toronto to create an agency to oversee and run Union Station, something that the city agreed to do more than seven years ago, Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon said yesterday.

"It's imperative that [the station's] governance structure be clarified before we move ahead on any project," Mr. Cannon told the Toronto Board of Trade in a breakfast speech.

Under the terms of the agreement in June, 2000, for the purchase of Union Station, the city, GO Transit and the federal government agreed that an agency would be created to oversee redevelopment of the station and its transformation into a multimodal urban transit hub for the greater Toronto region.

Seven years on, no agency had been created and the federal government is running out of patience.

"We are encouraging the city of Toronto put in place a dedicated governance entity for the station so that we [the federal government] can negotiate a contribution agreement and move forward with the station's restoration and redevelopment," Mr. Cannon said.

After the speech, he told reporters that he was "basically pretty flexible" on how the issue of governance could move forward.

"I guess I am telling them, quite clearly, make me an offer in terms of the governance structure and the kind of model that you would want to see there so we can go forward," Mr. Cannon said. "I understand from my officials that it has been bogged down because people are literally holding positions which might not be reasonable to hold."

The city may finally be moving on the governance issue. Stewart Green, spokesman for Mayor David Miller, said that a report going to the city council meeting next week will instruct staff to prepare a proposal for a governance structure for Union Station.

In his speech, Mr. Cannon also expressed frustration with how slowly the proposed rail link between Pearson Airport and Union Station is being developed.

"The environmental assessment for this project has been bogged down for two years now with no sign of any progress," he said.

"The lack of fast, frequent connection to downtown from the airport in a world-class city such as Toronto is turning into an embarrassment. This project needs to be a priority for all levels of government."

He also said that, while the federal government has been criticized for not transferring $350-million in transit funding it has committed to the city, the funding was contingent on the city committing its share of GO Transit capital funding, including money for the airport link. "Although Mayor [David] Miller has previously agreed to this condition, earlier this year he changed his mind and refused to sign the agreement with such a condition," he said.

In a statement, the mayor said the minister was "misinformed. ... To suggest that I changed my mind or refused to sign an agreement is simply not true."

AoD
 
Upgrade at Union takes 'courage'

Miller champions $388M plan to restore station to former glory with repairs, retail mall
Dec 13, 2007 04:30 AM
Paul Moloney
city hall bureau
Toronto Star

Holding up an 80-year-old Toronto Daily Star banner headline heralding the opening of Union Station, Mayor David Miller yesterday vowed to return the transportation hub to its original glory.

The headline said the new station hummed with life. Despite decades of neglect, it can again, Miller said.

"What we're actually saying today is that this city council has the courage – and you have to take a little bit of risk – to make Union Station hum with life again today," Miller said. "And that is what we're doing."

To get there, city council voted 39-5 for a $388.3 million plan that calls for $101 million in repairs; a $137 million retail mall that requires excavating beneath the station; and the rest in heritage- and transportation-related improvements.

To fund the renovations, the plan contemplates raising money from federal and provincial governments and the private sector, to revitalize the station by 2016.

Miller hopes a private-sector investor, such as a pension fund, would invest in the new retail area, and that the other governments come on board with cash.

Staff were instructed to begin the search and report results by next September.

The federal government had offered $25 million back in 2000, although the money has yet to arrive. Miller wants Ottawa to increase its contribution, but he declined to disclose how much he's looking for.

"The federal finance minister has been very clear: `Start your projects, and we'll fund them.' We're starting our project."

Not everyone was so enthusiastic. Councillor Michael Walker said it would be better to sell it to a provincial agency, the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority (newly dubbed Metrolinx).

"Here we are spending $270 million on the hope that this rental in this mall is going to pay for it in the future. It's all driven around basically a lot of pixie dust about whether it's going to make money."

Councillor Pam McConnell said this is a chance to make a difference for Torontonians. "We have an opportunity to do something quite unique – to secure this station for the next 200 years."

Councillor Adrian Heaps described the station as a "jewel," adding, "Mark my words, this will be a tourist destination."



Council agreed to get the ball rolling by continuing to retain architects, at a cost of up to $2.4 million, as well as $1.8 million for lawyers and consultants.

This is the second attempt at revamping the station.

The city had hoped a private consortium called Union Pearson Group would invest up to $150 million in the building, but the deal fell apart in 2006 after six years of talks.


With files from Vanessa Lu
 
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