Who'll save the waterfront? Not Miller, not Ottawa
TheStar.com - News - Who'll save the waterfront? Not Miller, not Ottawa
June 04, 2007
Christopher Hume
What makes the fate of the most important site on the Toronto waterfront so terribly sad is that it didn't have to end up this way.
The 5-hectare property, officially known as MT27, sits at the foot of Yonge St. It has long been designated for some special public purpose such as an opera house, a United Nations institute, a square, park, whatever...
But last week when developers who own the land, Fernbrook Homes and Cityzen, announced their plans, it became painfully clear that the public has been largely shut out of what will be a private condo complex.
True, a 25-metre promenade will run along the west and south edges of the site, and there may be more public amenities further east, perhaps an extension of Freeland St.
But this is a far cry from the days when the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp. was talking about a major public cultural facility for MT27.
Where did its plans fall apart?
The story goes back to the summer before last when the TWRC, the city and federal government were involved in negotiations with the then-owners of MT27, Avro Quay Ltd., to buy the site. A deal was agreed to and the Liberal minister for the waterfront, Joe Volpe, managed to get the go-ahead from Treasury Board when a federal election was called.
Needless to say, voters tossed out the Liberals and Volpe's successor, John Baird, the man who now spends his time promoting the global embarrassment that is Canada's national environmental policy, pulled the plug on the deal.
In the meantime, Fernbrook and Cityzen appeared on the scene and bought the property. Still, discussions continued, this time, however, the intention was to purchase just the western half of the site. Though this wasn't the ideal scenario, it gave the TWRC an opportunity to do something truly public and spectacular on the most significant portion of the land, the part closest to Yonge.
But that would have meant taller buildings on the eastern half of the property, an idea Cityzen and Fernbrook could have lived with.
But not Mayor David Miller. He objected to extra height, and again, the deal died.
Though the TWRC went so far as to hire Toronto architect Bruce Kuwabara to conceive a plan for the precinct, in the end it was left to private developers to rebuild the site according to their priorities.
To their credit, Fernbrook and Cityzen, hired a first-rate architect, Peter Clewes, who has done something quite striking. But it will be a condo, which regardless of its height or design excellence, is private property.
No one would expect Baird to act responsibly, but Miller is different. Or so we thought. Sadly, it's becoming increasingly clear that he won't be the leader everyone was hoping for. Because of his lack of vision and willingness to compromise, the chances of greatness on the waterfront are already seriously compromised.
And if Miller's failure on MT27 weren't enough, there's Project Symphony just down the road at Queens Quay and Jarvis St. In this fiasco, Miller eagerly agreed to settle for architectural mediocrity and a business deal that will see the city subsidizing a private corporation, Corus Entertainment, and paying for its new headquarters.
It's time for Torontonians to start paying attention to what's happening on their waterfront before it's too late. Miller can't be trusted and neither can the federal government.
The waterfront's best friend so far has been provincial infrastructure renewal minister, David Caplan, who ensured that the Ontario Realty Corp., which owns much of the land involved, is on board with the goals of revitalization. Sadly, Caplan couldn't override his boss, Premier Dalton McGuinty, whose decision to put a power-generating station on the dock lands is sheer folly.
This is not the way to build a city, let alone revitalize a waterfront.
