Does anyone have info on the Casino aspect of this project.... Is it going to be slots only as it is now; or will there be an expansion to a full casino?
 
Woodbine is restricted to only having slots.
 
any ides on what type of housing the land will have ???? condos or town homes ????? or which builder will build on that land ???
 
Totally agree, Toronto needs a casino...... Many people from the GTA have to to travel to Niagara or Barrie, a casino in Toronto would be a great source of revenue for the city.

I guess I dont really understand what this project is all about, it just seems to be an expansion of the existing slots and a few new retail stores in the area (which seems obsolete considering the woodbine mall across the street); How is this a 1 billion dollar project as everyone says? It doesnt really seem to add much to the community, the hotel and stadium seem nice, but really is it something needed with a slots only casino? will it be that much of a draw? What about a ttc route... will there be a subway route extended here? The project on a surface sounds great, but i dont know how awesome it really is for the rexdale area.
 
interchange42 said:
Have you read through the thread?

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What I meant to say was that the scope of the project seems to be blown way out of proportion from what ive read about this project... The people from woodbine/cordish are talking along the lines about this being the biggest attraction in Canada. I just dont really understand how that can be. The Casino/racetrack is already in place and there wont be an expansion to a full casino, whats the need for a hotel? I dont think it will be such a great idea, and a 5000 stadium is too small for any big time performers to come there for a show. The different districts seem really cool and have alot of potential, but I just doubt it will be anything as great as woodbine lives renderings have been. If anything it just seems to be another open concept mall, which is odd considering there is a woodbine mall across the street. Also, the transit situation is brutal to woodbine, it would be great if they could get a subway route expansion to woodbine... but that doesnt seem on the horizon.(rumblings about the lrt, but that could be completed by 2020). Im hoping im wrong, but this really isnt the greatest thing were gonna see in the city let alone the country.
 
Stage is set for storied theatre to make its first foray outside New York City with franchise in corner of Etobicoke

With its glitzy art-deco design, Hollywood film premiers and leggy dance shows, Radio City Music Hall helped Manhattan’s old “speakeasy belt†go from seedy to spectacular.

Now the storied theatre is poised to do the same for an economically depressed corner of Etobicoke.

The former suburb is hoping to land Radio City Music Hall’s first satellite venue outside of New York City, The Globe and Mail has learned.

The developers behind Woodbine Live, a massive entertainment complex slated to open in Rexdale in 2013, are in discussions with Madison Square Garden Inc. to open a theatre under the Radio City brand, sources say.

If the deal goes ahead, Radio City would anchor the $1-billion Woodbine Live project, one of the largest and most ambitious urban developments in Toronto’s history.

The Woodbine Entertainment Group, which owns the racetrack and casino on Rexdale Boulevard near Highway 427, has partnered with Baltimore-based Cordish Companies to transform 81 hectares of underdeveloped land near the track into a new entertainment destination.

If the Radio City deal goes through, the theatre is slated to be part of a complex that will include cafés, nightclubs, a skating rink, heated outdoor sidewalks, a 400-metre canal, a 600-room four-star hotel, a 16-screen cinema and a 100,000-square-foot conference centre when it opens in three years.

Blake Cordish, a vice-president with the family-owned developer, declined comment on the pending Radio City deal. “As a company policy, we do not comment publicly as to tenant names,†he said in an e-mail.

Rob Ford, the mayoral candidate whose council ward includes Woodbine, was equally tight-lipped. “This is confidential information so I can’t release anything to you,†he said. “I don’t want to jeopardize the deal.â€

Woodbine Live was expected to have revealed the first of its tenants by now.

Two years have passed since council voted to forgo $120-million in additional property taxes over 20 years to secure the project, a first for Toronto.

At the same time, council endorsed a community improvement plan that guarantees Rexdale’s low-income residents a piece of the action. Woodbine Live has agreed to underwrite a $10-million training and employment centre on the site and give locals first crack at 5,000 construction jobs and 9,000 permanent positions.

Although council approved the tax relief and community improvement plans in the summer of 2008, lawyers for the city, Woodbine Entertainment and Cordish are not quite finished with the fine print.

“We’re just crossing Ts and dotting Is on our final legal agreements,†said Eva Pyatt, director of business services in the city’s economic development and culture division.

She said she expects the legal agreements to be finalized in the next couple of weeks.

That could explain the holdup on unveiling tenants. However, Ms. Pyatt stressed that the city deals strictly with Woodbine Entertainment and Cordish, staying out of their negotiations with potential tenants.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...o-gets-a-leg-up-on-radio-city/article1649212/
 
So the plot thickens....this is great news for the project.
 
I just did some searches of Cordish entertainment Centres and it's kinda scary. I didn't like one single building that they have built. Most just look like cheap, tacky shopping centres. Has anybody been to Rainbow Centre, in Niagara Falls, USA? That was one of their failed projects. (It sits empty today) That mall was bad, really bad. That's basically what their developments look like. Check out this one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulevard_at_Capital_Centre

More of their projects
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordish_Company

Not a good sign at all. I don't want to see a whole district built to look like Yorkdale! Kinda scares me. I hope they go a different direction in Toronto.

If this turns out cheap and tacky, I blame ROB FORD!!!! lol
 
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I have been to the KC Power & Light and it wasn't too bad. Their Live facilities seem to do OK. Their malls aren't too nice though. It could be good or bad really. That is a tough location though way out in Northern Etobicoke. Their most successful projects seem to have been urban renewal.
 
EnviroTO said:
I have been to the KC Power & Light and it wasn't too bad. Their Live facilities seem to do OK. Their malls aren't too nice though. It could be good or bad really. That is a tough location though way out in Northern Etobicoke. Their most successful projects seem to have been urban renewal.
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Right, which we don't really need - maybe in the waterfront area / or EX ... anyway, don't forget this is going to be a very driver friendly destination - as unfortunate as that sounds I think that's what it needs to start out - it really depends what they plan to offer here - woodbine already attracts quite a few people (relativly speeking) - so it's not exactly like starting at square one - that's another edge they have. Also, unlike many of their other projects this does eventually include quite a bit residentially speeking as well - offices too, which is interesting because I really wonder if they're getting the tax break as well - which would make them quite attractive but probably hurt the Airport East district a lot.

Anyway, way to early to tell anything here - the only thing is sometimes I feel this all might do quite a bit better if this whole project along with woodbine picked up and moved to downview park ... but then again, might not make a big difference.

Again, when you say tough location no one really attributures this area to that - it's an exit off the 427 - and that's all.
 
itll be interesting to see how this project comes together... Does anyone know when they start construction? maybe this october/november?
 
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